Studies of prehistoric exchange of goods provide information about the types of economic interaction, social organization, or political structures in which prehistoric peoples were engaged. Long-distance exchange is a special situation where the materials exchanged crossed significant boundaries, whether they were geographic, social, political, or otherwise. By examining the types and quantities of goods exchanged, along with the directions and distances they moved, archaeologists are able to examine the dynamic properties of exchange systems, i.e., how they operate and why they undergo change.

The purpose of this volume is to present a number of case studies of long-distance exchange from around the world which demonstrate the use of geochemical analysis of artifacts to find evidence of exchange. More important than the use of analytical technique employed or the types of artifacts studied are the interpretations themselves which illustrate that exchange studies are maturing and helping archaeologists to develop more accurate models of exchange.

Long-distance trade of obsidian in the Maya realm has been documented as early as the Middle Formative Period (1000-400 BC). Obsidian exchange continued in each succeeding period, through the Post-Classic (AD 900-1525), varying in both intensity and source of origin. It is the temporal variations in source utilisation that have formed the basis for obsidian research in the Maya area. By focusing on the origin of the obsidian and the temporal context these studies provide valuable information in documenting shifts in source utilisation. This work focuses on the distribution and consumption of obsidian on an intra-site scale with an intent to determine if variation in source utilisation can be attributed directly or indirectly to contextual variations. For the purposes of this study three types of context were identified, functional, archaeological and social. Information regarding obsidian consumption was compiled from ten sites and two survey areas spanning four geographic regions across Northern Belize and North-eastern Peten.

Both because it was a valuable commodity in many prehistoric cultures, and because almost every obsidian source has its own unique geochemical portrait, obsidian provides a useful window on mobility and exchange in Prehistory. To that end this volume gathers provenance studies on obsidian from right around the north Pacific rim including Japan, Korea, eastern Russia, north America and Mexico.