Gilcrease Museum is temporarily closed for construction.

Get the Full Story
Standard sized axe shaped smelted copper
Mesoamerican; Tarascan
Standard sized axe shaped smelted copper
Mesoamerican; Tarascan

Obsidian blade / Mesoamerican

Essay/Description

Large obsidian blade with tapered points at each end.

Blade believed to have been used in cheek piercing rituals that often accompanied funerals of the elite. These rituals are portrayed in detailed ceramic vignettes from the shaft tomb culture of west Mexico.

You may be interested in...

Title(s): 
Obsidian blade
Culture: 
Mesoamerican
Date: 
300 BCE - 200 CE
Period: 
Late Preclassic
Place: 
Nayarit, México
Materials/Techniques: 
obsidian
Classification: 
Object Type: 
Accession No: 
61.8781
Department: 
Not On View

Our Online Collections site is a work in progress. If you have information about this item that may be of assistance, please contact us.