Department of Statistics, UCLA

Systematic data on ca.1200 blades from this site were summarized in terms of three ceramic phases (defined by Love 2002) for the same site. That is, we assigned blades to phases based on the ceramic content of each provenience. Regular phase-by-phase decreases occurred in blade dimensions, weights, and length:width ratios. We predicted these results based on earlier findings from the site of La Blanca (Nance and Kirk 1991). The trend appears also within the latest Pitahaya phase, even at the level of the excavation unit. Blade densities decrease through Pitahaya deposits as well, and the blade sequence is discussed in terms of an increased scarcity of obsidian or obsidian blades traded to the region.