Obsidian is formed when volcanic lava is cooled down at a fast paste and forms into a crystalline volcanic glass that turns into black, gray, green, blue, and other different colors depending on the location. Teotihuacan controlled Central Mexico and the exploitation and centralization of Obsidian production because of its close proximity to two mines of Sierra de las Navajas and Otumba. The city was a religious and pilgrimage center with the Pyramid of the Sun, Pyramid of the Moon, and over 2,000 residential compounds in an area of 20 square kilometers. Before 600 AD Teotihuacan had an estimate population of 200,000 people. The large urban complex of Teotihuacan is located in the Basin of Mexico thirty miles outside Mexico City. In Mesoamerica, obsidian was considered a semiprecious stone because of its physical characteristics that produced a hard sharp edge used for cutting tools, rituals, and military weapons which were centralized and manufactured in Teotihuacan for mass production. Teotihuacan controlled the trade in this valuable commodity from the dawn of the common-era to 600 CE. Obsidian was one of the most important materials distributed in Mesoamerica.

Cost of an obsidian scalpel