Obsidian exchange in the Preclassic Maya period (2000 BC- 250 AD) largely focused on importing large macrocores and flake nodes from Guatemalan highland sources such as Ixtepeque, San Martin Jilotepeque, and El Chayal. The varying presence and proportions of these different highland obsidian sources at sites across the Maya lowlands suggest multiple trade networks operating independently during the Preclassic. The Tajumulco obsidian source was used as early as the Archaic period (3500-2000 BC) and the Ixtepeque, El Chayal, and San Martin Jilotepque sources were utilized beginning in the Early Preclassic as evidenced by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis, or INAA (Asaro et al. 1978:439). El Chayal obsidian from the Guatemalan highlands being found at Preclassic levels in Olmec regions on the Southern Gulf Coast and throughout the Yucatán peninsula point to extensive trade networks connecting the Maya region to other parts of Mesoamerica (Asaro et al. 1978; Hirth et al. 2013). The Northern Belize site of Colha demonstrates the recognition of obsidian as a utilitarian resource during the Preclassic, even when other lithic resources such as chert deposits are locally available (Brown et al. 2004).