Ritualized Shatter: An Introduction of Obsidian to La Mipla, Belize

Summary

California State University, Los Angeles Archaeological Field Program in Central America conducted an investigation of a sinkhole containing a small grotto at the ancient Maya site of La Milpa, Belize in 2014. Excavation discovered that a rubble-cored platform had been built around the feature, formalizing the space and suggesting that it had functioned as a sacred landmark. During the excavations, a fairly dense concentration of sherds was encountered along with three dozen fragments of obsidian prismatic blades. The recovery of the blades is not surprising in that obsidian has been reported from dozens of caves in the Maya area. What is unique, however, is the extremely fragmented condition of the blades which suggests deliberate breakage. Analysis of fracture patterns and use-wear are currently being conducted in an effort to determine how the blades had been used and fragmented before being deposited in the sinkhole. The material is also being sourced to see if procurement differed for a ritual use.

SAA 2015 abstracts made available in tDAR courtesy of the Society for American Archaeology and Center for Digital Antiquity Collaborative Program to improve digital data in archaeology. If you are the author of this presentation you may upload your paper, poster, presentation, or associated data (up to 3 files/30MB) for free. Please visit http://www.tdar.org/SAA2015 for instructions and more information.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Interpreting Changes in Ancient Maya Society: From Landscape and Architecture to Everything in Between

Keywords

Spatial Coverage