Flake Deposits and the Missing Workshops of the Maya Lowlands: the Complexity of Classic Maya Lithic Economy

Summary

Technological and distributional analysis of the lithic collections from Cancuen, La Corona, Rio Bec and Naachtun show that the same goods were produced under different production contexts, some specific debitage being deposited in elite cache, whereas the same flakes were also gathered in domestic refuse. This suggests that some aspects of production were carried out in independent workshops, but a part of some knapping actions were given as tribute with particular stages of debitage held in separate deposits. The proportion of this assigned production is different from one site to another, showing the diversity of Classic Maya sites in their production systems and forms of distribution of the product. This diversity in distribution of obsidian and chert, not just in terms of artifacts, but also of debitage, indicates that certain flaked items had multiple values in terms of both distribution and usage. Future studies may be able to plot the variable contexts of production and the distribution of both artifacts and by-products to help elucidate other aspects of Classic Maya economy and its variability in time and space.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Nuts and Bolts of the Real "Business" of Ancient Maya Exchange (Part 1)

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