Socioeconomics of Craft Production in the Copán Hinterland: The Chert Industry of Río Amarillo, Honduras

Summary

This study presents new data from the site of Río Amarillo, Honduras focusing on the social aspects of craft production in the political sphere of Copán, Honduras (A.D. 400 – 900). Between 2011 and 2014, excavations led by the Proyecto Arqueológico Río Amarillo Copán (PARAC) have recovered large quantities of microcrystalline silicate artifacts, including nodules, debitage, and finished tools. Such data are important as they shed light onto the procurement strategies, methods of local production, and the economic place of Río Amarillo during a period of proposed Copán expansion. Data suggest that residents partially relied on a local procurement network that included settlements near the confluence of the nearby Río Piedras Negras and Río Blanco. In addition, two unknown microcrystalline silicate sources were exploited late in the site’s history, possibly from more distant areas in the Copán pocket. A full sequence of reduction activity was documented at the site—a trend that appears to increase during later occupations including the transition from the Terminal Classic to Early Postclassic periods (A.D. 800-1200). Thus, this study adds to a growing body of intra-regional studies of the Copán hinterlands by highlighting the interrelationships among polities at a time of political integration.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• The Copan Kingdom and its Political Interactions along the Southeastern Maya Frontier

Keywords

Spatial Coverage