Source Variability and Technological Variation of Domestic Lithic Production at Santa Rita Corozal, Belize, during the Late Postclassic Period

Summary

Lithic raw material acquisition and household flaked stone crafting continues to enable a better understanding of ancient Maya domestic economies. One such example at Santa Rita Corozal, Belize, seeks to determine how local households provisioned themselves and how Santa Rita Corozal articulated with other Chetumal Bay sites during the Late Postclassic Period (A.D. 1200-1530). Data presented in this paper challenge previous models of resource exploitation and exchange by suggesting that a diverse suite of lithic raw materials not associated with Colha chert deposits appear at Santa Rita Corozal. Likewise, several households at Santa Rita show evidence for intensive local craft production of small projectile points and other formal tools. The raw cryptocrystalline silicates needed for crafting these artifacts may have been available from more nearby geologic deposits. Importantly, subtle differences among haft types on the points emerge when comparing Colha to non-Colha materials. This evidence for local craft production and exploitation of both distant Colha and local non-Colha cherts demonstrates a diversity of exchange and technological practice.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage