Understanding Ancient Maya Expedient Lithic Technology: Raw Material, Production, and Use

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Expedient Technological Behavior: Global Perspectives and Future Directions" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Expedient flaked stone tools, generally defined as those which are produced as needed, without standardization, and with little to no investment, are less often examined in the archaeological record than formal stone tools, those which require more skill and effort to produce following a prescribed method or template. This is certainly the case in sedentary societies, where formal tools and expedient (or informal) tools coexisted and were used differentially in a variety of situations. Throughout the Maya area, expedient tools are used both in contexts of resource shortages and in resource-rich contexts. Such contrasts are illustrated in the use of both local (chert) and nonlocal (obsidian) resources. We provide case studies from the eastern Maya Lowlands which illustrate the variable contexts in which expedient technology was utilized both to conserve resources and in those areas in which conservative strategies were not necessary. As such, we argue that previous discussions of the connection between sedentism and expedient technology require more nuance, and that expedient technology as a strategy has many causes. In the Maya area, studies of expedient lithic technologies can provide information on access to raw materials and the economic networks through which people acquired their tool resources.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Expedient Technological Behavior: Global Perspectives and Future Directions   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37918.0