Sourcing Maya Lowland Chert Resources: A Multimethod Perspective

Author(s): Alana Pengilley; Fred Valdez Jr.

Year: 2024

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Within the Maya region, chert artifacts remain one of the most common material types recovered from archaeological excavations and are a core line of evidence when reconstructing ancient economy. However, methods for sourcing of chert through Mesoamerica have largely been underutilized. Archaeologists are often left wondering how these artifacts moved within regional and local exchange networks, and the influence particular source areas had over settlement patterns and economic development. Recent methodological developments within the field of chert provenance analysis have provided the opportunity to revisit these research issues. This paper will discuss the preliminary results of microscopic and geochemical analysis from recent geological sampling of Northern Belize chert outcrops.

Cite this Record

Sourcing Maya Lowland Chert Resources: A Multimethod Perspective. Alana Pengilley, Fred Valdez Jr.. Presented at The 89th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. 2024 ( tDAR id: 500085)

Spatial Coverage

min long: -94.197; min lat: 16.004 ; max long: -86.682; max lat: 21.984 ;

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40192.0