Copyright by Micaela Nerio Obledo 2011 - The University of Texas ...

Two subadults are interred with ceramic vessels placed over their crania.
Interestingly, artifacts of NB Colha chert are found in Cuello interments as they are
at K’axob. However, no NB Colha chert grave goods are reported for the Middle
Preclassic from Colha itself. It is of note that more items of this material type are
reported for Cuello (approximately 9 KM away) and K’axob (20 KM away) that for
the Colha itself, which is the origin of the material source. It is interesting to see this
inverse relationship between proximity to the resource origin and frequency and
numbers of artifacts included in interments. The expected pattern is for the highest
number or frequency of artifacts of a particular material class to appear in a pattern
reflecting a direct, positive relationship or correlation in relation to distance from
the resource origin.
The distribution of NB Colha chert in Middle Preclassic interments appears to
display the inverse of the expected relationship. The author suggests the possibility
that, given the abundance of the source material at the site of origin (Colha),
minimal prestige value, or any value other than practical, would have been attached
to NB Colha chert. The focus on this material at the site would have largely been for
practical purposes of tool manufacture and production. The further away from the
material source origin one travels, however, the more prestige value may have been
ascribed to it given the economic (time, distance, labor) and cultural (creation of
trade ties with neighboring sites) costs associated with its procurement. Thus, an
increase of prestige tied to a material class and its derivative products, would likely
impact the cultural motivation to include objects of this type with members of the
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