The Organization of Chipped-Stone Economies at Piedras Negras ...

considered as second-degree evidence. The existence of hammerstone flakes, which were
rarely used as tools themselves and likely were not exchanged as cutting or scraping
tools, suggest that production activities occurred nearby. The third-degree production
evidence includes various kinds of shatter, especially nodule shatter that was produced
during the reduction of nodules and blanks. Shatter, or irregular flakes and chunks that do
not feature normal flake morphology, was almost never used as cutting and scraping tools
and probably was not removed from the residential group of its origin for exchange of
any kind.
Obsidian blade and flake debitage is categorized in a similar manner into first-,
second-, and third-degree production evidence. These designations run under a different
set of assumptions because the primary intended product was fine, prismatic pressure-
blades, and not some other tool made from pressure blades. First-degree production
evidence includes little used or unused third-series blades (see Chapter 6 for a full
explanation of obsidian debitage types). The assumption is that a producing household
had more access to blades, and was not forced to use every piece of available obsidian.
Furthermore, production areas may feature more blade fragments resulting from the
failure to remove a complete blade from the core. These kinds of blade fragments may
not have been used, but rather thrown away along with other small blade-production
debitage.
Second-degree production evidence consists of third-series flakes and
rejuvenation blades, second-series blades and flakes, distal rejuvenation pressure-blades,
and exhausted cores. Since small third- and second-series pressure flakes were often not
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