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

typology chapters of this study, but to review briefly here they include: (1) the use of
indirect-percussion, direct-percussion, and pressure-flaking techniques for
microcrystalline-quartz eccentrics; and (2) indirect percussion and pressure flaking on
pressure- and percussion-blades for obsidian eccentrics. For large debitage deposits in
tombs, I conduct refit studies to determine how the debitage may or may not have related
to the production of a particular series of finished products. This research not only reveals
how technology of cache and burial goods may have changed through time, but also
determines whether there was a symbolic component to the production of those goods. If
there is a tight correlation between the morphology of the chipped-stone products and the
technologies used to create them, especially if they are not related to efficiency, then the
process of production as a symbolically loaded activity is a significant aspect of the
symbolism and value of the finished product. This relatively novel analytical method may
have implications for understanding the symbolic or ideologically-loaded nature of other
forms of craft production in the Maya Lowlands.
3.3: HYPOTHESES
I test two distinct sets of hypotheses. The first set of hypotheses infers the
parameters of production per time period based on the distribution of production
evidence. The second set examines the nature of production and consumption at Piedras
Negras. I look at where debitage is deposited at the site and use comparative contextual
and morphological data to elucidate the possible ideological connections between the
knapper, the royal family, and the rest of the city.
90