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

previously (see Chapter 5). A typology that includes all bifaces allows for a better
understanding of the total lithic tradition at any given site.
4.1.1: Local Resources
Subsidiary sites of Piedras Negras (El Cayo, Macabilero, and El Porvenir) are all
located near modest chert sources on the riverbank with sparse resources in between
(Hruby 1999, 2000, 2001; Lee and Hayden 1989). The Piedras Negras source is by far the
largest and has the most varieties of chert (Hruby 1999). This pattern suggests that the
existence of chert sources may have been a deciding factor in the settlement of Preclassic
centers. Tool stone was needed for construction, agriculture, warfare, and hunting. It is
telling that other political centers such as Tikal, Nakbe, San Bartolo, Altar de Sacrificios,
and many others are all located on, or near, substantial microcrystalline-quartz sources.
The most common microcrystalline-quartz types used at Piedras Negras are a
locally available nodular chert, imported nodular chert, and a chalcedony, which probably
is local, but an exact source location is not known. The local nodular-chert was procured
from a quarry located directly below the site center along the Usumacinta River. Figure
4.1 depicts the location of most of the chert nodules below the site center. The nodules
typically have a highly visible black or brown cortex (for which the site is named), and
are embedded in a hard, sometimes dolomitic limestone. The color varies from white to
dark grey, but the norm is light grey with inclusions. Material traits range widely within
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