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

primary technological trait, such as biface, uniface, or tranchet. In cases where thickness
is a key defining attribute, thin or thick is added to the type name. An example of a type
name would be large celt biface, thick.
The typology (Figure 5.2) is organized according to the three size categories
(small, medium, and large) marked on the right side of the diagram. Large tools are
placed at the top, with smaller sizes placed below them. The types are arranged generally
from left to right according to basic morphological characteristics and tool width. Celts
are placed to the left, laurel leafs are located in the center, and stemmed or end-modified
artifacts are placed at the right 15 . When possible, types with similar morphological
attributes are placed in vertical columns (e.g., the celts and laurel leafs).
Each type has its name located beneath it. The number placed next to the name is
arbitrary, but links that type to Table 5.1, which lists other names given to that basic type
in other chipped-stone studies and typologies. The point of Table 5.1 is three-fold: (1) it
provides the history of nomenclature for each of the types; (2) it reveals what types are
not present in the archaeology of Piedras Negras, and conversely, what lithic traditions
are shared with other sites; and (3) to create an open framework to place new
assemblages, or ones from studies not listed here, if future analyses require it. It should
be noted that a temporal framework is not implied here. Cross-site studies of temporal
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