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

were finished with a pressure-flaker. A thin, lenticular cross section was a desired result
of the reduction process.
The medium laurel leaf biface, thin type differs from the medium celtiform biface,
thin type in that it has two pointed ends, and each point usually is equidistant from the
center point of the piece. However, in many cases it is possible to discern a difference
between the working tip and the hafted end of the biface because of variable use-wear
patterns or tip preparation. They are made with the same materials and techniques as the
medium-sized, thin celts, but the proximal platform of the original flake blank is removed
to create a second tapered or pointed end. Fine- and medium-grade microcrystalline
quartzes were necessary to create the evenly chipped edge exhibited on most examples.
These bifaces also were used as both spear points and knives, but again, the order
in which this occurred, or if it occurred within the same tool, is not well known. Because
of the lack of a readily identifiable distal end, broken biface fragments of this size
grouping are difficult to categorize. The benefit of a laurel leaf on a military campaign, or
during a hunt, might be that the point could be reoriented 180 degrees, and then rehafted
in the event of breakage. Nevertheless, some examples show a difference between the
working end and the hafted end of the laurel leaf. The hafted end does not always have a
sharpened point.
The medium laurel leaf biface, thin type also is common in caches at Piedras
Negras. They represent a potent symbolic form that has connections with Central Mexico,
and also with Maya concepts of the sun and celestial heat, especially when they are made
of flint or other microcrystalline-quartz materials (Hruby 2001). Some examples of
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