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

obsidian eccentrics, a likely scenario is that the royal family would accept obsidian
production debitage and eccentrics from various production locales, probably as tribute
items for royal caching rituals. The microcrystalline-quartz evidence is even less strong,
however, and it is impossible to draw any conclusions about the production of
microcrystalline-quartz eccentrics, or where the royal family secured its production
debitage. As with some obsidian blades, it is likely that many bifaces were produced
outside of the site and imported to Piedras Negras. At this time I am unable to determine
where the imported microcrystalline-quartz tools were made. Many of the
microcrystalline-quartz sources have not been found, and as yet, preliminary excavations
in the Piedras Negras hinterland have not yielded any large-scale production locales other
than the ones in the political center.
It is possible to model a redistribution form of exchange for the chipped-stone
economy of the city, where the acropolis was responsible for pooling and redistributing
resources of various kinds throughout the city. As the shifts in production evidence have
shown, there likely was a reorganization of the economic system at Piedras Negras,
especially during the onset of the Chacalhaaz phase. This occurs in obsidian materials,
and also in microcrystalline-quartz materials (see Chapter 8 for a full discussion).
7.3.2: Hypothesis 4
This hypothesis states that certain types of chipped-stone goods not only had
economic value, but also had symbolic value and meaning important to both royal and
nonroyal inhabitants of Piedras Negras. Consequently, particular artifact forms and the
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