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

indicates they may have been associated with the symbolic representation of time or with
the movement of celestial bodies.
The following is a description of the eccentrics from R-5-4 and R-5-6 using the
format of Figure 7.13 to compare symbolic and technological forms. Thick, wide,
percussion blades (designated as small percussion-blades according to Clark [1989])
removed to regularize the sides of the working face of the core (Figure 6.9) were used for
the eccentrics in Columns 3 and 4. These eccentrics probably represent a silhouette of the
Classic Maya lightning god, K’awiil. K’awiil-shaped eccentrics can be identified by a
long snout, an open mouth, and a central torch element emanating from the “forehead”
area of the silhouette. Thinner, longer, percussion blades removed from the central
portion of the working face (Figure 6.3, 6.6, and 7.13) were chosen for the “centipede”-
or “pop”-style eccentrics in Column 2. Although centipedes do appear on Tikal incised
obsidians, the pop or mat sign is much more common, and the symmetry of the Piedras
Negras eccentrics suggest that the pop sign probably is the intended symbol. There may
be some symbolic overlap between the two forms, however. Column 1 eccentrics,
representing the Jester God, were made from wide percussion flakes removed from the
sides of the blade core, probably to isolate the platform of the blade to be removed from
the central face of the core (Figures 6.3, 6.5, and 7.13; described in detail above). The
Jester God form is similar to K’awiil forms but usually feature a pointed element that
represents the top of the head (Figure 7.15).
The disc-like eccentrics in Columns 7 and 8 probably represent the sun god and
the moon goddess, since rounded flakes usually are reserved for the sun disc and the
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