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

circumscribed, especially considering the often ritual tasks for which prismatic blades
were used (e.g., bloodletting).
7.3.2.2: Technological change through time in Piedras Negras eccentrics. Balche-
period eccentrics differed from Late Classic eccentrics both technologically and
symbolically. Obsidian eccentrics from Caches K-5-8 and R-16-2 (Figure 7.19) reflect
these differences. Obsidians from the Early-to-Late Classic transition (i.e., Balche phase)
were made with a notching technique and may very well have symbolized various gods,
but any connection to Yaxche phase obsidians is unclear. Obsidian eccentrics from Cache
R-16-2 may actually date to the earlier Naba phase, in which case there appears to be
little technological change from Early to Late Classic obsidians. The five-pointed star and
the dart point (Figure 7.19), for example, may be distantly related to Terminal Classic
versions symbolically, but they were made by notching a lateral rejuvenation flake and a
stunted blade, respectively, instead of creating symmetry through complete bifacial
reduction. The elaborate Balche obsidians indicate a symbol and technological system
similar to that of other time periods, but their meaning remains opaque. Unlike the
Central Petén, the notched flake tradition of the Balche phase, and likely before, appears
to continue into the early Late Classic at Piedras Negras indicating some technological
continuity, even though there may have been a shift in the symbolism of obsidian
eccentrics. Technologically speaking, the lack of technological difference between the
Naba- and Yaxche-phase eccentrics suggests that their development was one of slow
change over time, and not massive innovation. This slow evolution of symbols and
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