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

In another paper King and Potter (1995) discussed the organization of production
at Colhá, noting differences between the Preclassic and the Classic periods. Using a
heterarchical model once again, they argued that the chert craft specialists had a special
role in Colhá society (see also Masson 1989). A Preclassic example of ritualized chert
production suggests that chert crafters may have had an elevated status in society. The
control of resources and technological skills indicates either that the ruling elites may
have also been chert specialists, or that nonelites were involved in royal rituals (King and
Potter 1995:81). This interesting observation slightly contrasts with their earlier thesis,
that elites from major political centers did not control chipped-stone production and that
the production of lithic goods was of little interest to them. If chipped-stone craft
specialization conferred status on producers at Colhá, then why, by virtue of size or
complexity alone, should other sites, such as Tikal or Piedras Negras, not be viewed in a
similar way? Their argument suggests that scale alone determined the importance of a
particular form of craft production.
Although agricultural production and labor appear to have led to greater wealth
and power than utilitarian craft specialization, the importance of craft specialization in
social organization cannot be left out of the equation. It is possible that individuals played
many roles in society, as craft specialists, as well as landowners. Occupations such as
craft specialist and other types of specialists (e.g., religious specialists), could have had
real effects on the creation of social power, but also as political avenues to agricultural
wealth. King and Potter (1995:83) made a similar point, stating “[Colhá] inhabitants
carried out diverse activities, including chertworking and . . . the organization of these
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