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

increase in participants in this system over time, however, reveals underlying tensions in
the social structure of Piedras Negras near the time of the fall of the royal dynasty (see
below). The production and use of chert goods do not appear to follow the strict patterns
of obsidian with regard to distribution and value, but chert, and other microcrystalline
quartzes, nevertheless retained much of the symbolic potency that obsidian did.
The production of obsidian blades became more widespread during Chacalhaaz
times, but the largest pieces of production debitage still appear to have been reserved for
the royal family as they were in Yaxche times. This pattern suggests to me that the royal
family still had a role in material distribution at this time. The increased number of forms
and reduction techniques in obsidian eccentric manufacture during the Chacalhaaz phase
indicates that more producers were involved in the production of cache goods. The
implication is that there was heightened competition between obsidian blade producers,
and that royalty had less control over how the obsidian was distributed. However, the
inclusion of more parties in cache good production would have brought more social
groups together for cache and dedication events, and may have produced the appearance
of wider social cohesion.
Finally, there is a symbolic and economic value to production debitage, especially
to obsidian debitage during the early part of the Late Classic. The best evidence of this
pattern is the correlation between flake type and symbol during the Yaxche phase and the
inclusion of production debitage in royal caches. The technology and symbolism of
notched flake and core eccentrics of the Yaxche phase developed slowly over time from
techniques established in the Balche and possibly Naba phases. A change in economic
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