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

previously unrecognized patterns of social and economic interaction. I have compared the
obsidian eccentrics from two different caches to show the value of studying both the
lithic technology and religious symbolism. New patterns arise by shifting the focus of
analysis, which ultimately allows us to ask different questions about the symbolism of the
artifacts and the role of the producers in society. Identifying possible social realms in
which ritualized production the use of mythological charter were significant urges us to
rethink previous models of craft production in ancient societies. One implication of this
research is that understanding more about the identity of craft producers and their
products brings us closer to an understanding of value.
I also attempted explain the possible reasons for technological and symbolic
change over time. The connections between technological practice, mythology, and ritual
are significant, especially if they are asserted as ideologies in a cultural field of
production. I argue that different techniques and styles of eccentrics mark competition
between craft producers, and that orthodoxic and heterodoxic practices are reflected in
the differences between Yaxche-style eccentrics and newly introduced forms in
Chacalhaaz times. Although the dominance of the royal family in consuming these
symbolically potent goods appears to be total, technological and ritual practice associated
with their production may have been important in attaining social success.
Chapter 7 illustrates the relatively static nature of obsidian eccentric production
for the early Late Classic period of the Piedras Negras polity. Ritualized production of
obsidian eccentrics at this time can be considered as largely doxic experience. In other
words, the relationship between symbolism and technology may not have been
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