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

NOTES
1 A plural or pluralistic economy is more than one economic system in play
simultaneously. An example is our own plural economy, which features a regulated and
sanction market economy as well as a black market economy, which functions according
to different rules and laws (or lack thereof).
2 I use the term complex city center here because “large city center” does not necessarily
describe the basic differences between Colhá and Piedras Negras. Piedras Negras has
more elaborate architecture, carved-stone monuments, and plaza groups than Colhá, even
though the site and population size may have been similar. However, the problem of
discerning what the actual organizational differences between a place like Colhá and a
place like Piedras Negras still persists.
3 The evidence for the ideological elements of production at Piedras Negras is almost
entirely from the obsidian sample, and is associated with obsidian-blade manufacture. I
use the more general term, chipped-stone producer and chipped-stone craft specialist
because similar circumstances and social roles may have existed for the craft specialists
working in microcrystalline-quartz.
4 There are two different, but related forms of esoteric production knowledge involved in
chipped-stone production at Piedras Negras: (1) prayers, chants, or rituals carried out
before, during, and after production occurs, and (2) the morphology of the product and
the symbolic elements associated with its use. Although I believe that there are actually
many varieties of esoteric production knowledge, mythological charter being one aspect
of this knowledge, I do not explore all of the possible forms of this kind of knowledge
here.
5 The term oficio is based on contact and colonial terminology from the Yucatan and
describes an individual’s social role and identity based on occupation (Clark and Houston
1998). It is possible, and even likely, that individuals could hold membership in one or
more oficios at a time, especially if some political positions changed hands over time, or
if a talented individual took part in multiple crafts.
6 The sajal was apparently a title for nonroyal subsidiary lords who were often garrisoned
on the periphery of major political centers, especially in the western Petén area of the
Maya Lowlands.
7 The buildings at Piedras Negras are named after the quadrant in which they are located.
Each quadrant has a letter designation and the building names contain this letter in
addition to an arbitrary number. Thus, R-5 was the fifth building named in the quadrant. I
refer to the remainder of the buildings using this system, such as O-13, R-13, etc. The
335