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

2.1.5: Bourdieu and the Role of Practice Theory in this Study
Practice theory, as initially laid out by Pierre Bourdieu (1977), is useful for
examining the relationship of ideas to action and material as mediated through practice.
The study of the practice of production creates new ways to look at how producers
related to their work, and how others in society may have viewed and related to those
practices, especially in the attribution of status and the exchange of material products.
One benefit of practice theory perspective in archaeology is that the structure of socio-
economic relationships are not assumed and are not based on an existing definition of
craft-producer categories, as attached, independent, or otherwise. Instead, the focus
moves to how craft producers produced their goods, and how those goods were
distributed and used. The previously mentioned concepts of ideologically-loaded
production, and esoteric production knowledge, also require a symbolic analysis of
practice that is not accessible using extant economic models.
I believe ancient Maya craft production and exchange had a heavy symbolic
content. Giving tribute, carving and painting stelae, and making eccentrics for caches, for
example, were tied to Maya world views that partially structured how these practices
were carried out. I discuss some of the evidence for the symbolic nature of social
organization for the Maya in the remainder of this chapter. The reconstruction of
production and exchange systems for chipped-stone goods requires a consideration of
these symbolic elements. A focus on practice, and especially the concept of symbolic
capital (Bourdieu 1977), allows the researcher to figure the value of symbolism in the
production and exchange of material items. Since the value of goods depends on demand
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