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

interpretation, are mentioned on Early Classic monuments and also retrospectively in
Late Classic hieroglyphic texts (Stuart 2000:499). Early monuments seem to have been
used as fill in later pyramids within the site core (Satterthwaite 1943). Although Early
Classic kings used virtually the same names as the Late Classic kings, these depositional
behaviors and the lack of direct epigraphic evidence make the connection between Early
and Late Classic rulers vague. Nevertheless, early monuments from Piedras Negras and
the nearby site of Yaxchilan attest to an early and influential presence of Piedras Negras
in the Middle Usumacinta region from an early date (Martin and Grube 2000:140; Stuart
1998).
The archaeological record also seems to reflect a substantial occupation and
political presence at the site during the Early Classic (Child 1997; Child and Child 2001b;
Escobedo and Houston 1998, 1999, 2001; Escobedo and Zamora 1999, 2001a; Garrido
1998, 1999, 2001; Golden and Pellecer 1999; Houston et al. 1998, 1999, 2000). Although
iconographic and artifact evidence is weak, it is clear that Early Classic Piedras Negras
was influenced by Central Mexico, either directly or indirectly by way of the Guatemalan
Highlands, Tikal, or some other route. During the Naba phase, green obsidian appears for
the first time, and at least one monument, Panel 12, depicts a Piedras Negras king in
Teotihuacan-style warrior garb (Taube personal communication 2001). The actual nature
of Central Mexican influence is unclear, but the Talud-Tablero-style architecture of some
structures, such as R-2 7 , suggests that the Early Classic elite were mimicking
Teotihuacan-style architecture on a small scale. Like their Preclassic counterparts, it is
clear that they still exploited the local chert source, which is located on the riverbed
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