Ritualized Chipped-Stone Production at Piedras Negras, Guatemala

5

Ritualized Chipped-Stone Production atPiedras Negras, Guatemala

Zachary X. HrubyUniversity of California Riverside

ABSTRACTThe symbolic and iconographic nature of many obsidian eccentrics, chipped-stone items of ritual significance to theancient Maya, appears to be related to the techniques used to produce them. This study shows that the symbolismof eccentrics extended beyond morphology and into the processes of production. It is argued that the manufactureof obsidian eccentrics may constitute an archaeological example of ritualized production, which is described hereas the binding of craft and religious practice to produce material items. Ritualized production, an under-studiedaspect of economic, political, and social organization in archaeology, has implications for understanding precapitalistor preindustrial societies wherein religion structured social practice in a significant way. Although it is difficult toarchaeologically demonstrate ritualized production, its investigation sheds light on poorly understood aspects ofeconomic value in ancient societies.

Keywords: lithic, Maya, cache, ritual, production

This study of ritualized production focuses on the manu-

facture of obsidian eccentrics1 during the early part of

the Late Classic period at the ancient Maya site of Piedras

Negras (A.D. 603–757), situated along the Usumacinta River

in northwestern Peten, Guatemala (Houston et al. 1999; Fig-

ure 5.1). The scale and organization of production are not

directly addressed here but rather the process and prac-

tice of production. The making of some types of obsid-

ian eccentrics probably was tied to the reduction of pris-

matic blade cores (i.e., the production of prismatic blades),

and these examples cloud the boundary between utilitarian

and ritual activities insofar as they have been codified in

anthropological and archaeological literature. This chapter

seeks to move beyond a ceremonial/utilitarian dichotomy to

broaden our understanding of those social aspects of pro-

duction that are not clearly economic in their significance

but that nevertheless impacted the organization of economic

activities.

ARCHEOLOGICAL PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, Vol. 17, Issue 1, pp. 68–87, ISSN 1551-823X,

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to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press’s Rights and Permissions website, http://www.

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Piedras Negras, with its full complement of stelae, pyra-

mids, and palaces, can be described as a typical Classic Maya

center in the western Maya Lowlands. It is far from the El

Chayal obsidian source of Highland Guatemala (approxi-

mately 400 kilometers), and the general paucity of obsid-

ian found at Piedras Negras reflects the difficulty in ob-

taining large quantities of this material via long-distance

trade routes. Obsidian was handled efficiently through con-

servative core-reduction techniques and also the utilization

of larger pieces of debitage for obsidian eccentrics. Obsid-

ian and chert eccentrics (Figure 5.2) are found almost en-

tirely in ceremonial cache deposits and can be considered

to be a form of prestige good that was reserved for royal

consumption. In the case of obsidian eccentrics, obsidian-

blade producers used particular types of debitage as blanks

or preforms in the production of specific symbolic forms

(i.e., obsidian eccentrics) that can best be described as god

effigies (Escobedo and Hruby 2002; Meadows 2001). It is

Ritualized Lithic Production at Piedras Negras, Guatemala 69

Figure 5.1. Map of Piedras Negras, Guatemala, showing spatial designations mentioned in the text (darkgrey = acropolis, light grey = site center, white = near periphery) (map by Nathan Currit, Timothy Murtha,and Zachary Nelson).

70 Zachary X. Hruby

Figure 5.2. Chert eccentrics depicting god heads from CacheR-5-4, Piedras Negras. Lengths in centimeters: upper left = 5.3,middle left = 7.0, bottom left = 9.8, right = 7.2 (drawings byZachary X. Hruby).

argued here that such a tight correlation between how a

thing was produced (i.e., technology) and religious symbol-

ism indicates that production process was ritualized to some

degree.

Since lithic reduction techniques are subtractive tech-

nologies, they are particularly amenable to understanding

the processes and stages of production. For many obsidian

eccentrics it is possible to determine the morphology of the

original material (i.e., blank: flake, blade, or core) before

the product was finished. Thus, I try to achieve two major

goals in this chapter, one methodological and the other the-

oretical and interpretive: (1) to explore methods by which

archaeologists can identify ritualized lithic production via

the archaeological record and (2) to offer explanations for

how production techniques can change over time. To ad-

dress the first issue I compare obsidian eccentric production

techniques used in two different caches from Piedras Ne-

gras to argue that blade-core technology was tied to aspects

of Classic Maya religion and mythology. For the latter I use

cross-cultural examples and social theory to provide ana-

logues for the patterns we see in the archaeological record.

I begin with a discussion of ritualized production and pro-

vide cross-cultural examples. Next, I review the process of

blade-core reduction, and finally I discuss specific examples

from Piedras Negras.

Ritualized Production: A Cross-Cultural andTheoretical Perspective

Ritualized production is a category of social practice

that encompasses a wide variety of behaviors, both religious

and secular. It can be distinguished from nonritualized pro-

duction in that “steps” are introduced into the production

process that are not related to the “basic necessities” of pro-

duction, including prayers, chants, unrelated bodily move-

ments and gestures, uses of materials and production tech-

niques that do not reflect efficiency or aesthetics, sacrifice,

impractical or unusual production locales, and many more.

Although ritualized production can be secular, if one chooses

to draw a distinction between secular and religious ritual, I

focus here on ritualized production that is infused with reli-

gious symbolism and elements of “worldview.” The product

need not be a ritual or ceremonial item, such as a scepter or

a sacrificial knife, but there are examples of “ritual goods”

being ritually produced (see below). Furthermore, the prac-

tice of ritualized production does not always include prayers

or chants carried out during the actual process of produc-

tion. It also can include ritual circumscription in which pro-

duction activities were marked by a series of rituals before,

after, and during important steps of the production process

(see Childs 1998). Ritualized production is not necessarily

a constant part of crafting practice and may be employed

periodically during particularly important times of the year

(Childs 1998:115).

The general term production is employed because sim-

ilar rituals can be associated with the production of foods,

commodities, crafts, weapons, and so forth. Of course, Maya

blade production could be categorized as craft production or

craft specialization, but the phenomenon of ritualized pro-

duction need not be solely associated with crafts or even

with specialized forms of production. For example, the pro-

cessing of meat according to Jewish law (i.e., the produc-

tion of kosher commodities) is done in ways that could be

defined as ritualized production, involving a special knife,

inefficient techniques, and, in the best-case scenario, a re-

ligiously knowledgeable man. In Chapter 7, Flad explores

another form of ritualized commodity production in which

the production of salt appears to have been circumscribed

by pyro-scapulimancy (i.e., divination with scapulae). An

example more closely related to the present study is the

obsidian-blade production described by Carter in Chapter

6. In that case, the unusual production locale of a burial plot


and probable coincidence with a burial ceremony indicates

that the production process may have been ritualized. Both

instances reveal a connection between ritualized production

and status differentiation, a pattern to be discussed below for

Piedras Negras.

Spielmann (1998) argues that the production of goods

used in rituals and ceremonies can confer heightened status

on the producer (see also DeMarrais et al. 1996). Spielmann

(1998:153–154) refers to the materialization of ideologies

(i.e., the production of goods used in rituals) as ritual craftspecialization. I draw a distinction between ritual craft spe-cialization and ritualized production in that the former refers

mainly to the nature of the product and how it is consumed

after production, and the latter refers to the practice of pro-

duction. In ritualized production the product can be a “mun-

dane,” “utilitarian,” “prestige,” “ceremonial,” or other type

of object, but the process of production is itself a ritualized

activity. It may be that ritual craft goods are more likely

produced in a ritualized manner by ritual specialists (Spiel-

mann 1998:156), but the focus here is on the intersection of

worldview and religion with the practice of production.

The melding of craft production with religious cere-

mony and ritual can have a profound effect on how per-

sonhood and identity are developed and, in part, shapes the

way the economy is structured. Ritualized production is one

possible means to exclude others in society from access to

the esoteric knowledge necessary to carry out certain forms

of production (see Childs 1998; Childs and Dewey 1996;

Herbert 1984; Schmidt 1997), but it may also be key in

passing down production knowledge to the next generation

(Clark 1989). Esoteric production knowledge is defined here

as those kinds of knowledge related to production that may

or may not be ritual in nature but nevertheless can be de-

scribed as uncommon knowledge about the production pro-

cess. Different categories of esoteric production knowledge

can be delineated, such as production technique and rituals

or prayers, but these require a more in-depth study. Esoteric

production knowledge may be related to more specialized

types of production and can be safeguarded and restricted

(as much as it is possible to guard knowledge) by and for

those who are identified with that type of production. African

metallurgy provides some excellent examples of this sort of

knowledge in practice.

Herbert (1984) cites examples of African kingship in

which smelting and smithing is a marker of the royal family.

Like agricultural production and land ownership, the pro-

duction of metal goods can be a politically potent practice.

In the Kongo tradition, the ancestry of kings is closely tied to

the ownership of ore resources but, more important, is tied

to the esoteric knowledge of smelting and smithing (i.e., the

transformation of soils into workable tools usually used in

warfare and agriculture). In many African societies the met-

alsmith takes on the role of a diviner or a controller of essen-

tial magic that brings about prosperity (Herbert 1984:41).

A smith may also be an owner of a mine, but, more impor-

tant, he can control the necessary esoteric ritual and tech-

nological knowledge needed for the socially proper creation

of metal goods. The acquisition of social ties and techno-

logical knowledge can ultimately lead to positions of power

within society. Childs explains this relationship for the West-

ern Ugandan Toro:

Rituals employed during manufacture took time and ef-fort away from the technical tasks at hand. Such ritualsalso involved additional skills and responsibilities in theproduction sequence that had to be mastered during theapprenticeship and followed during production. Theserules and rituals were used to minimize risk and max-imize success during an operation, to prevent harm toiron workers, and to promote social and economic depen-dency on the iron workers within the community ratherthan realize the Western value of efficiency. If the tabooswere not met or the rituals were not performed, how-ever, the resulting disasters would certainly reduce theefficiency of Toro iron production. [Childs 1998:134]

The forge, bellows, and other “utilitarian” tools and

features used in metal-goods production in Africa also are

highly symbolic and are essential aspects of social identity

(Childs 1998:119). In addition to rituals carried out upon

the creation of a forge and bellows, they also are decorated

with male and female icons of sexual fertility. Many of the

objects smiths manufacture are imbued with the prestige and

symbolism of the source, production area, and producer of

their origin.

Although ritual and ceremony can mask or advertise

economic realities (cf. Bourdieu 1977:181), they are also

embodied experiences that give meaning to life and com-

munity. Dobres (2000) brings a further dimension to produc-

tion by stressing the inherent connectedness between people

and the world through the practice of technology. She em-

phasizes the Heideggerian notion of being-in-the-world and

how technology, the knowledge and practice of craft produc-

tion, is necessary to the formation of social relationships and

identities (Dobres 2000). In her discussion of the embod-

ied practice of technology, Dobres (2000:128) focuses on

the importance of everyday technological practice in “ex-

pressing and materializing larger cultural epistemologies,

ontologies, identities, and differences” (Dobres 2000:139).

However, Dobres also notes the multifaceted nature of tech-

nology and that “differences in experience, skill, knowledge,

and one’s awareness of being-in-the-world, as well as differ-

ences in explicitly articulated goals and how they should be

accomplished, all become resources through which political

72 Zachary X. Hruby

interests materialize” (Dobres 2000:140, my emphasis). In

other words, production and ritualized production can be

more or less politicized in more or less conscious ways. The

degree to which ritualized production becomes a conscious

and politicized act has implications for social and economic

organization.

In Mesoamerica, many types of production appear to

have been ritualized. The most obvious examples of rit-

ual associated with human creation are dedicatory caches

deposited during particular phases of architectural con-

struction. Monaghan (1998) has recently conceptualized

dedicatory and caching ritual practice as production, after

observations from his ethnographic work in Oaxaca. For

Monaghan, the “ritual” aspects of production are so ubiq-

uitous at most levels that they are indelible aspects of ma-

terial production, and thus economy and religion cannot be

separated in a clear and concise manner. He notes that “in

the Mixtec-speaking town of Santiago Nuyoo, people do not

separate the creation of objects into ’practical’ versus ’ritual’

aspects” (Monaghan 1998:48). Furthermore, Monaghan be-

lieves that “the classification of any behavior as ’ritual’ in re-

lation to other activities is impossible” (Monaghan 1998:48).

These patterns suggest that the ritual aspects of production

have become inseparable from everyday sorts of practices.

Ethnohistoric evidence suggests that ritualized produc-

tion was carried out in other Mesoamerican contexts. Brum-

fiel notes that elite Aztec craft specialists were trained in

temple schools and that feather workers, for example, “as-

sert[ed] that their craft required the same spiritual and intel-

lectual qualities as governing” (Brumfiel 1998:148). Feather

workers, pulque makers, oil makers, and mat makers pur-

chased slaves to sacrifice to their patron deities as a form

of ritual circumscription of production activities (Brumfiel

1998:149).

The production of “idols” or effigies in Contact period

Yucatan is an example of ritualized production that was car-

ried out to properly and safely, from a spiritual standpoint,

bring off the production of items used in ceremony and wor-

ship: “Among the occupations of the Indians were pottery

and wood-working; they made much profit from forming

idols of clay and wood, in doing which they fasted much and

followed many rites” (Gates 1978:37). Specifically, F. Diego

de Landa describes intense ritualized production before, af-

ter, and during the production of god effigies:

They put what they needed for scarifying themselves orfor drawing blood from their ears, and the instrumentsfor sculpturing the black gods, and with these prepara-tions, the priests and the Chacs and the workmen shutthemselves up in the hut, and began their work on thegods, often cutting their ears, and anointing those idolswith the blood and burning their incense, and thus they

continued until the work was ended, the one to whom (theidol) belonged giving them food and what they needed;and they could not have relations with their wives, evenin thought, nor could any one come to the place wherethey were. [Tozzer 1941:159–160]

The pan-Maya practice of recreating mythical and his-

torical events reveals the essential role of humans in the

perpetuation of the gods, both through everyday ritualized

practice and special large-scale ritual events. This process

has the recursive effect of reaffirming social roles in the

community and clarifying personhood and social identity

(Clark and Houston 1998; Joyce 2001). It is equally possible

that the “profit” gained by crafters could have spurred on

horizontal competition between craft producers in the same

field. Ritual knowledge would have been an important ele-

ment of this competition.

An Aztec example indicates that the production of

chipped-stone goods was ritualized. Elaborate rituals were

conducted to pass down lithic production knowledge to

the next generation of craftsmen: “[Then] came the mas-

ter craftsmen who detached the knives, they also fasted

and prayed, and they detached many knives with which the

tongues had to be opened, and as they kept detaching them

they kept placing them on a clean mantle. And if one should

break while being detached, they said they had not fasted

properly” (Kidder et al. 1946:135).

Maya stone tool production involved similar ritual as-

pects. As Clark has pointed out, the Lacandon Maya were

obliged to observe rites before their knapping activities, be-

cause “an integral part of the ‘technique’ [of arrowhead pro-

duction] was chanting to the flint and fasting before the ac-

tual knapping” (Clark 1989:305). Furthermore, they carried

out production in a temple or “god house,” where they were

compelled to recite chants to successfully complete the task.

These chants, as may have been the case for the Aztecs, were

key in memorizing production techniques and have implica-

tions for understanding the role of ritual in the transmission

of technological knowledge from one generation to the next.

As in the African examples, ritualized production may have

been politicized and, at certain times, performed in more

conscious ways to confirm or create status differences.

Foundations of Ritualized Production:Mythological Charter and the Creation of

Social Identity

Status differences created by limited access to eso-

teric production knowledge may be legitimized by mythol-

ogy and worldview. Although he has not explicitly argued

that elite craftwork was ritualized, Inomata (2001) contends

that ancient Maya craft specialization was a potent form of


ideologically loaded production. The manufacture of partic-

ular goods, such as those featuring hieroglyphic inscriptions,

had the effect of creating social distance between the royal

family and the rest of society (Inomata 2001). Thus, this

type of craft production and the resulting products expressed

political power and the legitimizing ideology of the ruling

family; hence the term ideologically loaded production.

Reents-Budet (1998) takes a similar stance in her de-

scription of polychrome pottery production during the Late

Classic. She argues that craft producers may have couched

their craftwork in terms of creation mythology, thus con-

necting the producers and their products to sacred space and

time. I define the establishment of this form of privilege

and authority, gained by virtue of supernatural association,

as mythological charter (see also Houston 2001). For elite

or royal status groups, the guarding of esoteric production

knowledge, as legitimized by mythological charter, should be

considered an important aspect of royal power in the com-

munity. This understanding should be applied not only to

elite artisans but also to other status groups in society that

situated their social role in relation to local mythologies.

I argue that many forms of craft production were ideo-

logically loaded but perhaps without the same level of po-

litical control as royal crafts, such as painting and carving

hieroglyphs. The role of mythology is important because it

not only sanctions the production practices of the elites (In-

omata 2001) but also charters other forms of craft special-

ization and helps define the social role of nonroyal members

of the community. Mythological charter has two readily ap-

parent effects: (1) it creates and concretizes social differen-

tiation between groups and (2) it reinforces social cohesion

by defining social roles and creating a common connection

between individual, disparate worldviews in the community.

The Quiche account of creation, known as the Popol

Vuh, reflects how myth can be steeped in production

metaphor and easily relatable to different crafts. Gods are

depicted as artists and craft producers in key moments of

world creation: “It hasn’t turned out our names have been

named. Since we are their mason and sculptor this will not

do” (Tedlock 1996:67). Creator gods are called upon by the

“Maker, Modeler,” in Tedlock’s terms, to create human be-

ings out of mud, wood, and corn: “So be it, fulfill your

names: Hunahpu Possum, Hunahpu Coyote, Bearer twice

over, Begetter twice over, Great Peccary, Great Coati, lap-

idary, jeweler, sawyer, carpenter, plate shaper, bowl shaper,

incense maker, master craftsman, Grandmother of Day,

Grandmother of light” (Tedlock 1996:69). Classic period

hieroglyphic writing indicates that similar metaphors were

prevalent. The verb pat, meaning “to form,” was used to

describe the creation of gods and also ceramic vessels (see

potting as pat for the Yucatec Maya, Clark and Houston

1998). The verb tzutz, used most extensively for describing

the completion of long periods of time, is also the most com-

mon verb used to describe the completion of a textile (Hruby

and Robertson 2001).

The intersection between craft production and person-

hood recalls the description of the Contact period oficio in

ethnohistoric sources: “The final step of [the] developmen-

tal process of selfhood involved individual achievement and

office . . . Craft Specialties were also considered oficios and

would have been a principal identifier of a person’s particular

achievement. In short, one became a full person by carrying

out one’s station or oficio” (Clark and Houston 1998:39).

During the ceremony of the month of Mol children were

ritually beaten “so that they might become skillful work-

men in the professions of their fathers and mothers” (Tozzer

1941:159). Thus, craft production was one of the bridges

between ritualized mythological reenactment and the indi-

vidual in society, whereby people from different economic

spheres formed social bonds and reaffirmed their worldview.

Craft production puts one in the role of the gods as a creator

being, probably enhanced by trance and deity impersonation

during ritualized production, but with an understanding of

the human origins of their products. As Landa stated: “As

regards to the images [the idols], they knew perfectly that

they were made by human hands, perishable, and not divine;

but they had honored them because of what they represented

and the ceremonies that had been performed during their

fabrication” (Gates 1978:47).

To summarize, in ritualized production, elements of

worldview, religion, and mythology become an indelible part

of technological performance. It is one of the most elaborate

examples of how technology embodies the relationship be-

tween people and the world around them. It is a form of action

that is often, though not always, tied to competition, and it

can be a part of everyday, less discursive types of activities.

Aspects of local mythology can be emphasized to charter

certain types of production for particular social groups. Eth-

nohistoric accounts of the Maya indicate that some groups of

craft specialists ritually produced chipped-stone goods and

god effigies or idols. It is likely that individual crafters were

socialized into these roles via rituals based in local mythol-

ogy and worldview.

Obsidian Craft Production at Piedras Negras

Obsidian-blade production has a long history in

Mesoamerica and the Maya area. It is a highly systematic

practice that requires trial and error, access to raw materials

(i.e., obsidian blade cores), and an instructor who is willing

to pass down the knowledge. In other words, the independent

74 Zachary X. Hruby

discovery and development of such a technology is unlikely

outside of areas close to an obsidian source, or without many

prepared blade cores (i.e., large quantities of raw materials;

see Hruby 2004 for an example from Kaminaljuyu). In rela-

tively impoverished polities in the Maya Lowlands, such as

Piedras Negras, obsidian cores likely were not available to

everyone in society, and in fact they were not found in every

household (Hruby 2006). The rarity of blade cores and the

production knowledge that was required to make prismatic

blades probably heightened their value, which is a similar

argument to that of Clark (1987) in his characterization of

blade production in the Formative period. Furthermore, the

special role of obsidian eccentric production and deposition

at Piedras Negras may have increased the symbolic impor-

tance and economic value of obsidian goods in general. The

results of these factors were that blade production and core-

preparation techniques were rather efficient and the resulting

debitage, which was later used to make obsidian eccentrics,

was quite regular.

Although small “bullet” cores have been found in the

near periphery of Piedras Negras (Kovak and Webster 2001),

possibly for the production of microblades, only house-

hold groups in the site core feature evidence of all blade-

core maintenance and rejuvenation techniques. Further-

more, continued blade production took place in the same

household groups over many decades (Hruby 1999, 2001,

2003, 2006). Royal household groups located on the acrop-

olis (i.e., the palace) and nonroyal and nonroyal-elite house-

hold groups in the site center also feature evidence of ob-

sidian eccentric production, which indicates that prestige-

goods production also crosscut status boundaries (Hruby

2006). These circumstances argue for relatively well-defined

craft oficios in the site core, restricted distribution of blade

cores, and the guarding of esoteric production knowledge

over time.

Obsidian also was a common element of stelae and

structure dedication ceremonies, the material remains of

which consist of caches that were placed in platforms, in

stairways, and underneath stelae.2 One major component of

Piedras Negras dedicatory caches is god effigies or idols—

jades, shells, flints, and obsidians that were knapped, incised,

and painted in the form of important Classic Maya deities.

The social function of these small effigies is still largely

unknown, but their depositional context demonstrates their

ritual significance and the process of their production ties

into the general symbolism and meaning associated with the

caches. Caches evoke the connections between the buildings,

the stelae, and the prehistoric (in Classic Maya terms) or pri-

mordial creation of the world and centrality (Joyce 1992).

Since all of these cache rituals ostensibly were quite visible,

it is likely that obsidian goods were recognized throughout

the community as economically and symbolically valuable.

In all likelihood, some of the cache goods were handled and

perhaps deposited during dedication rituals by the king him-

self.

The similarity of symbolic forms, technological types,

and deposition patterns of obsidian eccentrics at Piedras

Negras, Tikal, and Uaxactun suggests that Piedras Negras

knappers were likely influenced by the Central Peten at some

time. Although Tikal eccentrics were incised and Piedras

Negras obsidians were notched, the debitage types used for

eccentrics and the gods depicted on them are extremely sim-

ilar (see Coe 1959, 1965) and unlike those from most other

areas of the lowlands. The regular production and use of ec-

centrics at Piedras Negras, especially during the early Late

Classic, suggests that the practice of production involved the

passing of knowledge between one producer and another.

The Blade-Making Process and theProduction of Obsidian Cache Goods

To understand how obsidian eccentrics were made, it

is necessary to discuss the process of blade-core reduction

(i.e., prismatic blade production). The details in this section

illustrate critical stages of blade production that may have

been more amenable than others to ritualization. The goal

is to show that the production process was often a formal-

ized, staged activity and that the flakes and blades used to

produce eccentrics represent important stages in blade-core

reduction.

While the proper removal of a prismatic blade from

a core can be considered a difficult endeavor, it is neither

the most difficult nor the most crucial aspect of blade pro-

duction. In fact, core preparation, platform preparation, and

core maintenance are much more time intensive and require

a great deal of learned skill to perform. Cores exported from

El Chayal often featured irregular scar or arris patterns, in-

cipient cones in the platform, residue cortex, poorly prepared

platforms and angles, ash inclusions, and other inconsisten-

cies that caused an array of problems for the Piedras Negras

blade smiths. Thus, the removal of initial percussion flakes

and blades to regularize the core were among the most im-

portant steps in the blade-making process. An error at this

stage could endanger the bulk of the core and greatly reduce

the number of blades produced from it. These initial flakes

and blades were among the most common blanks used for

obsidian eccentrics.

Core Preparation

Most of the percussion debitage produced during core

preparation rarely exceeds 10 centimeters in length, and the


Figure 5.3. A hypothetical polyhedral core and core reduction and examples of debitage made into eccentrics from Piedras Negras. Corelength approximately 10 centimeters (drawings by Zachary X. Hruby).

dorsal surfaces and arrises appear to have older and often

ground percussion scars. Thus, it is likely that many of

the cores from this period (A.D. 605–757) were imported

as roughly shaped, small polyhedral cores (Figure 5.3).

Approximately 96 percent of all obsidian recovered from

Piedras Negras was determined to be from the El Chayal

source in the Guatemala highlands. Although a few large

percussion flakes from the Ixtepeque and San Martın

Jilotepeque sources were found, few if any cores made

from these materials were imported to the site (Hruby

1999, 2006). El Chayal cores were then further reduced

through percussion by Piedras Negras knappers in or-

der to regularize the facets for pressure reduction. Initial

flakes and blades were used for some types of eccentrics

(Figure 5.3).

The sequence in which imported polyhedral cores were

prepared by percussion at Piedras Negras is reconstructed

in Figure 5.3. The hypothetical debitage types are compared

with actual debitage found at Piedras Negras and debitage

created by me during replication experiments. First, wide

percussion flakes were removed from one face of the core

to isolate a centrally located platform. Next, a long, thin

blade was removed from the central working face of the

core. If necessary, flakes and blades were removed from the

distal end of the core to complete regularization. This rather

spare regularization strategy was all that was required to

begin the pressure reduction of the core. These larger pieces

of production debitage do not seem to have been thrown in

typical trash dumps but rather reserved for obsidian eccentric

production.

76 Zachary X. Hruby

Blade Production and Core Maintenance

Once the core was prepared it was stabilized on the

ground using one’s feet (Clark 1982; Hruby and Araki 2005).

A gut crutch or long pressure-flaker of some kind was con-

structed with either a bone or an antler bit, and after the

core was stabilized, blades were removed. The first series of

blades detached from the core were important to creating a

clean working face from which to continue error-free blade

production. These early pressure blades also were deposited

in cache deposits. Although this process could have been per-

formed by a single person, attendants may have helped by

restabilizing the core and maintaining the bit of the pressure

device. Since most core platforms at Piedras Negras were

at least lightly ground, the knappers must have periodically

prepared the platform of the core as well as specific areas

with platform overhang or irregularities. Next, the first- and

second-series blades were detached from the core by pres-

sure, which removed the percussion scars on the core left by

the core-preparation techniques.

In some cases, one face of the core was reduced through

pressure and then further percussion blades were removed

from the sides of the core that were not initially regularized

(Figure 5.3). These blades and flakes feature dorsal surfaces

that have pressure scars and old, heavily worn, percussion

scars. One result of this reduction technique was exhausted

cores that appear oval or lenticular in cross section with one

side reduced by pressure and the other maintaining its orig-

inal ground percussion scars—probably remnants from the

original preparation of the core at the source (Figure 5.3).

During the Terminal Classic at Piedras Negras, these cores

were further modified through bipolar, indirect percussion,

and pressure techniques to create the biface-type eccentrics

that are common at Piedras Negras (see Hruby and Araki

2005 and Hruby 2006 for a complete explanation of this

reduction strategy). It is possible that one of the goals of re-

taining this form of exhausted core was to produce eccentric

blanks for cache deposits.

If an error was made, resulting in a step fracture near

the platform or a hinge termination on the face of the core,

a risky set of procedures was used to fix the problem. At

Piedras Negras these procedures included (1) platform re-

juvenation by either faceting or removing a single, large

platform rejuvenation flake, (2) hinge removal through a

proximal percussion blade, (3) distal rejuvenation, but of-

ten in a single-step process rather than the two-step process

described by Clark and Bryant (1997:116), and (4) medial

rejuvenation using a pressure device (see Figure 5.3). Distal

rejuvenation flakes may also have had the effect of regular-

izing the face of the core and preventing outre passe ter-

minations or overshots. Lateral and direct rejuvenation do

not appear to have been common techniques at Piedras Ne-

gras, but a few examples do exist. All of these procedures

represent a dangerous time in the life of the core, and their

success determines whether the core can be used in the fur-

ther production of blades. These types of debitage are also

found in royal caches, along with exhausted cores, first- and

second-series blades, and extremely fine third-series blades,

possibly used for bloodletting (see Clark and Bryant 1997;

their Figure 5.5 shows a broken example).

In summary, cached obsidians at Piedras Negras mark

significant stages in the practice and process of blade-core

reduction: initial preparation, successful maintenance, initial

production, and final product. The offering of these flakes

for royal caches indicates that they were special, highly val-

ued items—items that resulted from technological practices

of blade producers. The use of these flakes in public rituals,

probably by the king, emphasized the esoteric production

knowledge of obsidian craft specialists and had the effect of

legitimizing their social status. Knappers thoughtfully dis-

played their prowess in ways that went beyond the manufac-

ture of fine prismatic blades. Given the long and uniform

history of blade production through time, obsidian workers

may have been paying homage to their ancestors, historical

figures, and deities associated with the adoption and practice

of blade technology. It is likely that these social and historical

factors were the source of value to the royal family, rather

than the size and quality of the eccentric obsidian. Being

the sole consumer of the most symbolically potent obsidian

goods in the city allowed the royal family to demonstrate their

influence over ritual and ideological aspects of craft produc-

tion. Conversely, obsidian workers connected their craft to

mythological charter and associated royal rituals, and the

royal family recognized their ability to do so by using their

craft goods publicly.

A Classic Maya Example from Piedras Negras

At Classic period Piedras Negras there appears to have

been a connection between the symbolism of an obsidian

eccentric, as reflected by its morphology, and the technique

used to manufacture it. Many types of eccentrics represent

natural elements and supernatural beings, and these small ef-

figies were deposited ritualistically during the production of

temples and carved stone monuments (Escobedo and Hruby

2002; Meadows 2001; Schele and Freidel 1990). At Piedras

Negras in particular, symbolic forms repeat in local caches

over a period of centuries. Elaborate production techniques

also were reproduced, suggesting that traditions probably

were passed on from one generation of knappers to the next.


Figure 5.4. Caches from Temple R-5, Piedras Negras: (a) Cache R-5-4; (b) Cache R-5-6 (drawings by Zachary X. Hruby).

In this section I compare two caches from the Yaxche

ceramic phase (A.D. 620–750), which roughly corresponds to

the reigns of Ruler 1 through Ruler 4 (A.D. 605–757). In the

next section another comparison is made to later caches from

the Chacalhaaz ceramic phase (A.D. 750–830) to show tech-

nological change through time. The first two caches come

from the R-5 pyramid excavated by Hector Escobedo (see Es-

cobedo and Zamora 1999, 2001; Escobedo and Hruby 2002),

and each contained a set of nine obsidian eccentrics of the

same symbolic form, probably evoking specific gods (Hruby

2001, 2003). These caches were deposited as part of two dis-

tinct rituals—as a substela cache of Stelae 37 (Figure 5.4a)

and as a “column altar” cache (Figure 5.4b)—probably from

1 to 20 years apart.3 They were deposited in different parts of

the R-5 platform and do not appear to be from related rituals.

In other words, they were not simultaneous caching events

and the eccentrics were probably not made at the same time.

These caches are part of a tradition of eccentric produc-

tion that extended predominantly from the reign of Ruler 1 to

Ruler 4 (i.e., from the late Balche phase to the end of the Yax-

che phase). While Balche phase (A.D. 550–620) obsidians are

unifacially notched, they do not adhere to the same formal

outline as those from the Yaxche phase, and those from Ruler

5 to Ruler 7 (i.e., A.D. 757–808; early Chacalhaaz phase) use

a similar symbolic form but largely are made from exhausted

cores—a tradition less common during Yaxche times. It may

be possible that the obsidian eccentrics made from the Yax-

che phase were manufactured by a few of the knappers from

Piedras Negras who passed their knowledge down through

three or four generations. Given the similarity to obsidian ec-

centrics from Tikal, it is possible that the creation and use of

this style was not a completely autochthonous development.

Although there are formal and technological similarities

among all caches during the Yaxche phase at Piedras Negras,

the two caches from R-5 provide an excellent test case with

which to compare two, almost identical groups of obsidian

eccentrics. The first, Cache R-5-4, is a substela cache of Stela

37 (early seventh century, Ruler 2) that was deposited in a

limestone cyst located behind the support shaft of the stela.

The second, Cache R-5-6, was deposited around a cylindri-

cal column altar located to the side of Stela 37 in the same

northeast platform of R-5. Even though the contexts are dif-

ferent and there is variation between the deposition styles

of the non-obsidian cache goods, for unknown reasons the

symbolic forms of the obsidians were repeated.4 The first

clear difference between the two samples of obsidian ec-

centrics from Caches R-5-4 and R-5-6 is that the column

altar eccentrics are smaller than their substela counterparts

78 Zachary X. Hruby

Figure 5.5. A comparison of eccentric obsidians from Caches R-5-4 and R-5-6, Temple R-5, Piedras Negras (drawings by ZacharyX. Hruby).

(Figure 5.5). The second is that the forms are not exactly the

same. In most cases, however, the notching is carried out at

the same points of each corresponding flake or blade. The

closest similarity between the two groups actually involves

the blades and flakes used to create each corresponding form.

Figure 5.5 represents a comparison between the nine ob-

sidians in each cache, with numbered columns marking each

distinct form. On the basis of a comparison with other ob-

sidian eccentrics from Piedras Negras and incised obsidians

from the Central Peten, notched obsidians from R-5-4 and

R-5-6 appear to represent a series of god effigies common to

caches from both of these areas. Most common among the

represented gods are the lightening god, K’awiil, the Jester

God of the three-stone-hearth, the sun and moon gods, the

mat sign (pop, which is an icon symbolizing rulership), God

C, and the principal bird deity (see Taube 1992 for detailed

descriptions of these major gods). Certain gods also are re-

peated at Tikal as either standing or sitting and are thus re-

peated in the cache. At Piedras Negras there are no full-body

representations of the gods, but rather profile silhouettes of

their heads are notched into the stone—a pattern also found

for notched flint eccentrics at Piedras Negras (Figure 5.2).

Representations of the sun and moon are not usually knapped

as profiles but are left as either rounded discs or as notched

crescents. The symbolism of some notched obsidians, such

as the double-notched blade or laurel leaf form, remain to

be understood but probably correlate to one of the common

gods represented on Tikal incised obsidians (Figure 5.6). The

social function of these eccentrics is difficult to determine,

but their placement near monuments of calendrical impor-

tance indicates association with the symbolic representation

of time or with the movement of celestial bodies.

The following is a description of the eccentrics from

R-5-4 and R-5-6 using the format of Figure 5.5 to compare

symbolic and technological forms. Thick, wide, percussion

blades (designated as small percussion-blades according to

Clark [1989]) removed to regularize the sides of the working

face of the core (Figure 5.3) were used for the eccentrics in

Columns 3 and 4. These eccentrics probably represent a sil-

houette of the Classic Maya lightning god, K’awiil. K’awiil

shaped eccentrics can be identified by a long snout, an open

mouth, and a central torch element emanating from the “fore-

head” area of the silhouette (see Figure 5.7, left, for a depic-

tion of K’awiil). Thinner, longer percussion blades removed

from the central portion of the working face (Figure 5.3)

were chosen for the “centipede” or “pop” style eccentrics

in Column 2. Although centipedes do appear on Tikal in-

cised obsidians, the pop or mat sign is much more common,

and the symmetry of the Piedras Negras eccentrics suggests

that the pop sign probably was the intended symbol. How-

ever, there may be some symbolic overlap between the two

forms. Column 1 eccentrics, representing the Jester God,

were made from wide percussion flakes removed from the

sides of the blade core, probably to isolate the platform of


Figure 5.6. A comparison of the incised obsidians from Tikal and the chipped-obsidian eccentrics of Piedras Negras. Artifacts not toscale (incised obsidians after Coe 1965; drawings by Zachary X. Hruby).

the blade to be removed from the central face of the core.

The Jester God form is similar to K’awiil forms but usually

features a pointed element that represents the top of the head

(Figure 5.5).

The disc-like eccentrics in Columns 7 and 8 may rep-

resent the sun god and the moon goddess, since rounded

flakes are usually reserved for the sun disc and the moon

crescent. Column 7 eccentrics were made with percussion

flakes with hinge terminations, and Column 8 eccentrics are

generally round, but there is no technological correlation be-

tween them; one is a distal rejuvenation flake while the other

is a proximal fragment of a percussion blade or flake. This

Figure 5.7. Relationship between incised eccentrics and flaketypes from Tikal, Guatemala. Core length approximately 15 cen-timeters (eccentric images after Kidder 1947; drawings by ZacharyX. Hruby).

technological incongruence indicates a lack of the desired

flake at the time the cache was deposited, but it may also

represent an unrecognized pattern. It is important to note,

however, that the round forms were derived from flakes re-

moved from either the proximal or distal end of the core.

Fragments of flakes and blades were not chosen for disc-

shaped eccentrics as they often were for regalia and insets

for figurines.

Column 5 eccentrics are made out of step or hinge re-

moval percussion flakes and represent a common trefoil form

at Piedras Negras that has an unknown symbolic meaning.

Similarly, meanings are not known for Columns 6 and 9,

but they may correlate with some of the other deities, such

as God C, because they were repeated with great frequency

at Piedras Negras as they were at Tikal. The double-notch

forms in Column 6 are early pressure blades (“first-series

pressure blades,” using Clark and Bryant’s [1997] terminol-

ogy), and Column 9 eccentrics are exhausted cores.

Ultimately, the flake and blade appears to be an inte-

gral aspect of the finished eccentric, even when it represents

the correction of a mistake or an inefficiency in the normal

blade-making process. These forms are repeated in other

caches, but not in the same groupings of nine found in these

caches. Close to 150 years later, similar forms continued

to be used at Piedras Negras in the temple Cache O-13-

7, but the technology had shifted primarily to the notching

of exhausted cores. Nevertheless, the same flake/blade cor-

relation to symbolic type continues, although in a dimin-

ished quantity, up until eccentrics are no longer used (Ta-

ble 5.1). Figure 5.8a depicts a series of three disc-shaped

obsidians, all of which are made from distal rejuvenation

flakes. Figure 5.8b shows that the correlation between the

large K’awiil form and the percussion blade removed from

80 Zachary X. Hruby

Table 5.1. Technological types of obsidian eccentrics through time

Ceramic Phase

Balche Early Yaxche Late Yaxche Early Chacalhaaz Late ChacalhaazObsidian eccentric A.D. 550–620 r A.D. 620–660 A.D. 660–750 A.D. 750–808 A.D. 808–830

Notched flakes 3 25 3 8 12Notched blades 1 27 13 6 25Notched cores 5 2 11 2Most bifacially worked 0 0 11 5Fully bifacially worked 0 1 81 8

the side of the pressure blade core was repeated during the

early Late Classic period and beyond.

These patterns suggest that the kind of original obsidian

debitage was key in embodying the complete symbolism of

the eccentric and, in addition, that the stages of blade-core

reduction at Piedras Negras may have also had a symbolic

component. A recent analysis of incised obsidian eccentrics

from Tikal and Uaxactun also suggests ritualized production

and an adherence between symbol and technology, albeit

slightly different from that of Piedras Negras flake types.

Round distal rejuvenation flakes were reserved for the sun

and moon gods and distal rejuvenation blades depict kneel-

ing or sitting gods, while percussion blades are reserved for

standing gods, the pop sign, and scorpions (Figure 5.7). Al-

though this may be an ad hoc use of correctly shaped flakes

for particular gods, it may also indicate a similar tradition

to that of the Piedras Negras eccentrics, wherein specific

Figure 5.8. Flakes and blades removed after pressure reductionhad begun. (a) Discs made from distal rejuvenation flakes; (b)K’awiil profiles made from percussion blades removed from par-tially reduced cores (views of dorsal sides except for second fromthe right) (drawings by Zachary X. Hruby).

kinds of flakes were used for specific gods and entities. An

in-depth analysis of the Tikal obsidians is required to see

whether this pattern is repeated for all caches.

At Piedras Negras and elsewhere it appears that knap-

pers had a folk knowledge of the core that related to Classic

Maya deities (e.g., Figure 5.7). The directionality, position,

and morphology of the core (i.e., proximal versus distal end

of the core) may have been marked by where certain gods

“resided” in the core as flakes and blades. This possibility

does not seem too far-fetched given that objects and houses

often were anthropomorphized or characterized as a cos-

mogram in Maya cultures (Vogt 1998). When preparation

flakes and blades were removed from the core, it likely was

that the knappers had specific gods in mind as they were

making them. These symbolic associations comprised part

of the esoteric production knowledge controlled by blade

makers. Thus, practice of production not only involved the

production of “ritual” prestige goods, but mythological be-

ings and elements were inherent to the flakes themselves.

These flakes and blades also mark crucial and “dangerous”

moments of core maintenance, similar to the staged ritual-

ized production of the Toro iron workers (Childs 1998).

As the ethnographic and ethnohistoric cases discussed

above suggest, the production of eccentrics is a well-suited

practice for the ritualization of production—the binding of

esoteric ritual knowledge with technological practice. The

repetition of particular god effigies in caches also suggests

that there was an intense mythological component to the ec-

centrics. This component may have tied into a mythological

charter for obsidian crafters. Although there was another

stage of production to finish many of the prestige lithics

for caches (i.e., notching), the correlation between technol-

ogy and symbolism suggests that it was the obsidian work-

ers themselves who made the connection between the core,

flake, and god. Another salient point is that some of the flakes

used for obsidian eccentrics were removed during the pro-

cess of prismatic blade production, not during the removal

of the first series of percussion flakes and blades. I propose

that blade production as a whole may also have been ritu-

alized or ritually circumscribed, especially considering the


Figure 5.9. Balche phase eccentrics from Cache R-16-2, PiedrasNegras (photograph by Zachary X. Hruby).

ritual tasks for which prismatic blades often were used, such

as bloodletting.

Implications of Ritualized Production:Technological and Stylistic Change

through Time

Balche period (A.D. 550–620) eccentrics differed from

Late Classic eccentrics both technologically and symboli-

cally. Obsidian eccentrics from Caches K-5-8 and R-16-2

reflect these differences (Figure 5.9). The Balche obsidi-

ans are made with a notching technique and may very well

symbolize various gods, but any connection to early Late

Classic obsidians is unclear. The Balche phase five-pointed

star and the dart point (Figure 5.9), for example, may be dis-

tantly related to Terminal Classic versions symbolically, but

they are made by notching a lateral rejuvenation flake and

a stunted blade, respectively, instead of creating symmetry

through complete bifacial reduction. The elaborate Balche

obsidians indicate a symbol and a technological system sim-

ilar to those of other time periods, but their meaning remains

opaque. Unlike that of the Central Peten, the notched flake

tradition of the Balche phase, and likely before, appears to

continue into the early Late Classic at Piedras Negras, indi-

cating some technological continuity, even though there may

have been a shift in the symbolism of obsidian eccentrics.

The early Late Classic period at Piedras Negras (A.D.

603–757, largely marked by the Yaxche ceramic phase [A.D.

620–750]), which is the topic of this discussion, reveals a

continuation of the notched flake technology but with ad-

herence to a symbol system that differs from that of earlier

obsidian eccentrics. Although the sample is quite small for

the Balche phase (A.D. 550–620), and it may very well in-

volve similar gods, the flake-to-symbol correlation is not in

evidence. The two caches analyzed above should also not

be considered the norm in terms of cache content. Tikal

caches regularly contain a series of nine obsidians with ex-

treme technological and symbolic regularity (Coe 1965), but

Piedras Negras caches appear to be much more varied. The

same symbolic and technological forms appear throughout

the corpus but in differing numbers and combinations of

eccentrics. The K’awiil eccentric of Cache K-5-1, for exam-

ple, uses the same percussion flake and notching technique

as that in Cache R-5-6 (Figure 5.5), but it is deposited with

a different series of obsidian effigies. The obsidians from

Caches K-5-1 and R-5-6 reveal that the same symbolism

and technology span the entire early Late Classic but in dif-

ferent platforms, substela caches, and stairway dedications

throughout the site. The meaning and variation of cache de-

posits still remain to be deciphered, but it is clear that they

are using combinations of the same eccentrics to express

different mythological meanings.

Sometime after the demise of Ruler 4 (A.D. 757) many

of the same symbolic forms were retained, but the way ob-

sidian eccentrics were made changed significantly. Bifacial

technologies were introduced to the manufacture of obsidian

eccentrics, and as a result, they became thinner and better de-

fined (Figure 5.10). Before the Terminal Classic, eccentrics

were produced with notching, indirect percussion, and bipo-

lar technologies that could have been carried out by blade

producers who knew and understood that type of reduction.

These technologies were readily available to blade produc-

ers because they are necessary for the successful reduction

of blade cores. At the onset of the Chacalhaaz phase (A.D.

750–830), however, bifacial technologies, previously only

commanded by flint workers, were employed in the produc-

tion of the majority of obsidian eccentrics. Biface thinning

technology is unrelated and completely unnecessary for the

successful manufacture of prismatic blades. Whether flint

workers were made to produce obsidian eccentrics or obsid-

ian workers gained new technological knowledge of bifacial

reduction is unknown. In either case, however, the obsidian

craft specialists of the Yaxche phase (A.D. 620–750) had to

compromise with new ceremonial and political demands. In

addition to the old symbolic forms, new ones were also in-

troduced (Figure 5.10), indicating that both symbolic and

technological shifts had occurred in how proper cache ma-

terials were meant to be produced.

Table 5.1 illustrates technological changes through time

in obsidian eccentrics at Piedras Negras. The dominant tech-

nique for creating obsidian eccentrics during the Balche and

Yaxche phases was notching blades and flakes and, to a lesser

extent, notching cores. The number of notched cores in-

creased with the transition to the Chacalhaaz phase. The

major shift, however, occured during the early Chacalhaaz

phase, in which the number of bifacially worked obsidians

overshadows other forms. After the early Chacalhaaz phase

82 Zachary X. Hruby

Figure 5.10. Bifacially reduced obsidian eccentrics (photographby Zachary X. Hruby).

(A.D. 750–808), the demise of Ruler 7, and the decline of

the dynastic line at Piedras Negras, notched flake eccentrics

once again became common, but they did not adhere to the

system established during the Yaxche phase.

The shift from Balche phase symbolism to Yaxche phase

conservatism and ultimately to Terminal Classic (Chacal-

haaz phase) elaboration shows that technology and style ac-

company political change. Around A.D. 750 (i.e., the Chacal-

haaz ceramic phase) population also rose at Piedras Negras

(Nelson 2005) and there was a corresponding increase in

the number of obsidian production locales at the site (Hruby

2006). With increased cache sizes and higher levels of ob-

sidian found at Piedras Negras, it is also clear that more

obsidian was imported to the site during Chacalhaaz times.

Thus, there are a number of political, economic, and demo-

graphic forces that may have influenced changes in the style

and technology of obsidian eccentrics.

The stability of technological practice for the early Late

Classic indicates that particular groups of obsidian special-

ists were responsible for maintaining a specific practice of

obsidian craft production that was dominant for 150 years.

The transition to the Terminal Classic shows that original

groups of eccentric producers may have relayed certain el-

ements of obsidian symbolism to the next group, but the

dominance of their technological practice diminished. If ob-

sidian eccentric production was ritualized during the Yaxche

phase, as is argued above, then the core of this practice and

its practitioners appear to have lost exclusive favor of the

ruling family. The fact that the notched flake and blade ec-

centrics continued in a minor way after the introduction of

bifacially reduced obsidian eccentrics during the late Cha-

calhaaz subphase (A.D. 808–830) suggests that this tradition

did survive, but the products derived from it may not have

been the most valued.

Discussion

Patterns in obsidian eccentric production and consump-

tion lead us to ask, what was the socioeconomic status of

the obsidian craft specialists and where did they live? Ac-

cording to a distributional analysis of production debitage at

Piedras Negras (see Hruby 2006 for a complete discussion

of the organization of chipped-stone production), people of

varying status groups were involved in prismatic blade pro-

duction, as well as obsidian eccentric manufacture in some

cases. Although there are no large production dumps of ob-

sidian debitage at Piedras Negras (see also Moholy-Nagy

1997 for Tikal and Aoyama 1999 for Copan), some house-

hold groups, such as the U group in the southern area of

the site and Operation PN 26 to the north of the acropolis

(Figure 5.1; Nelson 2001; Nelson and Hruby 2002; Wells

1999), feature small amounts of eccentric production deb-

itage. The existence of failed eccentrics along with core-

preparation flakes in a household group distant from the

seat of royal power (i.e., the acropolis located on the north-

ern edge of the site core) indicates that the production of

blades, core preparation, and the manufacture of obsidian

eccentrics for royal caches were not completely controlled

by the royal family. Instead, there may have existed a system

of exchange whereby the royal family distributed cores to

craft specialists, and knappers returned high-quality blades

and obsidian eccentrics. This relationship gave the appear-

ance of royal control over symbolically potent products but

also offered the knappers symbolic capital in the form of

prestige and public recognition. Emphasizing craft ideolo-

gies in royal rituals legitimated the craft oficio and social

status.

The shifts in obsidian eccentric technology and symbol-

ism from the Balche phase (A.D. 550–620) to the early Late

Classic (A.D. 620–750) and finally to the Terminal Classic

also accompany political changes (i.e., major shifts in the

dynastic line). I suggest that the ritualized or ideologically

loaded production that defines the Yaxche phase represents

a small group of obsidian crafters who shared esoteric pro-

duction knowledge. The population increase and the changes

in obsidian technology and symbolism that characterize the

Terminal Classic suggest that producers were competing

with each other and that the ritual and symbolic aspects

of production played a role in that competition. Different

groups of knappers may have had unique rituals and tradi-

tions, but successful exchange with the royal family allowed

for the concretization of one particular technique for caching


rituals. It is important to note that competition in other fields

of craft production was present at Piedras Negras during the

Terminal Classic. Munoz (2006) argues that competition be-

tween ceramic producers increased with greater population,

and the near-exponential increase in the number of carvers’

signatures on Piedras Negras monuments shows that more

people were getting involved in crafts that were reserved for

the few in preceding centuries.

A study of flint eccentrics from the eastern lowlands

yielded similar conclusions. According to Meadows:

The crafter’s place within ancient Maya society was onein which social identity was simultaneously part of andseparate from the elite communities with which they in-teracted . . . this likely included competition and alliancewithin and across socioeconomic and political bound-aries. The Classic Period was a time of intense politicalcompetitiveness in the lowlands, a time that saw increas-ing efforts by the elite to reproduce their positions ofpower via the formation of politically expedient factionsand exercising the significant power of traditional lin-eages. [Meadows 2001:47]

The obsidian eccentrics and eccentric producers of

Piedras Negras reflect these kinds of social relationships

but provide further information about how value and mean-

ing may have been constructed. Ritualized production and

mythological charter were socially valuable aspects of ob-

sidian craft specialization as a part of everyday experi-

ence. However, in times of political turmoil esoteric pro-

duction knowledge became politicized, moved to conscious

discourse, and became an economically valuable part of the

finished product.

Conclusion

A combination of a direct historical approach, ethno-

graphic analogy, symbolic interpretation, and lithic technol-

ogy studies shows that eccentric-obsidian production was

an ideologically loaded activity. Notched flake obsidian ec-

centrics represent a form of god effigy that was used in royal

caches, but the symbolic content of these eccentrics does

not end there. The fact that flakes and blades from crucial

stages in the blade-making process were reserved for these

ritually deposited goods indicates that the process of blade

production as the periodic creation of god effigies or idols

would have also been ritualized (see also Tozzer 1941). The

rarity of obsidian at Piedras Negras may have heightened

the importance of blade manufacture at the site, and as the

sole source of obsidian bloodletters and obsidian eccentrics,

blade-making, the passing on of production knowledge, and

the display of the final products could have been important

social events that required ritualization or ritual circumscrip-

tion. Since eccentric and blade production were technolog-

ically bound to “mundane” blade manufacture, it should be

considered that blade production in general was also ritual-

ized and an ideologically loaded activity. The production of

prismatic pressure blades at Piedras Negras appears to have

been a guarded form of social practice that was passed from

one generation of knappers to the next.

The first, methodological goal of this chapter was to

show that context, technology, and symbolism are all im-

portant avenues for interpreting archaeological finds. These

analyses should be done concurrently in order to elucidate

previously unrecognized patterns of social and economic in-

teraction. 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 possi-

ble social realms in which ritualized production and 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 (a topic considered in de-

tail in the introduction and in Clark, Chapter 2, this volume).

The second, interpretive goal of this chapter was to

explain the possible causes of technological and symbolic

change over time. The connections between technological

practice, mythology, and ritual are significant, especially if

they are brought into conscious discourse. This chapter illus-

trates the relatively static nature of obsidian eccentric pro-

duction for the early Late Classic period of the Piedras Ne-

gras polity. Competition between craft producers increased

after the reign of Ruler 4, however, and craft ideologies

may have been raised into discursive consciousness. In other

words, mythological charter and ritualized production may

have begun as a nondiscursive doxic reality, but the intensi-

fied political nature of Classic Maya polities provoked ob-

sidian workers to reify symbolically potent aspects of their

practice. In the case of Piedras Negras, politics, as well

as economic and demographic factors, played a role in the

heightened competition during the end of the Late Classic

period.

We should alter our theoretical frameworks to accom-

modate social aspects of production and investigate ways that

utilitarian activities may have been religious experiences or,

at least, socially recognized and ideologically potent activ-

ities. These production techniques also have implications

for the uses of products. Interpretation of the distinction be-

tween ceremonial and utilitarian activities and objects should

be reserved until rigorous analyses are conducted or until

84 Zachary X. Hruby

a theoretical framework is constructed that supports those

claims. This reconsideration should begin with the artifact

typologies created and used by modern archaeologists and

lithic analysts.

Acknowlegments

I thank the directors of the Piedras Negras Project,

Stephen Houston and Hector Escobedo, for their continu-

ing support and for allowing me to work with such an in-

teresting lithic sample. I also thank the Museo Nacional de

Arqueologıa e Etnologıa de Guatemala and the University

Museum of the University of Pennsylvania for granting me

access to Piedras Negras collections excavated by the Uni-

versity of Pennsylvania (Monica Perez, Fernando Moscoso,

and Bill Wierzebowski were especially helpful). This re-

search would not have been possible without funding from

the University of California at Riverside (Graduate Division,

the Graduate Student Association, and the School of the Hu-

manities), the New World Archaeological Foundation, and

my mother and grandmother. I would like to thank my par-

ents for their continued support over the years. Rowan Flad,

Stephen Houston, Scott Hutson, Jeffrey Glover, Takeshi Ino-

mata, Karl Taube, and the AP3A reviewers were a great help

to me in revising this chapter. Any mistakes are mine alone.

Notes

1. Meadows (2001) suggests that eccentric flints and

obsidians should rather be called flaked stone symbols. How-

ever, flaked stone symbol is an inaccurate category for two

reasons. First, flakes, blades, chunks, and celt axes (i.e., “util-

itarian” forms) are sometimes deposited alongside “eccen-

tric” or “symbolic” lithics in caches and burials, suggesting

that any lithic artifact could have acted as a flaked stone sym-

bol. Second, various forms of eccentrics had a wide range

of symbolic and material functions, some of which are still

completely unknown. I continue to use the equally inaccu-

rate but traditional term of flint and obsidian eccentrics and

leave the issue for later debate.

2. This deposition of valuable items contrasts with ter-

mination deposits that feature destroyed craft goods laid

upon the leveled, earlier structures (see Mock 1998 for a

review of termination rituals).

3. Column altars were used in many different ways at

Piedras Negras, but when they were deposited in temple

platforms along with stela, which record the completion of

significant periods of time, such as the hotuun (five years)

and k’atuun (20 years), it is possible that they mark the com-

pletion of a less significant period.

4. It is likely that column altar caches and stelae caches

were conceptually linked since the cache contents associ-

ated with each are usually quite similar. Column altar caches

probably are the material remains of periodic rituals carried

out at the end of one-year cycles (e.g., tuun endings) or other

short periods of time.

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