Economic Implications of Mano and Metate Use at Cerro Maya, Belize

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa G. Duffy
Keyword(s):  
Stone Tools ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Ground Stone ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Primary Function ◽  
Use Wear

This chapter examines use wear on the Cerro Maya collection of manos and metates to investigate what materials were processed on them. Maize processing is generally presumed to be the primary function of ancient Maya manos and metates; however, analysis suggests that these implements were also used to prepare a variety of other products. Use wear analysis documents that a reciprocal, back-and-forth grinding motion is the most efficient way to process maize. However, nonreciprocal rotary movements are also associated with some types of ground stone tools used for nonmaize products. Results of the analysis indicate that a broader range of foods were processed in the Late Preclassic era while maize grinding was the use for manos and metates in Terminal Classic and Postclassic times.

POINT COUNTER POINT: INTERPRETING CHIPPED CHERT BIFACES IN TERMINAL CLASSIC “PROBLEMATIC” ON-FLOOR DEPOSITS FROM STRUCTURES A2 AND A3 AT CAHAL PECH, BELIZE

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. James Stemp ◽  
Jaime J. Awe
Keyword(s):  
Stone Tools ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Terminal Phase ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Symbolic Meanings

AbstractProblematic deposits, containing different types of artifacts and skeletal remains, are typically recovered on or near the surfaces of the terminal phase of elite civic-ceremonial architecture at ancient Maya sites. These contexts often date to the Terminal Classic period (~a.d. 750–900). They have been variously interpreted as evidence for site abandonment, squatting, warfare, or dedication or termination rituals. Sixteen chert bifaces were recovered from problematic deposits at the bases of Structures A2 and A3 in the elite Plaza A at Cahal Pech, Belize. Stone tools from problematic deposits are rarely examined in significant detail. Based on stylistic, metric, and use-wear analyses, the bifaces were likely produced locally, used during important hunting or warfare activities, and then ritually deposited in the Terminal Classic. These bifaces were likely hafted to spearthrower darts and represented “success” at hunting or fighting. The recovery of weaponry in problematic deposits that is not the direct result of warfare is an important observation because Mayanists have generally interpreted their presence in these contexts as evidence of warfare. The fact that the points were recovered in groups of seven and nine may indicate that they had important symbolic meanings that connected them to supernatural or mythological places or entities.

Percussive-Abrasive Stone Tools from Chagyrskaya Cave: Results of Functional Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-31
Author(s):  
M. V. Seletsky ◽  
A. Y. Fedorchenko ◽  
P. V. Chistyakov ◽  
S. V. Markin ◽  
K. A. Kolobova
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Experimental Use ◽  
Abrasive Stone ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
Reference Samples ◽  
Comprehensive Study

This article presents a comprehensive study of percussive-abrasive active stone tools from Chagyrskaya Cave, using experimental use-wear and statistical methods, supplemented by 3D-modeling. Experiments combined with use- wear analysis allowed us to determine the functions of these tools by comparing the working surfaces and use-wear traces in the Chagyrskaya samples with those in the reference samples. As a result, we identified 19 retouchers, four hammerstones for processing mineral raw materials, and one hammer for splitting bone, which indicates the dominance of secondary processing over primary knapping in the Chagyrskaya lithic assemblage. Using statistical analysis, we traced the differences in the dimensions of the manuports and lithics under study. These artifacts are a promising and underestimated source of information for identifying working operations associated with stone- and bone-processing; moreover, they can provide new data on the functional attribution of sites and the mobility of early hominins.

A Preliminary Geoarchaeological Investigation of Ground Stone Tools in and around the Maya Mountains, Toledo District, Belize

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc A. Abramiuk ◽  
William P. Meurer
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Rock Types ◽  
Ground Stone ◽  
Toledo District ◽  
Maya Mountains ◽  
Materials Used

AbstractWe investigate ground stone tools, specifically manos and metates, throughout the Bladen region of the Maya Mountains of Belize and adjacent areas during the Late and Terminal Classic periods. Because of the distinctiveness and relative heterogeneity of rock types in the Bladen region, we can pinpoint the Bladen communities that exploited the raw materials used in manufacturing manos and metates utilized in other communities. Based on mano and metate fragments that were recovered from the Bladen communities, as well as from communities outside the Bladen region, we reconstruct an intercommunity network within the Bladen region and investigate communities outside of the Bladen to which the Bladen communities were directly or indirectly linked. This investigation shows that if enough geo-specific information is available, it is possible to reconstruct a relatively accurate picture of inter-community relations. Moreover, it is shown that the Bladen region was a valuable source of ground stone for the Maya Lowlands and the Bladen communities were integral players in its exploitation.

Use-Wear Analysis of Flaked Stone Tools.

Man ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Hayden ◽  
Patrick C. Vaughan
Keyword(s):  
Stone Tools ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear

scholarly journals A sexual division of labour at the start of agriculture? A multi-proxy comparison through grave good stone tool technological and use-wear analysis

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0249130
Author(s):  
Alba Masclans ◽  
Caroline Hamon ◽  
Christian Jeunesse ◽  
Penny Bickle
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Violence ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Stone Tool ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Sexual Division ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Grave Good ◽  
East West

This work demonstrates the importance of integrating sexual division of labour into the research of the transition to the Neolithic and its social implications. During the spread of the Neolithic in Europe, when migration led to the dispersal of domesticated plants and animals, novel tasks and tools, appear in the archaeological record. By examining the use-wear traces from over 400 stone tools from funerary contexts of the earliest Neolithic in central Europe we provide insights into what tasks could have been carried out by women and men. The results of this analysis are then examined for statistically significant correlations with the osteological, isotopic and other grave good data, informing on sexed-based differences in diet, mobility and symbolism. Our data demonstrate males were buried with stone tools used for woodwork, and butchery, hunting or interpersonal violence, while women with those for the working of animal skins, expanding the range of tasks known to have been carried out. The results also show variation along an east-west cline from Slovakia to eastern France, suggesting that the sexual division of labour (or at least its representation in death) changed as farming spread westwards.

scholarly journals Functional analysis of sandstone ground stone tools: arguments for a qualitative and quantitative synergetic approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Zupancich ◽  
Emanuela Cristiani
Keyword(s):  
Functional Analysis ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Test Surface ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Ground Stone ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Surface Measurements ◽  
Quantitative Analyses

Abstract In the last few years, the application of quantitative methods in the field of use wear analysis has grown considerably, involving the use of different techniques. A development in surface measurements approaches has become necessary as standard assessments based upon qualitative functional analysis are often affected by a degree of subjectivity and a limited reproducibility. To advance the current methodological debate on functional analysis of ground stone technology, we present a combined methodological approach, including qualitative and quantitative analyses, applied to the study of experimental sandstone ground stone tools. We test surface quantification at a macro and micro-scale, paired with the observation and description of residue and use wear connected to the processing of plant, animal and mineral matters. Our results provide an exhaustive quantitative dataset concerning surface modifications associated with different uses and suggest an analytical workflow for the functional analysis of both experimental and archaeological ground stone assemblages. We also highlight the limitation and pitfalls of an exclusive adoption of quantitative methods in the study of ancient tool use demonstrating how a synergetic approach can enhance the quality, reproducibility and comparability of functional data.

Use-wear analysis of flaked stone tools

1985 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. xviii-xx
Author(s):  
Mark Newcomer
Keyword(s):  
Stone Tools ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document