Late Classic Maya lithic production and exchange at Rio Bec and Calakmul, Mexico

Abstract

The organization of production and exchange of everyday lithic items is important in defining Classic period lowland Maya economic organization, but the current debate relies on the study of a few lithic workshops, whereas little is known about the consumers’ quotidian acquisition of everyday tools. I suggest looking at the problem from the point of view of the household and distinguishing local from nonlocal production by comparing experimental and quantitative data. Examination of the chert collections from households at Rio Bec and Calakmul enabled me to distinguish two different types of chert biface production and distribution during the Late Classic period (a.d. 650–800), namely by means of markets and itinerant craftsmen. Both sites had very different political organizations, but households from both cities acquired lithics through similar networks, showing that this particular aspect of the domestic economy probably had little to do with political power and centralization in the region.