Microwear Analysis in the Maya Lowlands: The Use of Functional Data in a Complex-Society Setting

Abstract

Microwear, or use-wear, analysis has been infrequently applied to the lithic assemblages of complex societies, and even in those instances the results often have been of limited utility. Perhaps the main reason for this is a lack of a theoretical context into which the largely empirical data of microwear analysis can be integrated. This paper describes the results of a microwear analysis of Late Classic Period lithic materials from the central Peten lakes region, Guatemala, and shows how the empirical data derived from microwear analysis can be used to address questions of broader anthropological concern, such as the nature of lithic craft specialization in Lowland Maya society, the structure of its control, and its spatial manifestations.