Realizing potentiality. Donut stones in ancient Maya society

Abstract

Archaeologists often encounter tools whose primary functions are difficult to pinpoint. The expectation of a function separates tool uses from ancient users and their practices. The phenomenological critique of the Cartesian subject-object binary has led to new conceptualizations of the ways in which people interact with and are entangled by the objects around them. Instead of Heidegger’s deterministic thingness, we discuss the enabling potential of things. Our case study are ancient Maya donut stones. These ring-shaped and relatively heavy artifacts were commonly made of limestone. Interpretations cover subsistence, food preparation, crafting, architectural applications, weapons, and other uses. We gathered published data on 125 donut stones from ten Maya sites, dating from 300 B.C.E. to 900C.E. After omitting entries with insufficient data, multivariate data analyses of fifty-five Classic donut stones allow distinguishing two groups of donut stones. These groups differentiate some functions, notably cordholders. Our discussion of in situ donut stones from rapidly abandoned buildings at Aguateca, Copan, and Ceren challenge the interlinked binaries of private vs public, subsistence vs craft specialization, and male vs female division of labor in ancient Maya society. We outline a culture-specific tasksphere in which people employed versatile tools for subsistence- as well as craft-related activities.