Socioeconomic Implications of Chipped Stone from the La Entrada Region, Western Honduras

Abstract

The analysis of 11,251 chipped stone artifacts recovered from the La Entrada region in western Honduras has made it possible to elucidate socioeconomic implications through the study of systems of production and distribution of the lithic artifacts from the Middle Preclassic (900–300 B.C.) through the Late Classic (A.C. 650–900) periods. First, during the Late Preclassic and Early Classic (300 B.C.–A.C. 400) in this region, the specialized production of prismatic blades began, and developed through time; yet the non specialized production of percussion flakes from obsidian cobbles from San Luis and an unknown source (referred to as Y) and locally obtained prime material (such as chalcedony and agate) continued from the Middle Preclassic to the Late Classic. Second, according to the obsidian analysis, the regional centers which were involved in the possible Copan redistribution sphere seem to have functioned as distribution centers for Ixtepeque obsidian to the smaller sites in the region. Third, the La Entrada region participated in an exchange system through which Ixtepeque obsidian was brought to the SE Maya lowlands, which was under Copan's socioeconomic control in the Late Classic period. In contrast, there was not much connection with other areas to the east, such as (non-Maya) central Honduras.