1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910800190103321

Titolo

The technology of Maya civilization : political economy and beyond in lithic studies / / edited by Zachary X. Hruby, Geoffrey E. Braswell, and Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos

Pubbl/distr/stampa

London ; ; New York : , : Routledge, , 2014

ISBN

1-317-54416-1

0-367-87227-7

1-315-72885-0

1-317-54417-X

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (223 p.)

Collana

Approaches to Anthropological Archaeology

Altri autori (Persone)

BraswellGeoffrey E

Chinchilla MazariegosOswaldo Fernando <1965->

HrubyZachary X

Disciplina

972.8/01

972.801

Soggetti

Mayas

Stone implements - Mexico

Stone implements - Central America

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

First ublished 2011 by Equinox an imprint of Acumen.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Cover; Half Title; Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication; Table of Contents; Contributors; List of Figures; 1. The Technology of Ancient Maya Civilization; Part I COMPARATIVE STUDIES; 2. Lessons from the Field: The Contribution of Colha to Lowland Maya Lithic Research; 3. Observations on the Use-Life Trajectory of Lithic Artifacts at Tikal, Guatemala; 4. Socioeconomic and Political Implications of Regional Studies of Maya Lithic Artifacts: Two Case Studies of the Copán Region, Honduras, and the Aguateca Region, Guatemala; Part II CHERT STUDIES

5. Ancient Maya Exploitation of Non-renewable Resources in the Eastern Maya Lowlands6. Defining the Chert Paucity Problem in the Northern Maya Lowlands: A First Approximation; 7. Phantom Lithics at Chunchucmil, Yucatán, Mexico; Part III OBSIDIAN STUDIES; 8. The History of Tak'alik Ab'aj: An Obsidian Perspective; 9. The Obsidian Workshop of El Baúl, Cotzumalhuapa; 10. Procurement and Production



of Obsidian Artifacts at Calakmul; 11. The Extraction of Obsidian at El Chayal, Guatemala; Part IV JADE STUDIES

12. Ancient Jade Workshops: Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Upper Río El Tambor, Guatemala13. The Organization of Jade Production at Cancuen, Guatemala; Part V CONCLUSION; 14. Political Economy and Beyond in Maya Lithic Studies; Bibliography; Index

Sommario/riassunto

The ancient Maya shaped their world with stone tools. Lithic artifacts helped create the cityscape and were central to warfare and hunting, craft activities, cooking, and ritual performance. ''The Technology of Maya Civilization'' examines Maya lithic artefacts made of chert, obsidian, silicified limestone, and jade to explore the relationship between ancient civilizations and natural resources. The volume presents case studies of archaeological sites in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, and Honduras. The analysis draws on innovative anthropological theory to argue that stone artefacts were not merel