The Economic Organization of Late and Terminal Classic Period Maya Stone Tool Craft Specialist Workshops at Colha, Belize

Abstract

The composition of five Late and Terminal Classic Period stone tool workshop deposits from the Maya site of Colha, Belize, is compared to determine the degree of variability in production strategies within ibis community. Workshop deposits examined here are of two basic varieties: either attacbed to the slopes of single domestic platforms, or as isolated deposits located in close proximity to a Cluster of domestic structures around an aguada, or seasonally inundated pond.

Debris in Late Classic deposits varies spatially and temporally with respect to stage of manufacture and types of tools produced. One set of workshop deposits, organized around an aguada, contains debris that represents early, as well as late, stages of production and indicates a specific focus on the production of one tool type. Over time, comparisons of workshop debris indicate a greater concentration on blade production at several localities during the Terminal Classic than observed during the previous period. This switch in focus may represent a response to changing regional consumer demands. This analysis of the Variation on stone tool workshop deposits at Colha sheds light on a flexible, fluid Organization of craft specialists at this community that was not tightly centralized or elite-controlled. Nonetheless, producers were highly integrated into regional Maya economy and were sensitive to changing political dynamics affecting local or regional consumer demands for Colba products.