Prismatic Blademaking, Craftsmanship, and Production

Author:

Clark John E.

Abstract

AbstractArtifacts from an obsidian-blade workshop dump from Ojo de Agua, Chiapas, Mexico, are analyzed to determine levels of craftsmanship and craft specialization. Detailed consideration of knapping errors and rejuvenation flakes reveals that the blademaker at Ojo de Agua was moderately skilled at his craft, which he practiced on a part-time basis. The maximum level of output from his workshop was 26,000, or fewer, fine blades per year, or the equivalent of part-time work during a three-month period. Analysis of knapping strategies evident in the workshop debris suggests that the blademaker's overriding strategy was to achieve a balance between effort and knapping risk at the expense of raw material. Access to obsidian cores does not appear to have been a concern, as little effort was made to economize in this respect, and thousands of usable, irregular blades were discarded in the workshop refuse.

Publisher

Cambridge University Press (CUP)

Subject

Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous),Geography, Planning and Development

Reference39 articles.

1. Olson Kirsten A. 1994 Inclusive and Exclusive Mechanisms of Power: Obsidian Blade Production and Distribution Among the Ancient Maya of the Belize River Area. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles.

2. Ancient Maya Chert Workshops in Northern Belize, Central America

3. Mallory John K. III 1984 Late Classic Maya Economic Specialization: Evidence from the Copan Obsidian Assemblage. Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park.

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