Affiliation:
1. University of South Carolina
2. Bronx Community College
3. Arizona State University
Abstract
Between 2012 and 2015, investigations into a small mound with mano blanks and granite debitage on its surface introduced the possibility that intensive granite tool production took place on Pacbitun’s western periphery. Those investigations revealed the mound was an accumulation of granite sand, debitage, and chert tools consistent with ethnographic examples of mano and metate production. However, the amount of granite debris suggested some 4000 manos and metates were produced during the use life of the mound. In 2015 and subsequent seasons, an additional three similar granite debris mounds were confirmed through limited testing. In 2021, a research project was initiated focused on understanding the extent, dating, and organization of granite tool production at Pacbitun. This paper reports survey and testing efforts that have revealed what appears to be a granite tool producing community cover some 1km2 and dating to the Late Classic period just west of Pacbitun’s epicenter.
Reference10 articles.
1. Balinger, Duncan, Sheldon Skaggs, and Terry G. Powis, 2015 Defining a Late Classic Maya Granite Workshop at the Tzib Group, Pacbitun, Belize. In Pacbitun Regional Archaeological Project (PRAP): Report of the 2014 Field Season, edited by Terry G. Powis, pp. 52-71. Institute of Archaeology, National Institute of History and Culture, Belmopan, Belize.
2. Cartagena, Nicaela, 2018 The Use of Granite for Production of Working Communities at Pacbitun, Belize. In Pacbitun Regional Archaeological Project (PRAP): Report of the 2017 Field Season, edited by Terry G. Powis, pp. 141-148. Institute of Archaeology, National Institute of History and Culture, Belmopan, Belize.
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5. King, Adam, Sheldon Skaggs, and Terry G. Powis, 2022 Home on the Range- Sampling House and Production Mound in Northwestern Periphery of Pacbitun, Belize. In Pacbitun Regional Archaeological Project (PRAP): Report on the 2021 Field Season, edited by Terry G. Powis, pp. 47-63. Institute of Archaeology, National Institute of History and Culture, Belmopan City, Belize.