Stone

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter explores how the production of burnt lime and salt by Classic Maya communities intersected with forest-resource-management strategies. Stone-processing techniques and trajectories varied greatly across the Classic lowlands. Communities with larger civic-ceremonial complexes and populations like Tikal and Caracol required much more lime and salt on an annual basis than smaller polities like Copan or Aguateca. Frequencies of masonry architecture construction likewise varied between communities and subregions. There were likely pronounced differences in production and procurement of lime between urban and rural contexts. Although some sites were able to manage their natural resources better than others, it is clear that communities throughout the lowlands adapted new lime-production practices over the course of the Classic Period to meet the challenges of changing environmental, socio-political, and climatic conditions. Like lime production, the bulk of the salt production (at least in the southern lowlands) would have required significant amounts of wood fuel. Producers in the interior and along the coasts developed methods to maximize their fuel efficiency and exhibited a capacity to adapt their fuel use when circumstances required it. Increasingly detailed investigations of Pre-Colonial lime and salt production are contributing to a more nuanced understanding of Classic Maya communities as proactive and successful natural resource managers.