Domestic, artisanal, and ritual activities in a classic Maya city: Functional analysis of flint drills from the Cancuén site (AD 650–800, Guatemala)

Abstract

The difficulty in determining the domestic and craft activities that took place in Maya cities during the Classic period (250–950 CE) has resulted in much debate on the nature and functioning of Mesoamerican cities. These activities are rarely identified because of the systematic cleaning of the occupied spaces that occurred and the unfavourable conditions for the preservation of perishable objects. To characterize the activities that took place in the areas uncovered, we carried out a functional analysis of the lithic tools most frequently found during excavations. Our study focused on the site of Cancuén (Guatemala), which because of its short chronology, is an ideal case for determining the spatial distribution of the activities that took place there. Our analysis focused on one type of tool: flint drills, rare in the Maya region but abundant within the city of Cancuén. The tools selected for the functional analysis come from several contexts–domestic, public, ritual (burial) as well as places of artisanal production – in order to determine the difference in status of these objects according to their contexts of use. The results of the functional analysis show that drills were used for a wide variety of tasks. While this type of tool was used as needed for various materials, including wood and pottery, it was sometimes used for very specialized activities, such as the working of teeth. The analysis of tools from ritual contexts suggests that their presence could have added value to the offering. This analysis enables us to provide the first elements of understanding of the organization of artisanal, domestic, and ritual activities in the city of Cancuén.