Investigations of a Ground Stone Tool Workshop at Pacbitun, Belize
Ward, Drew T
Citations
Abstract
The Ancient Maya site of Pacbitun is centrally located between the two major ecozones of the Belize River Valley and the Mountain Pine Ridge in west-central Belize. In June 2012, investigations began on a group of mounds, known as the Tzib Group, located outside of Pacbitun’s site core in order to investigate the group's potential as a locale for ground stone tool workshops. Excavations at the Tzib Group uncovered over 1000kg of granite debitage as well as mano and metate preforms at varying stages of production. In analyzing the possibility of a ground stone production center, this paper seeks to expand upon previous research at Pacbitun pertaining to resource acquisition, craft-specialization, and exchange as a result of the site’s central location in the valley during the Late Classic period (AD 600-900).
