Jadeite Sources and Ancient Workshops: Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Upper Río El Tambor, Guatemala

Site Composition and Distribution

The range of lithic reduction techniques indicated by surface artifacts appears to be quite varied, but nevertheless, one directed toward the production of a singular product: celtiform axes. The stages of axe production can be broken down into four basic processes from the quarrying of raw jade from its various sources, to the preparation of chunks and macroflakes into blanks, to the bifacial reduction of blanks into preforms, and finally the pecking of axe preforms for export and polishing in other locales. This description of jade reduction in the upper Río El Tambor study area remains at best a preliminary exercise based on observations of jade artifacts witnessed in the field. Furthermore, the length of time during which production took place at these sites is also not well known, since no excavations have taken place. The widespread presence of Late Classic ceramics with jade debitage suggests that these activities were important at a later date than previously suspected.

Jade sources at the upper Río El Tambor sites took three different forms, which may have implications for understanding ancient exploitation. River and creek cobbles were removed from alluvial drainages and perhaps the waterways themselves, but the occurrence of decortication flakes from river-worn pieces does not appear to be a common debitage type in this mountainous region. Instead, most of the large chunks were angular and were probably quarried from blocks of raw material. Large blocks and boulders of jade were procured from at least two different kinds of geologic outcrops, either from large outcrops directly associated with the jade vein, or from eroded hillsides where blocks were exposed from loose soil. The cortex on exposed blocks of jade is much thicker than that of jade removed directly from a vein, which has implications for later reduction techniques.

According to the large debitage at quarry sites and early stage reduction sites, large flakes and chunks were removed from the source in at least three different ways. Natural faults and fissures in jade outcrops were likely used as a means to pry out sizeable chunks of jade. These chunks could be used for further reduction into axe preforms. Sources that feature faults such as these, however, tend to produce jades with incipient fractures that might foul later reduction attempts. In fact, the internal integrity of the jade was probably the most important factor in selecting a piece of jade for celt production. The reason for this is that given the toughness and hardness of jadeite, jade celt production was arguably the most violent and rigorous of Mesoamerican lithic traditions. Heat spalling, percussion with large hammerstones, bifacial reduction, pecking and finally grinding and polishing all require a very homogenous piece of raw material that will not fail at any of these stages. Thus, choosing a solid blank is extremely important in terms of time investment because a failure at any of these stages would mean the loss of many hours of physically punishing and grueling work. Pieces of jade without fault lines were desirable for this reason, and one of the first sources of such material would be alluvial float, since through the natural process of tumbling, fractured and flawed portions are frequently removed. However, large boulders of seamless jade also presented great difficulties to ancient jade workers (e.g. see Figure 4, below). Such boulders would require the appropriate platform angles to remove sizeable flakes and chunks of workable jade, and also a huge amount of force probably aided by a massive jade hammerstone. According to the curving breaks in some larger chunks of jade, intensive heat spalling may have been an alternate method of removing large pieces of jadeite from either large angular blocks or river-worn boulders and cobbles (see Figure 5, below, for a modern example).

Click on image to enlarge

Click on image to enlarge

Once the flake or chunk was attained, it was further reduced with a jade hammerstone. The flake or blank was trimmed at the edges and roughly shaped using the removal of small edge preparation flakes. At this stage knappers could check for impurities or faults in the stone. Midsize chunks of jade, too small to manufacture a celtiform axe, are common at quarry sites. It is likely that these chunks are not only produced through the reduction of jade boulders and cobbles, but also during the preliminary testing and preparation of blanks.

After a blank was manufactured, a bifacial margin was prepared from which to remove bifacial reduction flakes. The goal was not necessarily to thin the piece, but rather to produce an extremely regular lenticular cross-section. If a preform did not have a regular face, usually through the removal of a flake that thinned the piece too much, then the following step of pecking the axe into a smooth, rounded surface would be more arduous and even pointless. Thus, many of the preforms found on the surface of production areas were thrown away because the amount of time pecking the axe would probably exceed the amount of time to produce another, more viable, axe preform. According to a brief replicate study carried out by Hruby, it is likely that bifacial reduction could have been carried out with the use of a mid-size or hand-size jade hammerstone. It is possible that an anvil was used to remove particularly difficult square edges, but further experimentation is required.

Click on image to enlarge

Click on image to enlarge

Since only one example of an partially pecked celt was found in the upper Río El Tambor, it is likely that these mountainous sites were largely responsible for only these first stages of celt production. The next stage of reduction can be described as a hard hammer pecking technique, which required a jadeite anvil to stabilize the celt. The axe was first laid on the anvil, and then residual surface deformities from bifacial reduction were pecked or hammered into a smooth lenticular surface at the proximal end and an almost circular cross-section at the distal end of the axe. This celt form is extremely reminiscent of the Formative jade axes used by the Olmecs. Although jadeite anvils resembling thick metates are known for lithic reduction sites in the Río Hondo area of the Middle Motagua Valley, these have yet to be documented in the upper Río El Tambor region (Figures 19a and 19b, shown above). The existence of jadeite anvils in the Motagua River Valley and the apparently higher numbers of partially pecked and polished celts indicate that the percussion prepared axe preforms were the likely product of export for the mountain sites. Pecking and polishing seems to be an activity carried out by jade workers further down the chain of exchange. It is also important to note that there was no evidence of polishing, string sawing, or bead making at the sites in the upper Río El Tambor region, in striking contrast to the numerous examples known for Guaytán, Vega de Coban and other sites in the Middle Motagua Valley. Flakes and cobbles may have been exchanged out of the mountains, but later stages of craft production do not seem to be present there according to present data.

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