Coastal Maya Obsidian Trade in the Late Postclassic to Early Colonial Period: The View From San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize

Abstract

Although substantial work has been done to reconstruct ancient Maya coastal trade from the Late Preclassic through the Early Postclassic periods (400 BC–AD 1200), relatively little is known about trade activity along the Caribbean Coast in Late Postclassic and Early Colonial times (ca. AD 1400 to 1700). By focusing on obsidian artifacts from the site of San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, Belize, one of the few coastal sites for which data are available for the Postclassic to Colonial transition, we attempt to understand how Maya procurement, production, and use of obsidian were organized, and the effect the arrival of the Spaniards had on access to obsidian. The Spanish presence in the Yucatan Peninsula clearly changed Maya life in numerous ways; however, the evidence from San Pedro suggests strongly—although it is not yet unequivocal—that Maya communities along the coast were still able to access obsidian, primarily from the Guatemalan highlands. With comparatively good access to obsidian for blade production, the site appears to have served as an important link in both long-distance and intraregional socioeconomic systems as a way station for moving goods up and down the Caribbean Coast and by funneling resources via a coastal-inland trade network.

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