PAGE 4 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
STEMMED
MACRO BLADES
MAYA CULTURE--LATE PRECLASSIC TO
TERMINAL CLASSIC PERIODS
BELIZE
250 B.C. TO A.D. 900
PAGE 1 OF 4 PAGES
COPYRIGHT AUGUST 31, 2003 PETER A. BOSTROM

EDGE VIEWS OF THREE STEMMED MACRO BLADES
MAYA CULTURE---BELIZE
PRIVATE COLLECTION

    This picture shows the edge views of three stemmed macro blades. From this perspective it is immediately obvious that they were made on blades. The bottom surfaces were the last to be detached from the core and the top surfaces show the previous blade removals that were struck off while these blades were still attached to the core. The bulbs of percussion (the point at which they were struck off the core) is located on the right side on the ends of the stems. The bulbs of percussion are usually removed when the stems are pressure flaked into shape. The points are located on the left side. The center one didn't need any edge trimming to shape the point. The other two needed some minor pressure flaking to finished shaping the point. All of these examples were made from Colha chert.

     Stemmed macro blades are found on Mayan sites in the lowlands of Belize, Guatemala and Mexico. They have been found around house mounds in domestic refuse heaps and in burials. So many of them were made that people are finding them in rivers, plowed fields and places where the ground has been eroded or disturbed.


ILLUSTRATING STEMMED BLADE PRODUCTION
MAYA CULTURE
LATE PRECLASSIC TO TERMINAL CLASSIC PERIODS
AFTER T. R. HESTER AND H. J. SHAFER 1986

    These simple drawings help to illustrate the manufacturing technique that is involved in the production of both large and small stemmed blades.

    1. This illustration shows the first blade removal. It was removed after the core was prepared with a sticking platform.

     2. A second blade is removed and it overlaps the previous one leaving a center ridge.

     3. The third blade removal is not as long as the first two. It follows the ridge left by the previous blades and has been referred to as a guide. The converging ridges may act as a guide when removing the finished pointed blade.

     4. This step involves the preparation of a substantial platform (chapeau de gendarme) located above the converging ridges of the guide flake.

 

    Stemmed macro blades were used for both domestic and ritual purposes. They were used as knives and it's believed they were used to tip the ends of thrusting spears. They were also used by the "elite" class in ritual caches and in burials. They have been found in ritual caches on the site of El Pozito in northern Belize.


ILLUSTRATION OF STEMMED BLADE PRODUCTION
MAYAN CULTURE
LATE PRECLASSIC TO TERMINAL CLASSIC PERIODS
AFTER T. R. HESTER AND H. J. SHAFER 1986

    These drawings illustrate the last two steps of stemmed blade production.

     5. This illustration shows the finished pointed blade that has just been struck off the core.

     6. Once the pointed blade has been removed all that is left to do is the shaping of the stem using both pressure and percussion flaking. If the blade detached correctly there isn't any need to do any further shaping on the blade edges.

 

    Stemmed macro blades are generally accepted to be at least 3 7/8 inches (10 cm) long or longer. This report illustrates one example that measures 15 5/8 inches (39.6 cm) long which represents the upper limit in size for these artifacts.


STEMMED MACRO BLADE HANDLE
MAYAN CULTURE---BELIZE
PRIVATE COLLECTION

   Most stemmed macro blade handles were bifacially flaked. This handle was formed mainly by edge trimming leaving most of the blade surfaces intact. The point at which the macro blades were struck off the core or the "bulbs-of-percussion" were located on the ends of the handles. This area was removed during the stem or handle making process.

   The production of stone tools for weapons stopped in the Colha workshops around A.D. 1300. It was at this time that the bow and arrow began to be used in the Mayan lowlands. The arrows were tipped with tiny slivers of chert or obsidian. Production from the lithic workshops at Colha, Belize were closed down and Colha was abandoned.


STEMMED MACRO BLADE HANDLE
MAYAN CULTURE---BELIZE
PRIVATE COLLECTION

   The handle on this stemmed macro blade is a more typical example. The original blade surfaces and the bulb of percussion have been removed by percussion and pressure flaking.

    When the Maya "flintsmiths" walked away from their Colha chert quarries 800 years ago they left behind one of the worlds most unique and recognizable stone tools. So many stemmed macro blades were produced there, it would seem that everyone must have had one. "Mayan Daggers" were one of their most successful lithic inventions.

"REFERENCES"

1965, Willey, Gordon R., Bullard, William R., Glass, John B & Gifford, James C., "Prehistoric Maya Settlements in the Belize Valley," pp. 412, 416-418.
1983, Shafer, Harry J., "Pulltrouser Swamp," The Lithic Artifacts of the Pulltrouser Area: Settlements and Fields. pp.231-233.
1984, Hester, Thomas R. & Shafer, Harry J., "World Archaeology," Exploitation of Chert Resources by the Ancient Maya of Northern Belize, Central America, pp. 157-169.
1986, Hester, Thomas R. & Shafer, Harry J., "The Organization of Core Technology," Observations on Ancient Maya Core Technology At Colha, Belize, pp. 239-257.
1987, Lewenstein, Suzanne M., "Stone Tool Use At Cerros, The Ethnoarchaeological and Use-Wear Evidence," pp. 138,139, 177.
1991,  Hester, Thomas R., Shafer, Harry J., Berry, Thena, " Maya Stone Tools," Selected Papers from the Second Maya Lithic Conference, Technological and Comparative Analyses of the Chipped Stone Artifacts from El Pozito, Belize, pp. 67-82
1991,  Shafer, Harry J., "Maya Stone Tools," Selected Papers from the Second Maya Lithic Conference, Late Preclassic Formal Tool Production at Colha, Belize, pp. 31- 38.
1996, Fagan, Brian M., "The Oxford Companion To Archaeology", pp. 406, 407, 413.
1997,  Hester, Thomas R. & Shafer, Harry J., "Craftsmen to the Kings," Rural Maya Stone Technology at Colha, Belize, pages 1-8.
1986-1997, Personal communications with Tomas R. Hester.

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