AMCS Bulletin 23 — Chapter 9 — Stemp et al. 111 9 A Green Obsidian Eccentric from Actun Uayazba Kab, Belize W. James Stemp, Christophe G. B. Helmke, Jaime J. Awe, Tristan Carter, and Sarah Grant (Hammond 1985; Hammond et al. 1987), Pacbitun (Healy Introduction 1990: 259-260, 1992), Altun Ha (Pendergast 1971, 1979, Green obsidian artifacts, although comparatively un- 1990: Figs. 120-122), Caracol (Chase and Chase 2011: 10, usual in the Maya lowlands, are not rare •nds, for the most Figs. 4-5, 12), Marco Gonzalez (Graham and Pendergast part. Based on their distinctive “translucent bottle green 1989), Wild Cane Cay (McKillop 1989: 45-46), and Pu- to green-black to a chatoyant shimmering golden-green” silha (Braswell et al. 2008: 58, Fig. 5); and into Honduras color (Ponomarenko 2004: 79), these artifacts are usually at Copan (Aoyama 1999, 2001a; Webster 1999), to name assigned to the Pachuca source in Central Mexico and have but a few. At these sites, green obsidian artifacts have most been primarily sourced visually (Santley 1983; Spence 1996; frequently been dated to either the Early Classic (AD 250 – Moholy-Nagy 1999, 2003; Moholy-Nagy and Nelson 1990: 550) or the Terminal Classic to Early Postclassic transition 71). The Pachuca source has been variously known as Sierra (AD 900 – 1200); however, some examples are known from de Pachuca, Sierra de las Navajas, Cerro de las Navajas, other time periods as well. The Early Classic specimens are Cruz del Milagro, Huasca, Cerro de Minillas, El Ocote, and attributed to the interaction of the lowland Maya with the Rancho Guajalote (Cobean et al. 1991: 74) and the !ow central Mexican site of Teotihuacan, whereas those dated to zone is now recognized as being composed of numerous the later periods are primarily the result of socio-economic sub-source areas (see Tenorio et al. 1998; Argote-Espino et and socio-political relationships with the so-called Toltec al. 2012). Moreover, green obsidian may also originate from populations via the Yucatan Peninsula (Andrews et al. 1989; Tulancingo (El Pizzarin) or, less likely, Rancho Tenango, Pendergast 1990, 2003; Spence 1996; Cobean 2002: 41; although this material is distinguished by a coarser texture Braswell 2003; Pastrana and Domínguez 2009). and generally opaque black or grey coloring with a green Most of the artifacts from the Maya lowlands and Paci•c tinge (Cobean et al. 1991: 74-75; Spence 1996: 22). piedmont are prismatic blades and stemmed bifaces of vari- Green obsidian artifacts recovered throughout Meso- ous types excavated from ritual deposits such as burials and america, most commonly in Central Mexico, are typically caches (Spence 1996). Nevertheless, at Tikal and Balberta, thin lanceolate bifaces, thin stemmed bifaces, prismatic green obsidian blades have been recovered from domestic blades, and small eccentrics (Santley 1983; Spence 1967, contexts, in addition to caches and graves (Demarest and 1996; Tolstoy 1971; see Clark 1986: 64). Throughout Foais 1993: 164) and, at Copan, the majority of the green the Maya lowlands, they have been found at a number of obsidian is found in domestic middens and construction sites, both large and small, in almost all regions (Figure cores. Most of these blades were used for basic utilitarian 1), including southern Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula tasks based on microwear analysis (Aoyama 1999: 107). – Becan (Rovner 1975; Rovner and Lewenstein 1997: 30, However, green obsidian eccentrics are much rarer, having 39), Tonina (Sheets 1977: 147), Edzna (Nelson et al. 1983), only been found at Tikal and Altun Ha, and green obsidian Dzibilchaltun (Rovner and Lewenstein 1997: 40), Chichen artifacts of any kind recovered from cave contexts are almost Itza (Rovner 1975: 107-108; Braswell and Glascock 2002), unheard of. Exceptional cases include the proximal end of Isla Cerritos (Andrews et al. 1989: 361, Table 4; Braswell a green obsidian blade that was recovered from Glenwood and Glascock 2002), and Mayapan (Proskouriakoff 1962: Cave in the Sibun Valley of Belize (Peterson 2006: 72), and 369ff); throughout Guatemala – Tikal (Coe 2008: 34; Moholy- the two green obsidian bifaces or points recovered from Nagy 1975; Moholy-Nagy and Nelson 1990; Moholy-Nagy Tiger Cave in the Sibun Valley (Peterson 2006: 72-73, Fig. et al. 1984), Uaxactun (Kidder 1947: 10-11, 15, 24; Smith 4.2) and Midnight Terror Cave in the Roaring Creek Works 1950: 104), Piedras Negras (Hruby 2006), El Mirador (Nel- of Western Belize (Brady 2009). son and Howard 1986), Cancuen (Kovacevich et al. 2007: Typically, eccentrics of both chert and obsidian are 1242), Kaminaljuyu (Kidder et al. 1946: 31, 138, Fig. 157a, recovered in association with stelae, altars or temples in c, f), Balberta (Bove 1990; Carpio R. 1993), La Sufricaya dedicatory caches, although they may also, but rarely, be (Estrada-Belli 2003: 13), and Dos Pilas (Palka 1997); in found as grave goods (Hruby 2007: 76; Iannone 1992: Belize – Chaac Mool Ha (Braswell 2007: 104, 106), Nohmul 252-253; Iannone and Conlon 1993: 81; Meadows 2001: 112 AMCS Bulletin 23 — Chapter 9 — Stemp et al. 73, Table 3.1, 83, Table 3.2, 90, Table 3.3; see Pendergast 1971, 1979, 1990). At Colha, some chert eccentrics were found in workshop mid- dens and in some domestic contexts, but most of these are fragmentary and may have been discarded pieces (Meadows 2001: 83). Eccen- trics in caves are essentially unheard of, with the exception of the chert eccentric found at Naj Tunich (Brady 1989: 310, 311, Fig. 6.16a). Consequently, the discovery of a small eccentric made from Central Mexican green obsidian at Actun Uayazba Kab, a limestone cave in the Roaring Creek Valley of the Cayo District of west-central Belize, is highly remarkable. Description of Actun Uayazba Kab The site of Actun Uayazba Kab was dis- covered as part of the investigations of the Western Belize Regional Cave Project in the upper Roaring Creek Valley, under the direc- tion of Jaime Awe, in 1996. Actun Uayazba Kab has the distinction of being the cave that exhibits that greatest degree of variation in rock art, discovered to date, in a single site in Belize. Included in the site’s corpus are negative handprints, pictographs rendered in charcoal, crude sculptures executed on spele- othems, a row of petroglyphic footprints carved into !owstone, as well as a panel of geometric petroglyphs and a series of simple petroglyphic faces that accentuate the orbits and buccal areas (see Helmke and Awe 1998, 2001; Helmke et al. 2003). Actun Uayazba Kab, is located just over 500 m south of the by now well-known Actun Tunichil Mucnal, and approximately 400 meters west of Cahal Uitz Na. The latter is a large surface site containing several slate and limestone monuments (Awe and Helmke 1998; Conlon and Ehret 1999; Helmke 2009: 261-282). The entrance to Actun Uayazba Kab consists of two interconnected “chambers” that are sub-divided by a large stalagmitic column Figure 1. Map of Maya sites mentioned in the article, with Teotihuacan and the Pachuca source in the Sierra de las Navajas shown. In the inset map circles rep- (Figure 2). One of these open chambers lies resent caves and triangles surface sites (map by Christophe Helmke). to the north and the other to the south of the column; they were designated as Entrance 1 and 2 respectively. Both entrances face east. Since Entrances 1 architectural modi•cations. In contrast, the walls of the and 2 penetrate less than 10 m into the cliff and since their small and dark chambers within the cave proper contain ceilings are over 12 m high, most of the entrance area is several pictographs that include schematic drawings, four illuminated by daylight, save for a few recessed alcoves negative hand prints, and torch “tampings” (see Helmke et and tunnels that are penumbral. Given the small surface al. 2003: 115, 117). area of the entrances, the cave broadly resembles a rock- The concentration of cultural remains at the entrances to shelter more so than a cavern. The only area of the cave the cave suggests that these areas of the site were the focus that is devoid of all light is the interior of the cave proper of most prehistoric activity. Apart from the pictographs and that extends west of the stalagmitic column that divides torch tampings and a cluster of faunal remains, few artifacts the two entrances. were discovered within the interior dark zone of the cave. Both entrances, particularly the northern entrance, were The absence of artifacts in this area may be the result of the decorated with a variety of petroglyphs, sculpted faces, and intensive looting in the years preceding our investigations, but  AMCS Bulletin 23 — Chapter 9 — Stemp et al. 113 excavation units (Units 1, 2, 8 and 9) were established in this alcove, which led to the discovery of 7 burials, that can be described as inhumations, although these may represent the remains of sacri•cial victims (Gibbs 1998, 2000; Grif•th 1998: 38-39; Ferguson and Gibbs 1999). As part of the excavations it was found that the northern entrance of Actun Uayazba Kab had been plastered over by two !oors, thereby architecturally accommodating the natural setting of the cave. Speci•cally, the eccentric obsidian was peripherally associated with Burial 98-2 and was found in Level 4 (be- low the level of both !oors), within the eastern extension of Excavation Unit 8 (see Ferguson and Gibbs 1999: 119). Analysis of the skeletal remains found that Burial 98-2 was a primary interment of an adult woman, approximately 20 years of age. The body was laid in a prone, semi-fetal position (!exed at the knees), with hands crossed at the pelvis, and head facing northeast (Ferguson and Gibbs 1999: 119). Although the archaeological features of the alcove were not directly associated with any rock art, it is noteworthy that a simple pecked face, designated as Petroglyph 21, was found directly overlooking the area in question (see Helmke and Awe 1998: 158-159, Fig. 8; Helmke et al. 2003: 119). The Eccentric The eccentric is made on a medial prismatic blade segment of translucent green obsidian (Figure 3). The segment is trapezoidal in sec- tion. Based on the ripples of force associated with conchoidal fracture when the blade was Figure 2. Plan of Actun Uayazba Kab showing the distribution of excavation originally punched from a polyhedral core, the units (plan by Christophe Helmke). ‘prongs’ of the eccentric are on the proximal end of the artifact, whereas the rounded, circular may also re!ect genuine differences in prehistoric utilization. portion represents the distal end. In terms of its dimensions, The faunal remains may also represent natural deposition the eccentric is 16.1 mm long; the maximum width of the rather than cultural features, thereby reinforcing the impres- distal end or ‘head’ is 9.9 mm, the maximum width for the sion that prehistoric cultural activities were concentrated proximal end or ‘tail’ is 11.0 mm. The maximum thickness at the entrance to the cave. In keeping with the patterning of the distal end or ‘head’ is 1.5 mm; whereas the maximum noted, the eccentric was found as part of excavations of the thickness for the proximal end or ‘tail’ is 1.3 mm. The seg- northern Entrance 1. ment was produced from a blade before it was perforated or any edge retouch was undertaken. Context of Discovery Edge retouch is bifacial, for the most part. The blade The eccentric was in the northwestern alcove of the segment was pressure !aked on both the dorsal and ventral northern of the two entrances to the site within the penum- surfaces to transform it into its current form. The notching bral area of the cave. This is a transitional space between is bifacial for the sides, but unifacial for the proximal end the light and dark zones of the cave. The area was a focus with the pressure !aking on the dorsal surface. The hole of excavation efforts since initial reconnaissance of the site in the middle of the blade segment body was not ground in 1996 identi•ed a series of shallow looters’ pits, wherein or drilled. Instead, the perforation was most likely initially fragmentary human remains were clearly visible in the as- created using a punch, despite the risk of snapping the blade sociated spoil heaps. Thereafter, during formal investigations segment into two or more fragments, and then !aked most at the site between 1997 and 1998 a series of 4 contiguous likely using a pressure, or possibly indirect percussion, 114 AMCS Bulletin 23 — Chapter 9 — Stemp et al. Figure 3. The eccentric found in Actun Uayazba Kab. a) dorsal side; b) ventral side (scans by W. James Stemp, drawings by Christophe Helmke). technique applied to the dorsal surface. The !aking was unidirectional around the circumference of the hole based on the fact that all of the !ake scarring is on the ventral surface around the perforation. None of this !ake scarring is present on the dorsal surface. It is possible that the dorsal surface of the blade segment was partially ground or was abraded or scored •rst to thin the obsidian, and then it was perforated prior to be being !aked. Based on the mechanics of pressure or indirect percussion !aking, the perforation must have been created such that some exposed edges were produced in order to start pressure !aking. This technique is likely similar to that described by Kidder et al. (1946: 138) for the 61 ‘!ake sequins’ from the medial segments of green obsidian blades at Kaminaljuyu (Sheets 1977: 142). The technical skill involved in obsidian production, in- cluding the manufacture of eccentrics, is argued to be quite high (Hruby 2007: 74-76; see also Meadows 2001: 133) and Figure 4. Examples of so-called “knuckle-duster” eccentrics. a) Three individuals wielding trident eccentrics (highlighted), detail of Lintel 2, Temple 3 (Str. 5D-3-1st), Tikal (drawing by William Coe). b) Chert eccentric from Altun Ha, Belize (drawing by Amy B. Henderson, published in Whittaker 1994: 48, Fig. 3.20).  AMCS Bulletin 23 — Chapter 9 — Stemp et al. 115 is well demonstrated by the work of Gene Titmus (Titmus and Woods 2003); however, the eccentric from Actun Uay- azba Kab would not have been an extremely dif•cult object to make for a reasonably good knapper assuming s/he was not responsible for initial core preparation and maintenance or platform preparation of the core from which the blade used to make the eccentric was struck (see Hruby 2007: 74; Crabtree 1968). The only dif•cult part would have been the creation of the hole in the center of the eccentric. This ec- centric is clearly not as elaborate as some of the intricately !aked specimens, for example those from Quirigua and Copan (Morley 1956: 421, Pl. 102e; Agurcia Fasquelle and Fash 1991) or some of the large chert specimens from Altun Ha, Colha, and Lamanai (Meadows 2001). In fact, most eccentrics produced on obsidian tend to be relatively small Figure 5. Possible epigraphic and artifactual counterparts to the artifacts and are not as complex in their design or dif•cult eccentric from Actun Uayazba Kab. a) The frame of Day Sign in their execution compared to others (e.g., Coe 1959, 2008; cartouche of the Tzolkin calendar, Temple 19, Palenque; b) shell Hruby 2007; Iannone 1992; Coe 2008). Excellent examples adorno from the Laberinto de las Tarántulas; c) matching artifact of this on green obsidian are the so-called ‘little green men’ from Petroglyph cave; d) logogram T628, Temple 19, Palenque; from Altun Ha (Pendergast 1971, 2003: 238-240, Fig. 9.1). e) logogram T543, Naranjo Stela 21; f) cha-CH’AB? ‘wax, hive’, Despite this observation, the esoteric knowledge and possibly Temple of the Cross, Palenque; g) the name of a quasi-supernatural ritualized nature of obsidian eccentric production was likely entity nicknamed Casper, possibly spelled cha-CH’AB?, Temple passed down from craft-person to craft-person and may have 21, Palenque (drawings by Christophe Helmke). been closely guarded within particular workshops from the rest of the population, perhaps in association with status San José (Thompson 1939: 177, Fig. 94k, 181) and Altun differentiation (Hruby 2006; 2007: 71-74; see Clark 1989: Ha (David Pendergast, personal communication, 1999). 305 for Lakantun Maya arrowhead production). As stated Possibly due to the fragility of these shell adornos, well- by Meadows (2001: 133): “The iconography embodied in preserved examples are from several caves sites, including these forms illustrates that […] crafters possessed an intimate the Laberinto de las Tarántulas and Petroglyph Cave (Helmke knowledge of the linkages between their own surroundings, 2009: 230, Fig. 4.17a-d) (Figure 5b-c). important historical events, and the cosmological underpin- Previous analyses of eccentrics of both chert and obsidian nings of the Maya universe.” have led to suggestions that these artifacts are ceremonial In relation to better-known eccentrics found at other items that served multiple functions in Maya ideological and lowland Maya sites, the one from Actun Uayazba Kab can religious systems (Iannone 1992; Meadows 2001; Hruby be super•cially compared to so-called “knuckle-duster” 2007). Iannone (1992: 249-251; Iannone and Conlon 1993: eccentrics, which entail a perforated circle that is topped 82; see Schele and Miller 1986: 49, 73) has argued that these by a series of pointed prongs or triangular serrations (see artifacts are symbolic depictions of ancestors and gods and, Meadows 2001: 160, Ill. 5.1, 161) (Figure 4). At Tikal, this as such, were used to represent a ruler’s bloodline and were type of eccentric has been labeled as Type 4A (see Moholy- connected to ancestor worship in signi•cant places like Nagy 2008: Figs. 1-26; also see Coe 1959: 21, Fig. 18d for temples or near stelae. Similarly, Helmke (1996), Meadows Piedras Negras; Morley 1956: 421, Pl. 102a for El Palmar) (2001: 239-241), and Hruby (2006, 2007: 68) have suggested and examples are known of this type of eccentric in Classic that they are ef•gies of deities or ancestral •gures. However, Maya iconography (Follet 1932: Figs. 31, 32; Morley 1937- based on his analysis of the large chert eccentrics from 1938: 226-234, 1956: 394, Pl. 91; Ricketson and Ricketson Northern Belize, Meadows (2001: 241) posits a number of 1937: Fig. 118h; Satterthwaite 1954: Fig. 11). Somewhat additional possible uses for eccentrics based on their forms, similar forms from Northern Belize are also classed as including depictions of historical •gures, personi•cations of ‘barbed and serrated rings’ (Meadows 2001:165-166). If particular events, abstract representations of Maya cultural this comparison is viable, this would imply that the example aesthetics, and ritual weaponry. from Actun Uayazba Kab is essentially a miniature form, or ef•gy, of the larger “knuckle-duster” eccentrics. Use-Wear Analysis Nevertheless, the possibility remains that the Actun Using a Unitron MS-2BD metallographic microscope, Uayazba Kab eccentric may be better related to another we conducted an examination of the eccentric for traces of artifact class entirely. In particular, the eccentric can be use-related wear and residues to potentially shed some light aptly compared to a particular set of small shell adornos on how this artifact may have been speci•cally used in cave that essentially seem to represent the frames of Day Sign ritual activity. In his work, Meadows (2001: 259-260), using cartouches of the Tzolkin calendar (Figure 5a). Artifactual SEM and electron-dispersive spectrometry, found evidence examples have been found at several Maya sites, including of textile fragments and mineral residues on a small number 116 AMCS Bulletin 23 — Chapter 9 — Stemp et al. Table 1. Elemental composition (ppm) of UK98-OB-058 and the MAX Lab standard RGM-2. Sample Ti Mn Fe Ni Cu Zn Ga Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Ba Pb Th UK98-OB-058 1181 957 18525 0 3 262 32 214 7 108 1019 96 -26 37 27 RGM-2 1458 324 13928 4 8 39 15 146 106 26 233 9 823 24 11 of chert eccentrics, which led him to conclude that at least elemental characterization of the artifact was conducted some eccentrics were wrapped or bundled in fabric prior to at the McMaster Archaeological XRF Lab [MAX Lab] as deposition and that some were decorated (colored or painted) part of a larger study of obsidian assemblages from Maya and therefore contained much more detail than observed sites in Belize. The analysis was undertaken using energy on the examples in their current states (see also Agurcia dispersive x-ray !uorescence spectroscopy [EDXRF], a Fasquelle and Fash 1991). As such, all surfaces of the green non-destructive technique that is rapid, relatively cheap, obsidian eccentric were examined under both low (40x) and and capable of determining elemental concentrations at the high-power (200x) magni•cation to visually determine the ppm level, with reproducible high-quality data. Speci•cally, possible presence of similar organic or inorganic residues. the eccentric was analyzed by a Thermo Quant’X EDXRF Both the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the eccentric possess spectrometer, having •rst been cleaned in an ultrasonic tank large quantities of variably-sized, multi-directional sleeks with distilled water for ten minutes. The analytical protocols and striations. Long, short, deep, shallow, wide, narrow and methods follow those devised by Shackley (2005, ap- striations all cross-cut one another in various directions that pendix; Poupeau et al. 2010). had no clear directional patterns emerge. Coupled with the The eccentric’s elemental pro•le was compared to those presence of fairly severe pitting and edge attrition randomly of several geological samples from obsidian sources that distributed across both surfaces, it appears the wear on this were used by ancient Maya populations in Belize. These artifact is the result of the post-depositional environment, most included the three major highland Guatemalan sources of likely due to contact with the cave sediment and pedestrian El Chayal, Ixtepeque, and San Martín Jilotepeque (Río traf•c, stepping on the object as it lay in the ground (Stemp Pixcaya), as well as the central Mexican sources of Otumba 2001: 122, 241-242, 244; Tringham et al. 1974: 182, Fig. 6, and Pachuca. The distinctive high zirconium levels (1019 192; Vaughan 1985: 25; see Lévi-Sala 1986, 1993). Some of ppm) and low strontium (7 ppm) indicative of peralkaline this sediment is trapped in the microcracks of the !ake scars obsidian (Table 1) allows the artifact’s raw material to be on the eccentric. Whether some of this sediment contains con•dently assigned to the Mexican source of Pachuca us- or masks the presence of other residues or pigments is not ing a simple bivariate contents plot (Figure 6). The Pachuca known at this time. There are some very small patches of source is now understood to comprise a number of spatially polished/rounded surface on the eccentric, which might indi- and geologically distinct !ows, some of whose products cate contact with a slightly softer material, perhaps hide, but were recently discriminated elementally by ICP-MS analyses the severity of the post-depositional scratching and surface abrasion makes this wear dif•cult Figure 6. Bivariate Sr vs. Zr contents plot of the green eccentric (UK98-OB-058) to interpret. This evidence raises the possibility and geological samples from major Mesoamerican obsidian sources. that the eccentric was carried in a bag or af•xed to clothing or a leather thong, but this cannot be unequivocally substantiated. Visual Sourcing and Elemental Characterization Although most green obsidian artifacts from the Maya area are visually sourced based on the physical characteristics of the stone from which they are made, there is more than one source of green obsidian in central Mexico and recently there have been attempts by archaeologists to determine intrasource variation among those from different sub-sources or !ows. The green obsidian for the eccentric from Actun Uayazba Kab is believed to be from the Pachuca source based on visual identi•cation of the peralka- line raw material (Argote-Espino et al. 2012; Ponomarenko 2004); however, to be certain AMCS Bulletin 23 — Chapter 9 — Stemp et al. 117 Figure 7. Bivariate Sr vs. Zr contents plot of the green eccentric (UK98-OB-058) and geological samples from the various sub-sources of the Sierra de Pachuca. and multivariate statistics (Argote-Espino et al. 2012). Unfortunately, in keeping with the recent statement by Argote-Espino et al. (2012: 49), it is not currently possible to achieve a successful separation of these sub-source materials through the use of XRF techniques (Figure 7). Although our EDXRF analyses failed to achieve chemical discrimination of the Pachuca sub-source materials there is an alternative ap- proach with which we can attempt to at least remove some of the outcrops from consideration. Drawing on the analyses of Ponomarenko (2004), Argote-Espino et al. (2012) were able to determine that the distinctive green and gold obsidian from the Pachuca sub-sources El Zembo, Oyamental, El Durazno and Cruz del Milagro were associated with the Las Mi- nas !ow complex. In turn, the brownish and grey obsidian from the south-east side of the caldera derives from the Ixatla and El Horcón !ows. Thus using these visual distinctions, the eccentric’s distinctive green color allows us to eliminate the area of the south-east caldera and by extent the Ixatla and El Horcón !ows. On the basis of chemistry and visual appearance we thus believe the artifact’s raw material to have derived from one of the sub-sources as- sociated with the Las Minas !ow complex in the Western area of the Pachuca source (i.e., either El Durazno, Cruz de Milagro, Oyamental or El Zembo). Discussion Based on control over production and us- age, eccentrics were often used by elites as justi•cations and re-af•rmations of both their divine status as rulers and in the Maya socio- political hierarchy (Iannone 1992: 253-254; Iannone and Conlon 1993: 82). They may have been involved in elaborate rituals whose main purpose was to recreate certain historical or mythical events that may have emphasized connections to the gods (see Meadows 2001). As noted by Hruby (2007: 72), “This process has the recursive effect of reaf•rming social Figure 8. Shell adornos in Classic Maya imagery and associated artifactual examples. a) Stela 21 at Naranjo; b) item regalia of Stela 21, Naranjo; c) shell adorno, Uaxactun; d) shell adorno, Actun Uayazba Kab (a: drawing by Ian Graham; b-d: drawings by Christophe Helmke). 118 AMCS Bulletin 23 — Chapter 9 — Stemp et al. roles in the community and clarifying personhood and social well as the world tree which connects the three levels of the identity” (see also Clark and Houston 1998; Joyce 2001). Maya universe (Taube 2005: 25). However, the eccentric from Actun Uayazba Kab seems to Conclusion deviate from these explanations to some degree. For one, this eccentric does not appear to be a god ef•gy nor is it How the green peralkaline eccentric made its way into a zoomorphic or anthropomorphic object; instead, it may Actun Uayazba Kab and what its speci•c function may depict a glyphic form. have been are dif•cult to reconstruct with absolute certainty. In fact, like the shell adornos to which the eccentric has However, our multi-method approach to analyzing this single been compared, a similar adorno is featured as a regalia important artifact has provided a substantial number of clues item of Stela 21 at Naranjo (Graham and Von Euw 1975: that render suppositions about its use by the ancient Maya 53) (Figure 8a-b; see also Figure 5e). The particular adorno more than wild speculation. If we consider its context of featured on Stela 21 also shares the same form as the Day recovery, the technology of its manufacture, damage to its Sign cartouches (Figure 5a), as well as the glyphs designated surface, its symbolic and ideological meaning, and the mate- as T543 and T628 (Figure 5d-f) (Thompson 1962: 155, 452). rial from which it was made there is much that we do know In addition to the depiction at Naranjo, artifactual examples about this object. Caves were places of extreme importance of precisely the same type of shell adorno have also been to the Maya, symbolizing both life and death, as well as be- found at Uaxactun (Kidder 1947: Fig. 53d1; Weiss-Krejci, ing intimately connected with fertility, agriculture, and the personal communication, 2011) and at Actun Uayazba Kab emergence of maize. They were entrances to the underworld itself (Figure 8c-d). Considering the contexts in which and places of creation, and where ritual practitioners and glyphs T543 and T628 occur in Maya writing, it is clear other religious specialists went to commune with ancestors that these should be segregated and treated as separate and the supernatural realm (Bassie-Sweet 1991:79; Brady signs, with T628 serving as the logogram K’IK’ ‘blood’ and Prufer 2005; MacLeod and Puleston 1978: 73; Moyes (Figure 5d) (Stuart 2002). Recently, Ukrainian epigrapher 2007; Moyes et al. 2009; Prufer and Brady 2005; Prufer and Yuri Polyukhovich (personal communication, 2011) has Kindon 2005: 26-28; Tedlock 1996; Thompson 1970:268; suggested that the T543 glyph represented in these adornos Vogt 1969: 387). Artifacts recovered from caves are typically may represent a stylized beehive, read ch’ab ‘wax, hive’. seen as ritually signi•cant forms of material culture that were Part of the evidence rests on the spelling of the name of a viewed and used in ways that were somehow different from mythical or quasi-supernatural entity cited in the texts of similar objects found at surface sites. Palenque, which takes as its initial phonetic complement the Eccentrics are prestige goods typically associated with syllabogram ch’a (Figure 5f). Intriguingly, the name of this royal or elite use and are almost always found in cache de- •gure alternates between a geometric form employing the posits or other ceremonially meaningful locations/contexts T543 glyph, and a head variant form depicting an entity with for the veneration of ancestors (Helmke 1996; Hruby 2007: elongated lips (Figure 5g). According to Polyukhovich, this 68; Iannone 1992; Iannone and Colon 1993; Meadows 2001; •gure may depict a bee, hence the cone-shaped and elongated see Hodder 1982). The connection between status and elite lips, or aptly enough, proboscis. But unlike Polyukhovich, utilization of the cave is reinforced by the glyphic form of we see the geometric form of T543 as a pars pro toto element the eccentric in question, regardless of its speci•c reading. representing the diagnostic buccal element of this mythic However, the reading of the glyph provides yet another entity from Palenque, rather than a beehive per se. Whereas level of interpretation, particularly one that reinforces the both the ch’ab (T543) and k’ik’ (T628) readings each have ritual nature of its function. If, in fact, it is meant to be a their own merit, it remains unclear which of these glyphs representation of the glyph for blood (K’IK’), this would more likely corresponds to the form of the eccentric. For •t well with reconstructions of symbolic value. The ancient our purposes here, it suf•ces to remark that the eccentric Maya used lancets made from obsidian to pierce various conveyed in its very form a glyph, which to the initiated body parts in acts of auto-sacri•ce to provide blood to the reader conveyed a message that was intrinsic to its use and gods. This was undertaken during religious rituals, often in likely reinforced connotations that were intimately tied to caves, as attested to by multiple sources of evidence (Aoyama its original owner. 2001b; Awe et al. 2005; Colas et al. 2000; Pendergast 1974; Clearly, the material from which this eccentric was made Stemp and Awe n.d.). is also signi•cant. Not only is it a long distance material Traces of use-wear on the artifact offer the possibility from Central Mexico, but it is an important color for the that it may have been carried in a pouch or tied to a leather Maya. The color of green obsidian likely held important thong possibly as an ornament worn by a shaman or other sociopolitical and ceremonial meaning to the Maya, perhaps religious practitioner during rituals. Whether this may have due to its connection to Teotihuacan and other symbols of been for display or other symbolic or supernatural reasons its power, such as Teotihuacan-style ceramic vessels (see cannot be known for sure. Sharer 1983: 255). Green is also associated with the center That the eccentric is made from green obsidian may also of the world in the codices of the Yukatek Maya (Miller suggest that status differentiations were involved in the cave and Taube 1993: 65) and, in the case of jade objects, has rituals ultimately resulting in the inhumation of the woman symbolic connections to fertility, agriculture and maize, as in Burial 98-2. The acquisition of green obsidian, as a long  AMCS Bulletin 23 — Chapter 9 — Stemp et al. 119 distance trade good from Central Mexico, was undoubtedly Análisis de las microhuellas de uso sobre la litica more dif•cult than the gray and black obsidians of the Guate- menor de obsidiana. Mayab 14: 5-16. malan highlands (Spence 1996), providing both economic and Argote-Espino, Denise, Jesus Sole, Pedro Lopez-Garcia, social value. Based on ethnographic evidence both political and Osvaldo Sterpone status and ritual/religious status may be connected through 2012 Obsidian Subsource Identi•cation in the Sierra de strict hierarchical ordering and ascribed status (Villa Rojas Pachuca Otumba Volcanic Regions, Central Mexico, 1985: 420-421). As such, for very important rituals, involving by ICP-MS DBSCAN Statistical Analysis. Geoar- requests of rain from the gods or ancestors, high status men chaeology 27: 48-62. seem likely candidates as religious practitioners of sacri•cial Awe, Jaime J., Sherry Gibbs and Cameron Grif•th rituals in caves (see also Bartolomé 1978: 78). Moreover 2005 Stelae and Megalithic Monuments in the Caves of the color of the eccentric likely connects it to ideas about Western Belize. In In the Maw of the Earth Monster: fertility, water, maize, and life as elements in an intricate web Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use, edited by James E. of ideological and symbolic meaning. When considering all Brady and Keith M. Prufer, pp. 223-248. University the information generated through multi-method analysis of of Texas Press, Austin. this artifact, it is clear that the green obsidian eccentric from Awe, Jaime J. and Christophe G. B. Helmke Actun Uayazba Kab was a powerfully charged object in the 1998 Preliminary Report on the Reconnaissance of lives of the ancient Maya. Cahal Uitz Na, Roaring Creek Valley, Cayo District, Belize. In The Western Belize Regional Cave Proj- Acknowledgments ect: A Report of the 1997 Field Season, edited by First and foremost we would like to extend our gratitude Jaime J. Awe, pp. 205-221. Occasional Paper No. to the Belize Institute of Archaeology for its continued and 1, Department of Anthropology, University of New unwavering support of our research, as well as for issuing Hampshire, Durham. the research permits allowing excavations at Actun Uayazba Bartolomé, Miguel Alberto Kab for the 1997 through 1999 seasons. The excavations 1978 The Medicine Men Speak: Stories of Mayan Sha- were undertaken with the generous •nancial support of the mans of Yucatan. Latin American Indian Literatures Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Cananda. 2: 78-84. 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