Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T17:13:49.718Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Donut Stones as Thigh-Supported Spindle Whorls: Evidence of Ancient Maya Household Yarn and Cordage Production

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

John J. Tomasic
John J. Tomasic*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045 ([email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Donut stones are a relatively common class of ground stone artifact found at archaeological sites throughout Mesoamerica and Andean South America, and a variety of functional interpretations have been proposed for these artifacts. In this article, ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and archaeological data are presented along with the results of replicative experiments in support of an argument that some donut stones from the Maya Highlands and Southern Lowlands may have functioned as whorls for a previously unrecognized type of thigh-supported spindle. Based on a functional interpretation of donut stones as thigh-supported spindle whorls, these artifacts can potentially be used to provide insight into the nature of ancient Maya household yarn and cordage production.

La “piedra dona” es una clase de artefacto que es relativamente común en los sitios arqueológicos de Mesoamérica y el área Andina de Sudamérica, y se han propuesto varias interpretaciones funcionales con respecto a su uso. En este artículo se presentarán datos etnográficos, etnohistóricos y arqueológicos, así como resultados de experimentos que sugieren que algunas “piedras dona” en las Tierras Altas Mayas y las Tierras Bajas del Sur pudieron haber funcionado como pesos o soportes para husos. Basándose en la interpretación de las “piedras dona” como soportes para husos, estos artefactos pueden ser usados como evidencia de producción de hilo y cuerda a nivel doméstico.

Type
Reports
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , June 2012 , pp. 215 - 228
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 by the Society for American Archaeology.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Beaudry-Corbett, Marilyn, and McCafferty, Sharisse 2002 Spindle Whorls: Household Specialization at Cerén. In Ancient Maya Women, edited by Traci Ardren, pp. 52–67. Altamira Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Börner, Rudolf 1962 Minerals, Rocks, and Gemstones. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh.Google Scholar
Charlton, Thomas H., Nichols, Deborah L., and Charlton, Cynthia Otis 1991 Aztec Craft Production and Specialization: Archaeological Evidence from the City-State of Otumba, Mexico. World Archaeology 23:98–114.Google Scholar
Conkey, Margaret W., and Spector, Janet 1984 Archaeology and the Study of Gender. In Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, Vol. 7, edited by Michael B. Schiffer, pp. 1–38. Academic Press, Orlando, Florida.Google Scholar
Department of Health and Human Services 2007 NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Publication No. 2005–149. United States Government Printing Office, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Google Scholar
Gentry, Howard Scott 1982 Agaves of Continental North America. University of Arizona Press, Phoenix.Google Scholar
Hall, Barbara Ann 1997 Spindle Whorls and Cotton Production in Middle Classic Matacapan and in the Gulf Lowlands. In Olmec to Aztec: Settlement Patterns in the Ancient Gulf Lowlands, edited by Barbara L. Stark and Philip J, Arnold III, pp. 115–135. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Halperin, Christina T. 2008 Classic Maya Textile Production: Insights from Motul de San José, Peten, Guatemala. Ancient Mesoamerica 19:111–125.Google Scholar
Hochberg, Bette 1980 Hand-spindles. Bette and Bernard Hochberg, Santa Cruz.Google Scholar
Inomata, Takeshi 1995 Archaeological Investigations at the Fortified Center of Aguateca, El Petén, Guatemala: Implications for the Study of the Classic Maya Collapse. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.Google Scholar
Inomata, Takeshi, and Stiver, Laura R. 1998 Floor Assemblages from Burned Structures at Aguateca, Guatemala: A Study of Classic Maya House-holds. Journal of Field Archaeology 25:431–452.Google Scholar
Inomata, Takeshi, Triadan, Daniela, Ponciano, Erick, Pinto, Estela, Terry, Richard E., and Eberl, Marcus 2002 Domestic and Political Lives of Classic Maya Elites: The Excavation of Rapidly Abandoned Structures at Aguateca, Guatemala. Latin American Antiquity 13:305–330.Google Scholar
Inomata, Takeshi, and Triadan, Daniela (editors) 2012 Life and Politics at the Royal Court of Aguateca: Artifacts, Analytical Data, and Synthesis. Monographs of the Aguateca Archaeological Project First Phase, Vol. 3. University of Utah Press, Provo, in press.Google Scholar
Kidder, Alfred Vincent, Jennings, Jesse David, and Shook, Edwin M 1946 Excavations at Kaminaljuyú, Guatemala. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 561, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Kovacevich, Brigitte 2006 Reconstructing Classic Maya Economic Systems: Production and Exchange at Cancuen, Guatemala. Unpublished Ph.D dissertation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. Electronic document, http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/ETD-db/available/etd-07192006-132746/unrestricted/thesis.pdf, accessed July 28th, 2010.Google Scholar
Lothrop, Samuel K. 1929 The Henequen Industry of San Pablo, Guatemala. Indian Notes 6:120–129.Google Scholar
McBryde, Felix Webster 1947 Cultural and Historical Geography of Southwest Guatemala. Institute of Social Anthropology, Publication No. 4, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
McCafferty, Sharisse, and McCafferty, Jeffrey 1994 Engendering Tomb 7 at Monte Alban: Respinning an Old Yarn. Current Anthropology 35:143–152.Google Scholar
McCafferty, Sharisse, and McCafferty, Jeffrey 1996 Spinning and Weaving as Female Gender Identity in Post-Classic Mexico. In Textile Traditions of Mesoamerica and the Andes: An Anthology, edited by Margot Blum Schevill, Janet Catherine Berlo, and Edward B. Dwyer, pp. 19–44. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
McCafferty, Sharisse, and McCafferty, Jeffrey 2000 Textile Production in Postclassic Cholula, Mexico. Ancient Mesoamerica 11:39–54.Google Scholar
Moholy-Nagy, Hattula 2003 The Artifacts of Tikal: Utilitarian Artifacts and Unworked Material. Tikal Report No. 27, Part B, University Museum Monograph 118. The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Nichols, Deborah L., McLaughlin, Mary Jane, and Benton, Maura 2000 Production Intensification and Regional Specialization: Maguey Fibers and Textiles in the Aztec City-State of Otumba. Ancient Mesoamerica 11:267–291.Google Scholar
O’Neale, Lila M. 1945 Textiles of Highland Guatemala. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 567, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Palerm, Angel 1967 Agricultural Systems and Food Patterns. In Social Anthropology, edited by Manning Nash, pp. 26–52. Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 6, Robert Wauchope, general editor, University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Parsons, Mary H. 1972 Spindle Whorls from Teotihuacan Valley, Mexico. In Miscellaneous Studies in Mexican Prehistory, edited by Michael W. Spence, Jeffrey Parsons, and Mary Hrones Parsons with a contribution by George Fraunfelter, pp. 45–80. Anthropological Papers, No. 45. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Parsons, Jeffery R., and Parsons, Mary H. 1990 Agave Utilization in Highland Central Mexico: An Archaeological Ethnography. Anthropological Papers No. 82. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Robin, Cynthia 2006 Gender, Farming, and Long-Term Change: Maya Historical and Archaeological Perspectives. Current Anthropology 47:409–433.Google Scholar
Rojas Rabiela, Teresa 1984 Agricultural Implements in Mesoamerica. In Explorations in Ethnohistory, edited by H.R. Harvey and Hanns J. Prem, pp. 175–204. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Sahagun, Bernardino de 1950–82 Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New Spain. Translated by C. E. Dibble and A. J. D. Anderson. 12 vols. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, and School of American Research, Santa Fe.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D. 1978 The Prehistory of Chalchuapa, El Salvador Volume 2, Part I: Artifacts. University Museum Monograph 36. The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D. 1992 The Cerén Site: A Prehistoric Village Buried by Volcanic Ash in Central America. Case Studies in Archaeology Series, Jeffrey Quilter, series editor. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., Orlando, Florida.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D. 2000 Provisioning the Cerén Household. Ancient Mesoamerica 11:217–230.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D. 2002 Groundstone Artifacts in the Cerén Village. In Before the Volcano Erupted: The Ancient Ceren Village in Central America, edited by Payson D. Sheets, pp. 145–150. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D. 2006 The Ceren Site: A Prehistoric Village Buried by Volcanic Ash in Central America. 2nd ed. Case Studies in Archaeology Series, Jeffrey Quilter, series editor. Thomson Wadsworth, Belmont, California.Google Scholar
Smith, Michael E., and Hirth, Kenneth G. 1988 The Development of Cotton Spinning Technology in Postclassic Morelos, Mexico. Journal of Field Archaeology 15:349–358.Google Scholar
Tomasic, John, and Waggoner, Tricia 2010 Reexamining Spindle Whorls in the North American and Mesoamerican Archaeological Records. Poster presented at the 75th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, St. Louis, Missouri.Google Scholar
Willey, Gordon R. 1972 The Artifacts of Altar de Sacrificios. Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 64, No. 1. Peabody Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Willey, Gordon R. 1978 Excavations at Seibal, Department of Petén, Guatemala: Artifacts. Memoirs of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Vol. 14, No. 1. Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Woodbury, Richard B. 1965 Artifacts of the Guatemalan Highlands. In Archaeology of Southern Mesoamerica, Part One, edited by Gordon R. Willey, pp. 163–179. Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 2, Robert Wauchope, general editor. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Zier, Christian 1980 A Classic-Period Maya Agricultural Field in Western El Salvador. Journal of Field Archaeology 7:65–74.Google Scholar