This paper will report
on the results of lithic analysis for material from the Formative
Period site of Yarumela, Honduras, which maintained interaction
with other southeastern Mesoamerican societies. Although lithic
analysis has become increasingly more important in Mesoamerican
studies, methods and theories regarding the role of lithic
materical in patterns of production, exchange and consumption
have often been uncritically adopted. My findings suggest that
the commonly used ratio of Cutting Edge to Mass (CE/M) employed
as an index of access to obsidian, can be determined by other
variables. As a result, the utility of CE/M ratios for obsidian
as an indication of access/control should be re-examined.
Paper presented as part of General Session on Archaeology of
Honduras