KAZUO AOYAMA

Faculty of Humanities
Ibaraki University
Bunkyo 2-1-1, Mito
Ibaraki, 310-8512
Japan

Classic Maya State, Urbanism, and Exchange:

Chipped Stone Evidence of the Copan Valley and Its Hinterland

In this article I use quantitative data from 91,916 pieces of chipped stone artifacts from the Copan Valley and its hinterland
in Honduras to understand better the nature and role of exchange in the development of a Classic Maya state-level society.
The results of this study suggest that intraregional exchange was more crucial for state development than was long-
distance exchange. The management of procurement and exchange of utilitarian commodities, such as Ixtepeque obsidian
blade cores, along with other factors, played a significant role in the development of the Copan state. In contrast to other
major Maya lowland states, the Copan state directly obtained obsidian blade cores from nearby sources, distributed them
to local leaders at Copan, and exported them to local rulers in neighboring regions. In this sense, the Classic Copan state
maintained a centralized and integrated political and economic organization based on far more than kinship, ideology, and
ritual, [exchange, complex society, urbanism, Classic Maya state]

T
he development of extensive exchange often plays
an important role in the evolution of complex socie-
ties, although the exact nature of that role is widely
debated.1 In the case of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, ar-
chaeologists have often used geochemical analyses of ob-
sidian artifacts to understand better the nature and degree
of long-distance exchanges because of the practicality of
precise geochemical analyses for determining the sources
of archaeological obsidian; nevertheless, small sample
sizes and inappropriate sampling methods often impede ef-
forts to study obsidian distribution patterns in explicit
terms (Drennan et al. 1990:180). Theories concerning the
development of Maya civilization have often viewed long-
distance exchange as a crucial factor; intraregional or local
exchange has received far less attention (Marcus 1983a:
477^80). This is partly due to the fact that the primary re-
search focus of Maya archaeology is still individual sites,
not regions.
Opinions vary markedly concerning the nature of Classic
Maya political organization. Basically, one group of schol-
ars reconstructs unitary- or regional-states with strongly
centralized organization and sees the major Classic Maya
cities as the urban loci for administered economies inte-
grated by organic solidarity.2 Another group sees weakly
centralized segmentary-states and proposes that lowland
Classic Maya states had weak economic functions and that
their power was heavily based on ideology.3 Some of the
proponents of these models disagree widely about whether
Classic Maya states had strong managerial functions of ex-
change systems in utilitarian goods or whether such func-
tions were weakly developed.
This study concerns the following research questions:
(1) What was the nature of obsidian exchange systems
through time in Copan and its hinterland? (2) What was the
relationship between obsidian exchange systems and the
development of sociopolitical complexity? I use data on
91,916 pieces of chipped stone artifacts from in and around
Copan, one of the premier Classic Maya cities, located
near one of the primary obsidian sources for the Maya low-
lands in order to address these questions (Figure 1). I also
study Classic Maya urbanism by examining the role of the
center in the regional settlement systems as well as the so-
cioeconomic interactions between the center and surround-
ing smaller sites.
The lithic analysis draws not only on the urban core of
Copan but also on peripheral domestic occupations, nearby
sites, and more distant centers such as those in the region of
La Entrada in western Honduras. I emphasize the distribu-
tion patterns of 62,218 obsidian artifacts to understand bet-
ter the nature and role of intraregional and interregional ex-
change as well as long-distance exchange in the structure
and development of a Classic Maya state-level society at
Copan. These artifacts pertain to the Early Preclassic through
the Early Postclassic period (1400 B.C.-A.D. 1100) and
can serve as sensitive indicators for reconstructing one as-
pect of long-term changing patterns of the pre-Columbian

American Anthropologist 103(2):346-360. Copyright © 2001, American Anthropological Association

 AOYAMA
Figure 1. Map of Mesoamerica showing archaeological sites and obsidian sources mentioned in the text.
Maya exchange system in and around Copan. This paper
contributes to anthropological theory on the development
of complex societies by examining the question of how an-
cient Maya economies were integrated at the regional level
through time and the degree to which ancient Maya centers
can be said to have been urbanized.
Study Regions
The Copan Valley is situated above a tributary of the
Motagua River in a section of western Honduras. A series
of large-scale international archaeological projects con-
ducted there since 1975 have made it one of the most inten-
sively studied regions in the Maya lowlands.4 The pre-Co-
lumbian occupation of the Copan Valley began during the
Early Preclassic Rayo phase (1400-900 B.C.) and lasted
until the Early Postclassic Ejar phase (A.D. 900-1100 [Bill
1997; Viel 1993, 1998]). Beginning at the Late Protoclas-
sic Bijac 2 phase (A.D. 150-400), and continuing into the
Early Classic Acbi phase (A.D. 400-600), truly significant
changes in society took place in the Copan Valley. A royal
dynasty was founded on 8.19.10.10.17 (A.D. 426) by Yax
K'uk' Mo\ this royal line was to persist until the death of
the sixteenth ruler in A.D. 820. Copan had the cultural
/ CLASSIC MAYA STATE. URBANISM. AND EXCHANGE 347
Car bbean Sea
• nun a i
' San Martin •,'
\ J.lotepeque E|ChiVa| HONDURAS
^ A ;Copdn
La Esperanza
characteristics of Classic Maya civilization. By the end of
the seventh century A.D., at the latest, Copan was in the
process of attaining sociopolitical complexity associated
with statehood (Fash 1991:112).
The apogee of the Copan state occurred during the first
half of the Late Classic Coner phase (A.D. 600-900), as
evident in the settlement pattern. Willey and Leventhal
(1979) devised a basic settlement typology for Copdn
based on the size and elaboration of constituent stmctures
and the complexity of mound groups. The only Type 5
complex is the Principal Group of Copan; it was the ad-
ministrative and residential complex of the royal family
and their immediate subordinates. Outside the Principal
Group, the large (Types 4 and 3) elite residential com-
pounds constitute only 7.3% of all mound groups in the
Copan Valley (Fash 1986: table 1). The smaller (Types 2
and 1) house groups represented the more modest dwell-
ings of the common people who made up the vast majority
of the population. Fash (1991:155) divides the Late Classic
settlement pattern into two basic elements: the densely oc-
cupied urban core and its rural sector.
The ancient inhabitants of the Copan Valley imported
obsidian from at least six geologic sources: Ixtepeque, El
Chayal, and San Martin Jilotepeque in Guatemala, La
348 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST • VOL. 103, No. 2 • JUNE 2001

Table 1. Visual analysis of obsidian artifacts from the Copan Valley, Honduras. IX = Ixtepeque; ECH = El Chayal; LE = La Esperanza; SMJ:
San Martin Jilotepeque; PA = Pachuca; UC = Ucareo; UID = Unidentified source.

Obsidian sources
Period IX ECH LE SMJ PA UC UID Total
Early Preclassic 74 0 0 0 0 0 2 76
% 97.4 0 0 0 0 0 2.6 100.0
Middle Preclassic 2004 4 6 0 0 0 0 2014
% 99.5 0.2 0.3 0 0 0 0 100.0
Late Preclassic 246 1 0 0 0 0 0 247
% 99.6 0.4 0 0 0 0 0 100.0
Protoclassic 677 0 0 0 0 0 0 677
% 100.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 100.0
Early Classic 6815 16 28 3 74 0 2 6938
% 98.2 0.2 1.1 0.04 1.1 0 0.3 100.0
Late Classic 9107 10 16 1 0 9 3 9146
% 99.6 0.1 0.2 0.01 0 0.1 0.03 100.0
Early Postclassic 525 3 1 0 21 1 0 551
% 95.3 0.5 0.2 0 3.8 0.2 0 100.0
Mixed contexts 37513 112 171 16 325 27 2 38166
Total 56961 146 222 20 420 37 9 57815
% 98.5 0.3 0.4 0.03 0.7 0.1 0.02 100.0

Esperanza in Honduras; and Pachuca and Ucareo in Cen-
tral Mexico (Aoyama 1999:15-19). Nearly all the obsidian
came from the closest source, Ixtepeque, during the entire
pre-Columbian sequence (Table 1). The straight line dis-
tance from the Copan Valley to Ixtepeque (80 km) is con-
siderably shorter than for most Maya lowland areas. The
ancient Copanecs appear to have had direct access to this
source. Also, chert nodules as large as 50 cm in maximum
dimension were available in abundance in the Copan Val-
ley. Individual households gathered chert primarily for ex-
pedient core-flake technology.
The region of La Entrada is located 40 km to the north-
east of the Copan Valley, constituting a portion of the
southeastern periphery of the Maya lowlands. The regional
survey of the La Entrada Archaeological Project located
635 pre-Columbian sites in some 150 km2 (Inomata and
Aoyama 1996; Nakamura et al. 1991). The polities in the
region of La Entrada reached their apogee during the Late
Classic period and actively interacted with the Copan state.
The region was governed not by a united political power
but by several local polities of similar power.
Methodology
I studied 91,916 chipped stone artifacts recovered from
a stratified random sample and extensive excavations of
Phases I and II of the Copan Archaeological Project,
Copan Acropolis Archaeological Project, the Carnegie In-
stitution of Washington, and the La Entrada Archaeologi-
cal Project. The artifacts were selected from the full range
of settlement types and contexts from various periods. Of
these, 74,614 chipped stone artifacts were recovered from
the Copan Valley; 57,815 chipped stone artifacts were
manufactured from obsidian, while remaining artifacts
were made from local chert. In my study, chronological
control is of particular importance. To insure temporal
control, I eliminated lithic collections that seemed to repre-
sent mixed time periods. Consequently, the total chipped
stone samples was reduced to 34,004 artifacts as the basis
for the diachronic discussions presented below (Table 2).
Nevertheless, temporally mixed samples were also consid-
ered to study spatial distribution patterns of rare artifacts,
such as exhausted polyhedral blade cores and green obsid-
ian artifacts from Central Mexico.
I classified all chipped stone artifacts first by raw mate-
rial and next according to technological types (Figure 2
[see Aoyama 1999; Clark and Bryant 1997; Sheets 1978]).
I also analyzed microwear on a total of 3,232 chipped stone
artifacts based on the high-power microscopy approach to
study stone tool use (Aoyama 1989, 1995, 1996, 1999).
The pre-Columbian obsidian exchange system at Copan
was reconstructed by combining technological analysis
and source analysis. I identified sources of obsidian arti-
facts by combining neutron-activation analysis (NAA
[Glascock et al. 1991]) and visual examination (Aoyama
1994, 1996, 1999). Visual analysis was conducted for all
obsidian artifacts by comparing them with reference sam-
ples that exhibit the full range of optical variability of the
pre-Columbian obsidian sources in Mexico, Guatemala,
and Honduras. The accuracy of my visual analyses was
confirmed by a blind test of 100 obsidian artifacts from the
region of La Entrada using NAA by Michael D. Glascock
at the University of Missouri. The results of the blind test
 AOYAMA / CLASSIC MAYA STATE. URBANISM. AND EXCHANGE 349

Table 2. Technological analysis of obsidian artifacts from the Copan Valley, Honduras. Rayo = Early Preclassic; Uir=Middle Preclassic;
Chabij = Late Preclassic; Bijac = Protoclassic; Acbi = Early Classic; Coner = Late Classic; Ejar = Early Postclassic.

Phases
Artifacts Rayo Uir Chabij Bijac Acbi Coner Ejar Mixed Total
Prismatic blades 0 54 20 255 4496 6523 151 23053 34552
Macroblades 0 0 2 2 75 272 2 468 821
Polyhedral cores 0 0 0 6 52 92 2 350 502
Prismatic blade points 0 0 0 0 5 17 0 58 80
Bifacial points 0 0 0 0 24 63 8 259 354
Bifacial thinning flakes 0 0 0 0 48 71 16 84 219
Flakes 68 1882 212 381 2162 1915 352 12883 19855
Scrapers 1 47 5 19 44 105 9 553 783
Notched flakes 3 4 0 1 5 5 0 47 65
Denticulates 3 8 1 5 14 12 0 68 111
Drills 0 2 1 0 0 3 0 20 26
Flake cores 1 17 6 8 13 65 11 316 437
Eccentrics 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 7 10
Total 76 2014 247 677 6938 9146 551 38166 57815

indicated a 98% accuracy rate (Aoyama and Glascock
1991:82). More importantly, independent scholars have
demonstrated that, at least for certain collections of Maya
obsidian artifacts, visual sourcing is both reproducible and
accurate (Braswell et al. 2000).
Preclassic Period (1400 B.C.-A.D. 50)
To summarize the diachronic changes in obsidian pro-
curement and production, Figure 3 shows a negative corre-
lation through time between the percentage of prismatic
blades in obsidian artifacts and the percentage of cortex-
bearing Ixtepeque obsidian in the Copan Valley from the
Early Preclassic through the Early Postclassic period. The
Early Preclassic Rayo phase obsidian artifacts are some of
the earliest from stratified deposits in the Maya lowlands to
date. Due to the high percentage of cortex on the Ixtepeque
obsidian artifacts (27%), it would appear that the Ixtepeque
obsidian was imported as large flake spalls or small nod-
ules. There is no evidence for blade or bifacial technology
(Table 2). Rather it seems that informal flakes were pro-
duced by a combination of direct percussion and bipolar
techniques (Figure 2:h-j).
During the Middle Preclassic Uir phase (900-300 B.C.),
small quantities of Ixtepeque prismatic blades (Figure
2:c-d) were imported as finished products (Table 2). There
is still no evidence for blade technology, due to the lack of
manufacturing debitage for local production of obsidian
blades. Nevertheless, trade in prismatic blades was a low-
volume undertaking and did not supersede the preexistent,
simple, expedient flake industry. The expedient chert flake
industry, moreover, did not change at all in response to the
introduction of obsidian blades. On the basis of the overall
low percentage (2.7%) of prismatic blades in obsidian arti-
facts and the high percentage of cortex in the Ixtepeque ob-
sidian artifacts (20.5%), it would appear that the Ixtepeque
obsidian continued to be imported mainly as large flake
spalls or small nodules.
Even during the Late Preclassic Chabij phase (300
B.C.-A.D. 50), due to the overall low percentage (8.8%) of
prismatic blades in obsidian artifacts as well as high per-
centage of cortex (19.5%) in the Ixtepeque obsidian arti-
facts, it would appear that the Ixtepeque obsidian was im-
ported mainly as large flake spalls or small nodules as it
was during preceding periods. Moreover, small quantities
of prismatic blades as well as macroblades (Figure 2:b) ap-
pear to have been imported as finished artifacts (Table 2).
The lack of evidence for trade in obsidian blade cores and
local production of pressure blades from imported cores
goes with a population reduction and a simple level of so-
ciopolitical organization in the Copan Valley during this
period. The Copan situation is an anomaly in the Maya
area and its adjacent areas because blade technology was
already adopted in contemporaneous neighboring complex
societies, for example, at Chalchuapa (Sheets 1978) and at
Quelepa, El Salvador (Braswell et al. 1994).
Protoclassic Period (A.D. 50-400)
At the beginning of the Early Protoclassic Bijac 1 phase
(A.D. 50-150), Copan seems to have maintained a simple
level of sociopolitical organization. The local inhabitants at
this point still imported Ixtepeque obsidian principally as
large flake spalls or small nodules, as well as a limited
quantity of finished prismatic blades (Braswell et al. 1996).
The inscription on Stela I at Copan records a possible
"pre-dynastic" ruler and an event that took place in A.D.
159 that may have to do with the founding of the Copan
350 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST • VOL. 103, No. 2 • JUNE 2001

/Vh

o 5cm
I 1 1

Figure 2. Obsidian artifacts from the Copan Valley, Honduras. All were manufactured from Ixtepeque obsidian: (a) polyhedral core fragment;
(b) macroblade; (c-e) prismatic blades; (0 bifacial point; (g) prismatic blade point; (h) flake core; (I j) flakes.
 AOYAMA
polity (Stuart 1992:171). During the Late Protoclassic Bi-
jac 2 phase (A.D. 150-400) the archaeological record does
indicate that the valley population grew substantially.
Based on architectural differences and funerary offerings,
Fash (1991:74) argues for at least two different socioeco-
nomic levels in the Copan Valley. The presence of obsid-
ian polyhedral cores (Figure 2: a) and large manufacturing
debris related to blade technology suggests the beginning
of importation of blade cores into the Copan Valley during
this phase (Table 2). Other lines of evidence for this in-
clude a dramatic increase in the percentage of prismatic
blades in obsidian artifacts (37.7%) and a corresponding
decrease in the percentage of cortex-bearing Ixtepeque ob-
sidian (11.8%) compared with the Late Preclassic Chabij
phase (Figure 3).
Although the Late Protoclassic obsidian samples are
small, the relative degree of blade availability was associ-
ated with the change in settlement pattern. Possible politi-
cal control over blade allocation can be inferred from the
skewed distribution of these artifacts at Copan. Both the in-
habitants in the Principal Group and those living in plas-
tered, dressed-stone buildings in Group 10L-18 had greater
access to Ixtepeque obsidian prismatic blades than other
households outside the Principal Group. The latter group
was located 200 m to the west of the Great Plaza in excava-
tion Operation IV/123 (Fash 1991:73). The obsidian arti-
facts from the Principal Group and Group 10L-18 have
much higher percentages (71.8%, 67.6%, respectively) of
prismatic blades in obsidian artifacts than other residential
I ! I 30
PHASES
Figure 3. (A) Change in the percentage of prismatic blades in all obsidian artifacts in the CopaYi Valley. (B) Change in the percentage of
cortex-bearing Ixtepeque obsidian in the Copdn Valley.
/ CLASSIC MAYA STATE, URBANISM, AND EXCHANGE 351
groups in the Copan Valley (Mean = 33.2%, S.D. =
13.0%). Households outside the Principal Group lacked
access to Ixtepeque obsidian blade cores and received
smaller quantities of finished prismatic blades. These
households continued to acquire Ixtepeque obsidian
mainly as large flake spalls or small nodules for the non-
specialized production of flakes.
The diachronic obsidian data at Copan strongly support
Clark's (1987) contention that the spread of prismatic
blade technology was linked more to political decisions
than to the technological efficiency of blades per se. Dur-
ing the Late Protoclassic period, one of the "pre-dynastic"
rulers of Copan may have begun to sponsor the procure-
ment of Ixtepeque blade cores and local production of fine
blades on behalf of his community as one means of con-
solidating and legitimizing his own political authority. The
decision does not appear to have been motivated by a de-
sire to economize or to make a profit. Blades may have
been distributed as a type of political payola—as gifts used
to attract subordinates. If so, the adoption of blade technol-
ogy may have begun as the result, rather than the cause, of
sociopolitical development in the Copan Valley.
Early Classic Period (A.D. 400-600)
Yax K'uk' Mo' founded a new royal dynasty at Copan
in A.D. 426 (Fash 1991). A dramatic increase in the per-
centage of prismatic blades in obsidian artifacts (64.8%) as
well as a corresponding decrease in cortex-bearing Ixtepeque
B
i i r i i i
20
UJ
o
G
10
i i i i i i i
PHASES
352 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST • VOL. 103, No. 2 • JUNE 2001
obsidian (2.7%) during the Early Classic period may signal
a marked increase in the importation of blade cores and
production of prismatic blades (Figure 3). These changes
could have resulted from sociopolitical developments that
culminated in the formation of the Copan state by the end
of the seventh century A.D. (Fash 1991:112), as apparent
in other major changes in settlement patterns, monumental
architecture, hieroglyphic texts, art, ceramics, and funeral
traditions.
Extensive excavations in the Principal Group of Copan
have located two Early Classic prismatic blade production
workshop dumps. Richard Williamson discovered one of
the workshop dumps associated with the Gran Corniza
Platform (Operation 37/5/287). Albeit a small deposit (1 x
1 x 0.2 m), obsidian density (4,835 pieces and 7,979 g per
m3) is the highest in the present sample (Aoyama 1999:
115-117). The obsidian artifacts included primary produc-
tion debris and manufacturing rejects. The distribution of
blade widths forms a pronounced bimodal curve, suggest-
ing that many blades were removed from the assemblage
(see Clark 1986:58; Clark and Bryant 1997:118). Based on
conservative estimates that 150-200 prismatic blades
could be produced from one core (Clark 1986:36, 1987:
260), the obsidian debitage in the Copan deposit could
have derived from about 16 polyhedral cores and suggests
that about 4,186-8,986 prismatic blade fragments are
missing from the workshop debris. If we apply an estimate
of 10 complete blades per family of five per year, which
Clark (1986:36) used to assess annual obsidian consump-
tion, the needs of 1,047-1,498 consumers would have been
satisfied with the production from the implicated blade
workshop. These figures by no means suggest production
on a scale for export, but it would have been sufficient to
fulfill the needs of local populations in the ancient city. A
skilled part-time craft specialist could have manufactured
these prismatic blade fragments in fewer than ten days.
While nearly all obsidian continued to be procured from
Ixtepeque, as in previous periods, Yax K'uk' Mo' may
have started to obtain small numbers of finished artifacts
(primarily prismatic blades, but also small quantities of bi-
facial points) from highland Mexico, including the green
obsidian from the Pachuca source. The import of green ob-
sidian artifacts was a low-volume undertaking. However,
the percentage of green obsidian (9.8%) in obsidian arti-
facts (N = 82) from the Yax Structure, which Yax K'uk'
Mo' commissioned, is one of the highest in the Classic
Maya lowlands. This percentage is lower than that found
for some single deposits at Tikal (Laporte 1988:170, 172)
but higher than that of Guatemalan highland sites such as
Kaminaljuyu (Kidder et al. 1946:136, 138). Also notable is
the near absence of green obsidian in regions neighboring
Copan, such as Quirigua (Stross et al. 1983:335), the re-
gion of La Entrada, and Chalchuapa (Sheets 1978:13).
A possible interpretation for this high percentage of
green obsidian in the Yax Structure is that Yax K'uk' Mo'
was from Teotihuacan or from a center such as Tikal or
Kaminaljuyu, which had strong, and possibly direct, trade
ties with Teotihuacan in highland Mexico (Aoyama and
Inomata 1997:105). It is also possible that Yax K'uk' Mo'
was a local Copanec who used Teotihuacan-related green
obsidian artifacts to legitimate his authority and political
power. However, both archaeological and epigraphic evi-
dence supports the hypothesis that Yax K'uk' Mo' was an
outsider who arrived at Copan (Sharer et al. 1999:20; Stu-
art 2000:492). There is a significant difference in the green
obsidian artifact assemblages at Copan compared to Tikal
and Kaminaljuyu, especially the higher percentage of bi-
facial points from the latter two sites. At Copan, the per-
centage of bifacial points in green obsidian artifacts was
only 2.7% during the Early Classic period, while at Tikal
that percentage was 13.8% (Moholy-Nagy et al. 1984: ta-
ble 1) and at Kaminaljuyu 18.8% (Kidder et al. 1946:136,
138). These data may indicate that the Yax K'uk' Mo' dy-
nasty had different exchange ties with Teotihuacan than
the other cities.
In light of the restricted spatial distribution of green ob-
sidian in the Copan Valley during the Early Classic period,
green obsidian tools may have been elite goods. The Yax
K'uk' Mo' dynasty may have distributed them as elite gifts
to secure and solidify the allegiance of followers and allies.
Green obsidian artifacts are concentrated in the Principal
Group and its immediate vicinity of the urban core,
whereas they are virtually absent in the rural areas of the
Copan Valley. It is important to note that imported poly-
chrome vessels from other parts of the Maya area also had
a limited distribution in the Copan Valley. Such vessels
were rare even in the urban core, but they were almost non-
existent outside it (Bill 1997:543). This spatial distribution
overlaps that of finished tools of green obsidian and rein-
forces the hypothesis that green obsidian tools were elite
commodities.
Both microwear and contextual analyses on green ob-
sidian artifacts suggest that these artifacts were mainly
"elite utilitarian commodities," that is, utilitarian commod-
ities used by elites in the Early Classic Copan Valley. The
results of microwear analysis on green obsidian prismatic
blades indicate that these blades were used for a variety of
mundane tasks such as cutting and scraping meat or hide,
or cutting, whittling, and grooving wood or other plants
(Aoyama 1999:107). The majority of green obsidian arti-
facts occur in domestic middens and construction fills; fre-
quencies are much lower in caches and burials. These con-
textual data on green obsidian artifacts at the Early Classic
Copan are exceptional in southern Mesoamerica. Almost
all green obsidian artifacts in the Guatemalan highland and
coastal regions, as well as other parts of the Classic Maya
 AOYAMA
lowlands, have been found in special caches and burials
(Spence 1996).
The use or display of such small quantities of long-dis-
tance exchange goods appears to have been primarily of
social and symbolic rather than economic significance
(e.g., Drennan 1991:281). The color of green obsidian it-
self may have had a social and symbolic significance
(Sharer 1983:255). The control of exotic materials and eso-
teric knowledge from distant sacred places such as Teoti-
huacan may have been crucial in legitimizing the political
authority and power of emerging rulers in the Copan Val-
ley during the Early Classic period. Nevertheless, because
the percentage of green obsidian in all obsidian artifacts
decreased through the architectural sequence at the
Acropolis (Figure 4), the role of green obsidian seems to
have diminished through time. This pattern of decreased
use may have partly resulted from a shift of elite connec-
tions. If Yax K'uk' Mo' had been an outsider, this pattern
may also have resulted from the assimilation of the Yax
K'uk' Mo' dynasty to local culture through time. In any
event, later rulers would appear to have had less need of
such external reinforcements of power, as local sociopoliti-
cal organization became more consolidated. By the Late
Classic period, rulers with entrenched local power ceased
to import green obsidian.
Ceramic data also imply "out-looking" reinforcements
of power strategy taken by earlier rulers of the Yax K'uk'
Mo' dynasty. There were significant changes in the em-
phasis on fine ware traditions at Copan. At the beginning
10 i groups suggests that the production of fine obsidian blades
A I
9
- A - was not centralized.
a 8
- /\ -
OBSI
7 -
6 They also acquired small obsidian cobbles and large flake
_J
\ 5 -
z
a
4
> -
GREEN OBSI
3 elite at Quirigua imported obsidian blade cores for special-
2 ized prismatic blade manufacture, people living in rural
1 sidian stream cobbles for producing flake tools. In the
i i i l
1 2 3 4 5 6
STRATIGRAPHIC SEQUENCES
Figure 4. Percentage of green obsidian in all obsidian artifacts
through straligraphic sequences of Structure 10L-26, Copdn. 1. Below
Yax Structure; 2. Yax Structure; 3. Motomot Structure; 4. Papgayo
Structure; 5. Mascarones Structrure; 6. Chorcha Structure.
/ CLASSIC MAYA STATE. URBANISM, AND EXCHANGE 353
of the Early Classic period the lowland Maya-related Pol-
ished Black/Brown Tradition predominated; then the local
Cream Paste Tradition developed through time in the latter
half of the Early Classic period (Bill 1997:399-400; Viel
1993:16).
Late Classic Period (A.D. 600-900)
Ixtepeque obsidian was imported to the Copan Valley
during the Late Classic period mainly as blade cores, as in
the previous period. Microwear and contextual analyses in-
dicate that prismatic blades of Ixtepeque obsidian were not
luxury commodities but were mainly valued as utilitarian
goods. Both elites and commoners used them for a wide
variety of everyday tasks such as cutting, whittling, and
grooving wood or other plants; cutting and scraping meat
or hide; cutting, sawing, and whittling shell, bone, or ant-
ler; and, to a much smaller degree, for bloodletting rituals
(Aoyama 1999:133). Apparently, all households had ac-
cess to finished prismatic blades made from Ixtepeque ob-
sidian, as in the previous periods. The great majority of
them occur in domestic contexts, and far fewer in ceremo-
nial contexts.
There is no evidence for full-time chipped stone produc-
tion or other nonsubsistence production with chipped stone
tools in the ancient city of Copan, even during the Late
Classic period. Blade production workshop dumps dating
to this period in the valley have yet to be recovered. Al-
though the presence of exhausted polyhedral cores or frag-
ments is not definitive evidence for on-site manufacturing
of prismatic blades, their presence in several residential
Not all households, however, had access to Ixtepeque
blade cores or could produce prismatic blades. Some
poorer agriculturalists in the rural areas obtained a small
amount of finished Ixtepeque obsidian prismatic blades.
spalls for the unspecialized production of flakes by a com-
bination of direct percussion and bipolar techniques (see
Aoyama 1996: tables A9 and A10 for detailed data).
Sheets (1983:96-97) suggests that while the Classic Maya
villages and hamlets in the countryside obtained small ob-
same way, it is possible to differentiate between the fine-
blade and casual flake industries of the Copan Valley dur-
ing the Late Classic period (Figure 5). Comparing the error
ranges for different confidence intervals reveals that the es-
timated proportions of obsidian in chipped stone artifacts,
prismatic blades in obsidian artifacts, and cortex-bearing
Ixtepeque artifacts for the urban core fall well outside the
99% range for the rural areas, and vice versa. Hence, the
354 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST VOL. 103. No. 2 JUNE 2001

p<.0005, y=8.406X + 54.293). As shown in Figure 8,

the percentage of Ixtepeque prismatic blades also increases
CONFIDENCE from small residences to the Principal Group. This pattern
• I IB
would suggest a greater availability of Ixtepeque obsidian
blade cores and prismatic blades, and/or a greater access to
|9H specialized craftsmen in accordance with the social status
a&-
of households. A chi-square test indicates an extremely
significant and moderately strong difference between the
•I- three groups (X2 = 86.53, p < 0.0005, V = 0.14). A fourth
line of evidence for the rulers1 preferential access to Ix-
tepeque obsidian refers to a Late Classic cache of 700 un-
: usually large macroblades (as long as 29.4 cm, Mean
length = 19 cm, S.D, = 3.4 cm) and macroflakes (as wide
as 15 cm, Mean width = 7.9 cm, S.D. = 1.7 cm), reduced
directly from macrocores of Ixtepeque obsidian. It was re-
covered by the Carnegie Institution of Washington in 1938
3
from the Great Plaza of the Principal Group (Longyear
ll 1952:109). Such large quantities of very large macroblades
and macroflakes have not been discovered either outside
-ii

RURAL URBAN RURAL URBAN RURAL

I
URBAN
the Principal Group in the Copan Valley or in any other
part of the Maya lowlands. The ritual involved in their
deposition in the middle of the Great Plaza must have dem-
onstrated the ruler's great religious and economic power.
Figure 5. Comparison of estimated proportions and error ranges for Finally, the results of microwear analyses suggest that the
(A) obsidian/chipped stone artifacts, (B) prismatic blades/obsidian chipped stone artifacts from the middens of the Acropolis
UilifatU, and (C) cortex-bearing Ixtepeque obsidian artifacts from were less intensively used than those from outside the Prin-
urban and rural areas of the Copan Valley, Late Classic period. cipal Group. This may indicate the rulers' wealth and the
ability to store up obsidian for future consumption and/or
differences between the urban and rural areas are not just their greater involvement in ritual/ceremonial activities
the results of the vagaries of sampling. than the surrounding populace.
The data on chipped stone artifacts from primary mid- The differential obsidian distribution patterns could
dens in the Late Classic Copan Valley show a skewed dis- have partly resulted from the greater purchasing power of
tribution, suggesting that the rulers had far greater access to
Ixtepeque obsidian than did others in the valley. In the pres-
ent analysis, the data on the Principal Group (Type 5) were
collected from seven middens, Types 3 and 4 sites (N =
24) were aggregated as large residences, and Types 1 and 2
were grouped into small residences (N = 16). Obsidian
densities in midden deposits from the Principal Group are
considerably higher than those associated with large and
small residences, indicating that the rulers1 household dis-
carded more obsidian than any other households in the
Copan Valley, presumably related to their greater access
(Figure 6). Moreover, the percentage of obsidian in all
chipped stone artifacts in the Principal Group (Mean =
94.9, S.D. = 4.2) is considerably higher than those of large
residences (Mean = 85.4, S.D. = 9.6) and small residences
(Mean = 69.3, S.D. = 19.6), while that of local chert in-
creases from the Principal Group to small residences (Fig-
ure 7). This could indicate a greater availability of obsidian
in accordance with household wealth. Regression analysis
shows that there is indeed an extremely significant and Figure 6. Standard error bar graphs for obsidian density in primary
very strong correlation between the percentage of obsidian midden deposits from small residences, large residences, and the
from primary middens and settlement typology (r= .695, Principal Group in the Copan Valley, Late Classic period.
 AOYAMA
Figure 7. Percentage of obsidian in chipped stone artifacts recovered
from primary midden deposits from small residences (Types 1 and 2
sites), large residences (Types 3 and 4 sites), and the Principal Group
in the Copan Valley. Late Classic period.
the households involved. I believe, however, that this pat-
tern may indicate a centralized dispersing mechanism (i.e.,
that the allocation of Ixtepeque obsidian blade cores was
institutionalized by the Yax K'uk Mo' dynasty as part of
the political or public economy). This assertion clearly
contradicts an earlier study conducted by Mallory (1984,
1986) in which he suggested that obsidian prismatic blade
production was carried out in all households at Copan and
that obsidian was equally available to all social classes. It
should be noted that Mallory s obsidian samples were
never sufficient for regional-level studies and did not in-
clude any artifacts from the Principal Group.
The results of my study suggest that the ancient city of
Copan functioned as a distribution center for Ixtepeque ob-
sidian blade cores to the smaller sites in the Copan Valley
as well as to smaller centers in its hinterland. Local rulers
of certain centers in the region of La Entrada, for example,
seem to have acquired Ixtepeque obsidian mainly as blade
cores through direct exchange with the Copan state
(Aoyama et al. 1999). Management of the exchange sys-
tems in such utilitarian commodities may have been im-
portant for promoting the general welfare of the Copan
community and for consolidating and legitimizing rulers
political authority. While the extent to which economic in-
stitutions were embedded in broader social and political in-
stitutions makes them difficult to separate into distinct
spheres (e.g., Polanyi et al. 1957), the administration of ex-
change systems may have eventually led to the Yax K'uk'
Mo' dynasty's greater political power and economic
wealth.
/ CLASSIC MAYA STATK URBANISM. AND EXCHANGI- 355
An inscription on the alabaster vase from El Abra, one
of the largest Late Classic centers in the La Hntrada region,
provides an explicit line of evidence for direct interaction
between a local ruler of El Abra and Copan s sixteenth
ruler, Yax Pahsaj, as well as for archaeologically invisible
exchange goods. According to David Stuart (n.d.), the sec-
ond sentence of the inscription refers to a ritual dance of
Yax Pahsaj upon the receipt of 17 tribute-loads. Because
the amount of land available for cultivation was being re-
duced by human settlements in the Copan Valley (Fash
1986:93), such "tribute" may have included foodstuffs.
The region of La Entrada is near enough to the Copan Val-
ley to make it a likely provider of some food staples im-
ported to Copan. Hence, the exchange of Ixtepeque obsid-
ian may reflect mobilization of surplus food production.
Drennan (1984) and Sanders and Santley (1983) have ar-
gued that absolute maximum distances for the favorable
transport of food staples overland in ancient Mesoamerica
are from 150 to 275 km.
On the basis of the obsidian data from the middens of
the Acropolis of Copan, overall obsidian availability ap-
pears to have dramatically decreased in the latter half of the
Late Classic period (Figure 9). The last rulers may have
had less access to obsidian and had more difficulty in ad-
ministrating the intra- and inter-regional exchange systems
than their immediate predecessors at Copan s height. Such
evidence might suggest that the Late Classic was a period
"ONFIDENCE
1
I 1
1
fit)
5
"!' - SMALL LARGE PR'NCIPAL
RES DENCES RESIDENCES GROUP
Figure 8. Comparison of estimated proportions and error ranges for
prismatic blades in Ulcpeque obsidian artifacts from the Principal
Group, large residences, and small residences in the Coptln Valley.
Late Classic period.
356 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST VOL. 103. No 2 JUNE
100
2 3 « 5 2 3 ing long-distance exchange networks of Postclassic
SEQUENCES SEQUENCES
2 ] 4
SEQUENCES
t Early Postclassic Copanecs also used limited quantities of
Figure 9. Diachronic changes in obsidian densities and the percent-
age of prismatic blades in obsidian artifacts from middens at the
Acropolis from the 1 lth to 16th rulers of Cop&n. 1. Chorcha Struc-
ture 2. Rosalia Structure; .1 Structure 10L-26-2nd: 4. Structure 10L-
16: 5. Structure 10L-22. 6. Structure 10L-22A.
of great internal instability. The implication is that the de-
cline of the central political authority may not have been so
sudden. Moreover, the production of obsidian prismatic
blade points, as well as obsidian and chert bifacial spear
points (Figure 2: f-g), increased toward the end of the Late
Classic (Aoyama 1999:153-161). This increase of both
types of points might be taken as evidence for growing in-
tra- and/or inter-valley competition.
Early Postclassic Period (A.D. 900-1100)
After the demise of centralized dynastic authority in the
ninth century, the procurement and intraregional exchange
system of Ixtepeque obsidian blade cores also broke down,
resulting in a concomitant decline in prismatic blade pro-
duction in the Copan Valley. The Early Postclassic resi-
dents of the Copan Valley returned to the nonspecialized
Preclassic mode of Ixtepeque obsidian procurement and
tool production (Table 2). They obtained obsidian mainly
as small cobbles and flake spalls. The Early Postclassic in-
habitants also scavenged exhausted polyhedral cores, mac-
roblades, and large flakes from earlier deposits at Copan
and recycled them or produced new cutting tools from
them.
These changes are reflected in a dramatic decrease in the
percentage of prismatic blades in Ixtepeque obsidian arti-
facts (from 69.4 to 23.4%) as well as a significant increase
in cortex-bearing Ixtepeque obsidian (from 2.8% to 9.7%)
from the Late Classic period to the Early Postclassic period
2001
(Figure 3). The decline of fine blade technology during the
Early Postclassic period reinforces the argument that the
Yax Kruk Mo1 dynasty institutionalized the procurement
and allocation of Ixtepeque obsidian blade cores during the
Classic period.
Nevertheless, the Early Postclassic Copanecs were not
isolated from other regions but participated in the develop-
Mesoamerica. While Ixtepeque was still the most com-
monly used obsidian source (Table 1), they imported small
quantities of finished prismatic blades from Pachuca and
Ucareo sources in Central Mexico. The notable presence of
central Mexican obsidian at the great center of Chichen
Itza (Braswell and Glascock 1995) as well as smaller
coastal sites in the Maya lowlands (McKillop 1989) during
the Early Postclassic period might imply that its distribu-
tion became more widespread and decentralized. The
imported pottery vessels such as Tohil Plumbate, Fine Or-
ange, and Las Vegas Polychrome, as well as the Early
Postclassic Ejar phase utilitarian ceramics (Manahan
1995). The scale of long-distance exchange was never
large, however. Both contextual and microwear analyses
indicate that Mexican obsidian blades were essentially
utilitarian goods in the Early Postclassic Copan Valley.
Even reemerged long-distance exchange, however, did not
ameliorate the political and economic distress brought
about by the collapse of the centralized dynastic authority
of Copan.
Conclusions: Implications for Classic
Maya Political Organization and
Mesoamerican Urbanism
The arguments outlined here are an attempt to explore
one aspect of the nature and role of exchange in the devel-
opment of complex societies, as reconstructed on the basis
of obsidian goods. As other lines of evidence become
available, especially for other types of exchanged goods, I
hope that researchers will advance anthropological studies
of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican exchange systems in the
context of a conjunctive approach.
The results of my study suggest that the management of
procurement and exchange of Ixtepeque obsidian blade
cores, along with other factors, played a significant role in
the development and maintenance of the Copan state. The
Yax K'uk' Mo* dynasty institutionalized the procurement
and intra- and inter-regional distribution systems of at least
one utilitarian commodity (i.e., Ixtepeque obsidian blade
cores) as part of the political or public economy. Manage-
ment of these systems was important for promoting the
general welfare of the community and for consolidating
and legitimizing rulers' political authority. This admini-
stration may have eventually led to the Copan dynasty's
 AOYAMA
greater political power and economic wealth. Because dif-
ferent variables may have operated on quite different social
scales, the nature of Classic Maya political organization is
a complicated issue (e.g., Inomata and Aoyama 1996).
Nevertheless, in terms of the procurement and allocation of
Ixtepeque obsidian blade cores, the Copan state had at least
one managerial function of exchange of utilitarian goods.
Long-distance exchange of small quantities of com-
modities, such as finished green obsidian tools, was pri-
marily of social and symbolic rather than economic impor-
tance during the Early Classic period. The emerging elites
in the Copan Valley participated in long-distance exchange
networks in order to legitimize primarily political authority
and power. Green obsidian tools from highland Mexico
may have been mainly elite utilitarian goods, and the Yax
K'uk' Mo' dynasty may have "redistributed" them as gifts
to attract followers and allies. However, local exchange
was more crucial for state development than was long-dis-
tance exchange.
This study of obsidian consumption and exchange at
Copan provides some insights into the ongoing debate
about the nature of ancient Mesoamerican urbanism.5
Sanders and Webster (1988) tend to view only the largest
and most densely populated centers as "truly urban," and
they argue that all ancient Mesoamerican cities (except for
the few administrative cities such as Teotihuacan) fit the
regal-ritual type (figuring Copan as a prime example), in
which polities were organized along lines of kinship.
Late Classic Copan society was internally heterogene-
ous as was Teotihuacan society. This is implied by the
great variability in wealth represented in differential access
to Ixtepeque obsidian as well as the dichotomy between
blade and flake industries. While Teotihuacan had
stronger, more developed economic institutions, more cen-
tralized rule, and a much larger population than Copan,
both cities were characterized by differentiated economic
activity. Thus, the difference in administered economies
between Teotihuacan and Copan was a matter of scale
rather than kind.
Regardless of the sizes of their populations, ancient
Maya and other Mesoamerican cities served a far wider
range of administrative and economic functions than the
regal-ritual "type" of city. The rulers of Copan took advan-
tage of its unusual location near highly localized resources
(i.e., Ixtepeque obsidian). Copan's direct access to high-
quality obsidian signals a major difference between Copan
and other major Maya cities. While the rulers of Copan
were exporters as well as consumers of obsidian blade
cores, the rulers in most Maya lowlands were mainly con-
sumers of obsidian blade cores and middlemen within
long-distance exchange networks. High-quality obsidian
was virtually the basic resource in the Copan Valley, and
most prismatic blades appear to have been consumed
within domestic contexts. The situation of Copan appears
/ CLASSIC MAYA STATE, URBANISM. AND EXCHANGE 357
to have paralleled that of Kaminaljuyu near the obsidian
sources at El Chayal, where many households manufac-
tured their own blades (Hay 1978). In contrast, obsidian
was not a critical resource but a "preferred" and scarce re-
source at Tikal, Palenque, and other Maya lowland cities
far from the obsidian sources (Johnson 1996:166; Moholy-
Nagy 1976:103).
In conclusion, the Classic Copan state had at least one
managerial function in the procurement and allocation of
Ixtepeque blade cores, an important element of ancient
Copan utilitarian assemblages. The Copan state procured
Ixtepeque obsidian cores, distributed them to local nobles
living in the Copan Valley, and exported them to local rul-
ers of smaller centers in neighboring regions. In this aspect,
the Classic Copan state maintained a centralized and inte-
grated political and economic organization based on far
more than kinship, ideology, and ritual.
Notes
Acknowledgments. My research in Honduras in ten con-
secutive field seasons (1986-1995), upon which this study is
based, would not have been accomplished without the consid-
erable support, encouragement, advice, and generosity of the
following institutes and individuals: the Institute Hondureno
de Antropologfa e Historia (IHAH) and its director, Dr. Olga
de Hoya; its former directors, Arq. Jose Maria Casco, Lie.
Victor Cruz Reyes and Lie. Ricardo Agurcia Fasquelle; Oscar
Cruz; and William Fash, director of the Copan Acropolis Ar-
chaeological Project. The La Entrada Archaeological Project
was a collaborative effort between the IHAH and the Japan
Overseas Cooperation Volunteers. I would like especially to
thank Takeshi Inomata, Robert Drennan, Jeremy Sabloff,
Marc Bermann, Jack Donahue, Barbara Fash, Rudy Larios,
David Stuart, James Brady, Rene Viel, Geoffrey Braswell,
Cassandra Bill, Richard Williamson, and Kam Manahan for
providing many helpful and stimulating suggestions that have
improved my understanding of the issues addressed in this
study. I also greatly appreciate the significant improvements
to the manuscript suggested by John E. Clark, Takeshi Inomata,
Arthur Demarest, and two anonymous reviewers. I especially
thank Robert W. Sussman for his help and advice. Funding for
my research was provided through the Tinker Foundation, the
Institute Hondureno de Antropologi'a e Historia, the Japanese
Government, and the Mitsubishi Foundation. I thank them all
for their support. I also thank Nina Padden, who skillfully ed-
ited the manuscript. Finally and most importantly, I express
my deepest thanks to my wife, Vilma Aoyama, for her love,
encouragement, and support while undertaking my research in
her home country. She also helped me with data entry in the
field.
1. Brumfiel and Earle 1987; Drennan 1984; Earle and Eric-
son 1977; Ericson and Earle 1982; Johnson 1987; Rathje
1971; Sabloff and Lamberg-Karlovsky 1975.
2. Adams and Jones 1981; Chase and Chase 1996; Culbert
1991;Folan 1992.
3. Ball and Taschek 1991; Demarest 1992; Fox and Cook
1996; Houston 1993.
358 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST • VOL. 103, No. 2 • JUNE 2001
4. Baudez 1983; Fash 1991; Sanders 1986; Webster and
Gonlin 1988; Willey and Leventhal 1979.
5. Chase et al. 1990; Kowalewski 1990; Marcus 1983b;
Sanders and Webster 1988; Smith 1989.
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