Stone Tools in Secondary Refuse: Lithics from a Late Preclassic Chultun at Cuello, Belize

Abstract

The archaeological site of Cuello, in northern Belize, preserves a sequence of building levels and pottery the analysis of which has led to a redefinition of the Maya Preclassic period, and especially of the Early Preclassic (Hammond 1977, 1980). Excavation at the site focused on Platform 32+, a large, flat construction topped by a small Late Preclassic pyramid. Approximately m southeast of the main area of excavation was found a chultun, Feature 87 — an underground structure consisting of two chambers connected to the surface by a masonry shaft and surrounded on the surface by a plaster catchment floor (Figure 1). A third chamber, connected to one of the others by a hole through the wall, was also excavated. A separate shaft led to the surface from this chamber, but the shaft was not excavated. The chultun was probably originally used for food storage, and later used as a trash dump (Bullard 1960; Puleston 1971; Hammond 1980). The fill of the three chambers was dated by ceramics to the end of the Late Preclassic, ca. A.D. 100. Besides ceramics, the fill contained both animal and plant remains and an assortment of lithic items. It is the lithic collection from the chultun that is discussed in this paper.