Description
This thesis examines the possible symbolic representation and functions of symbolic flaked stone offerings, commonly known as eccentric caches. These ceremonial offerings consist of sets of chipped chert or obsidian zoomorphic and geometric shapes found deposited beneath the floors of buildings and beneath stelae set about the built sacred landscapes of many lowland Maya centers in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. The thesis analyzes 14 offerings recovered from the Late Classic regional center of Buenavista del Cayo in the upper Belize River Valley. These ceremonial artifacts have been the subject of archaeological study for the past 200 years; however, only in the last 30 years, has research focused on the possible symbolic meaning and function of these offerings. This study follows that trend but incorporates a new analytical approach. This approach consists of utilizing a three-tier contextual study, wherein micro-contextual, contextual, and macro- contextual analyses are the foci of the investigation. This methodology evaluates the sociocultural significance of the contexts in which eccentrics occur, and combines the latter with iconography, archaeoastronomy, and contemporary Maya ethnology. In this way, a plausible understanding of these artifacts and what they represented to their ancient Maya creators can be arrived at.
