Excavators working in a ceremonial plaza group in the Classic period Lowland Maya city of Caracol, Belize, encountered thousands of pieces of chert and obsidian scattered above a royal tomb. A recent analysis of the chert from this context confirms that the assemblage included pieces from each stage of reduction in the production of blades. Taken together, the quantity of both chert and obsidian makes it the largest reported collection of lithic debitage found at the site and provides insight into the techniques of lithic crafters at Caracol. In this article, we consider the sequence of actions involved in the burial of a high-ranking individual and suggest that the layering of flaked stone above the tomb is reminiscent of other reported above-tomb contexts in the Maya Lowlands. Further, a technological analysis of this collection produced results similar to analyses of assemblages typically found in crafting-intensive residential groups. This finding suggests that lithic crafters throughout the city of Caracol donated flaked stone material for funerary events, providing a protective layer and sealing the grave below.

中文翻译：

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用石头密封：从伯利兹低地玛雅城市卡拉科尔的葬礼环境中评估石器碎片的组合

在古典时期的低地玛雅城市卡拉科尔，伯利兹的一个仪式广场组工作的挖掘机遇到了散落在皇家陵墓上方的数千块燧石和黑曜石。最近对这种背景下的燧石的分析证实，该组合包括来自叶片生产减少的每个阶段的碎片。总而言之，燧石和黑曜石的数量使其成为该地点发现的最大的石器残骸报告集合，并提供了对 Caracol 石器工匠技术的深入了解。在这篇文章中，我们考虑了埋葬一个高级人物所涉及的一系列行动，并认为墓穴上方的片状石层让人想起玛雅低地其他报告的墓穴上方环境。进一步，对该系列的技术分析产生的结果类似于对手工艺密集型住宅群体中常见的组合分析的结果。这一发现表明，整个卡拉科尔市的石器工匠为丧葬活动捐赠了片状石材，提供了保护层并密封了下面的坟墓。