57

The Context and Significance of CopperArtifacts in Postclassic and Early HistoricLantanai Belize

Scott E SimmonsUniversity of North Carolina WilmingtonWilmington North Carolina

David M Pendergast

Elizabeth GrahamInstitute of ArchaeologyUniversity College LondonLondon England

l17e consider the archaeological contexts in which copperobjectshave been recovered at theancient Maya site of Lamanai in northern Belize and the significance these objectshad forthe residents of the community during Postclassic (ca AD 950-1544) and Spanish colonial(post 1544) times More copperobjectshave been recoveredfrom controlled archaeologicalcontexts at Lamanai than any other site in the southern Maya lowlands area Bells makeup the majority of the assemblage during the centuries just prior to and during historicaltimesy but high status objectssuch as rings and clothing ornaments found in elite burialsdominate in the Early Postclassicperiod All of these objectswere imported from outside theMaya area Utilitarian objectsy including needlesy axesy and fish hooksy are found in a vari-ety of contexts during Late Postclassicand Spanish colonial timesy as are bells and ringsProduction materialsy including prillsy blanksy and pigsingotsy in addition to mis-castobjects that are production failuresy also appear during this time Nearly all of the copperobjectsfound at Lamanai are distinctly Mesoamerican in form and designy and based onmetallurgical analyses it appears that manufacturing technologies were distinctlyMesoamerican as well The presence ofproduction materials and mis-cast piecesy along withthe results of chemical compositional and microstructural analysesy support the idea that theMaya at Lamanai were engaged in the on-site production of copperobjects by late pre-columbian times

Introduction

The advent of metallurgy in the Maya area followed mil-lennia of non-metallic tool and ornament production dur-ing which time sophisticated lithic ceramic and other ma-terial traditions developed throughout both the higWandand lowland areas In contrast metal objects appear late inMesoamerican history and Maya metallurgy developedover a considerably shorter period perhaps several cen-turies The first copper objects were produced in WestMexico sometime between AD 600-650 but it was notuntil rougWy six centuries later that the Maya were activeparticipants in the extensive trade network in copper ob-jects that had spread throughout much of Mesoamerica

(Hosler 1994) While metal never fully replaced stonebone or shell for either utilitarian or non-utilitarian pur-poses metallurgy was embraced by some Maya groups inthe centuries just prior to and during Spanish contact(Paris 2008 Simmons 2005a Simmons and Shugar2008) Despite calls more than three decades ago (Bray1971 1977) for more intensive study of this importanttechnological innovation metallurgy in the Maya area isstill poorly understood (Paris 2008 Simmons 2005aWest 1994)

Recent research in Belize is beginning to shed new lighton Maya metallurgy and excavations at the ancient site ofLamanai (FIG I) have produced a rich and varied body of

58 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanaiy BelizeSimmons et al

MEXICO

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Figure 1 Location of Lamanai Belize

evidence on Maya life that dates from about 1500 BC

through Postclassic (AD 950-1544) and Spanish colonialtimes (AD 1544-1700) (Graham 19872004 GrahamPendergast and Jones 1989 Jones 1989 Pendergast1981 1986 1991) The 1974-1986 Royal Ontario Mu-seum (ROM) archaeological project at Lamanai succeededin defining the sites chronology settlement characteristicsand range of material culture types and architectural fea-tures Among the many important and little-known aspectsof Postclassic and early Spanish colonial period Maya life atLamanai - the focus of interest here - is the presence ofsignificant numbers of copper artifacts

Ongoing archaeological investigations as part of theMaya Archaeometallurgy Project (Simmons 2004 2005a2005b Simmons and Howard 2003) as well as recent ex-cavations focused on periods of transition (Graham 20042006) have added to our understanding of Lamanais rela-tive stability in the face of the collapse experienced at anumber of Maya sites in the 9th and 10th centuries Thiswork has also contributed much to our knowledge of com-

munity adaptation and survival at the time of Spanish con-tact (Chase and Chase 2006 Demarest P Rice and DRice 2004 Webster 2002) Here we discuss the archaeo-logical contexts of copper objects recovered at Lamanai be-ginning vith the appearance of metal at the site by aroundAD 1150 We use the term copper for brevitys sake andbecause it is by far the dominant metallic element how-ever all of the copper artifacts found at Lamanai were al-loyed with other metals such as tin or arsenic and couldtechnically be considered bronze (Hosler 1994 210-213)In addition we consider the forms styles and probablefunctions of Lamanais copper artifacts and present a sum-mary discussion of the sources of the copper from whichthese objects were made based on provenience informationon copper sources (Hosler 1994 Hosler and Macfarlane1996) While broader discussions of the contexts mean-ings and associations of copper production activitiesthroughout the ancient Maya world are clearly neededthey are beyond the scope of this paper

We first examine the contexts forms styles uses andsources of copper objects dating from the Buk ceramicphase which coincides with the Early Postclassic period(AD 950-1200) Much of the information for this part ofthe discussion is derived from excavations at several im-portant elite ceremonialadministrative structures situatedvery close to one another on the shore of the New RiverLagoon Next we present information on tl1e archaeolog-ical contexts object forms styles uses and sources of Cibceramic phase or Middle Postclassic period (AD

1200-1350) copper artifacts Like the assemblage of cop-per objects from Buk phase contexts this is a comparative-ly small but nonetheless informative sample of material

We discuss the contexts forms styles uses and sourcesof copper objects from Late and Terminal Postclassic (AD

1350-1544) and Spanish colonial times (AD 1544-1700) Substantial numbers of metal artifacts were recov-ered in association with Yglesias phase ceramics whichwere produced during the final centuries of the Postclassicthrough the 17th century Beginning in the mid-16th cen-tury Lamanai was one of a number of Spanish missiontowns in Belize (Jones 1989) and each was visited period-ically by circuit-riding secular priests and Franciscan friarsContact between the Maya residents ofLamanai and Span-ish authorities was intermittent and there is no evidence ofpermanent Spanish occupation (Graham Pendergast andJones 1989 Jones 1989) It was during the Yglesias ce-ramic phase that the Maya at Lamanai produced their ownmetal objects and although there was contact with theSpanish during the latter part of this phase it appears thatthe Spanish had little if any influence on copper metallur-gy at the site

The contexts in which copper objects were found at thesite differ over time and yet it is clear that both continuitiesand discontinuities exist in their forms styles and the waysthey were used in the centuries prior to and during Span-ish contact Finally we examine the manner in which theMaya may have regarded the various copper objects thatwere relatively new to their world Our discussion focuseson the social cultural and economic significance these ob-jects may have had through the centuries for the people ofLamanai

Copper as a Postclassic Maya CommodityTrade was an essential component of Mesoamerican life

in the Postclassic period and the Maya were active partici-pants in a vast macro regional trade network (Alexanderand IZepecs 2005 Andrews 1990 1993 Berdan 2003Sharer and Traxler 2006 Smith and Berdan 2003) A widevariety of objects circulated around the Yucatan peninsulabefore the time of Spanish contact via a well-developedcircum-peninsular exchange system that itself appears tohave been part of a larger Postclassic Mesoamericanworld system (Smith and Berdan 2003 4) The move-ment of commodities as well as information and ideas intointerior areas of the peninsula was facilitated by canoe trav-el along the coast and the extensive river systems in BelizeThe importation of finished copper objects into the Mayaarea during Postclassic times was made possible by a vi-brant well-established exchange network that includedLamanai and a number of smaller Postclassic sites in north-ern Belize (Andres and Pyburn 2004 Chase and Chase1988 Guderjan 2005 Guderjan and Garber 1995 Jones1998 Masson 2002 2003)

Diego de Landa noted that for the contact period Mayathe occupation to which they had the greatest inclinationwas trade (Tozzer 1941 94) Lamanais key location onthe New River Lagoon provided the sites inhabitants withaccess to a variety of Mesoamerican trade goods through-out of the sites 3500-year occupation (Pendergast 19811986 1991 1993) Among the durable goods that movedwithin this coastal and riverine trade network was a con-siderable range of copper objects many of which weresmall bells Smith notes that alloyed copper bells were themost extensively traded metal objects in PostclassicMesoamerica (2003 124) Indeed copper bells were sohighly valued that by Spanish contact they were usedthroughout the Maya area as currency (see below) Copperobjects such as bells rings and tweezers not only had greateconomic value but were also highly charged symbolic ob-jects whose sounds and colors made them particularly im-portant for use in ritual performances and as ornaments re-flecting social status (Hosler 1994 2003)

Journal of Field ArchaeologyfVol 34) 2009 59

Our knowledge of trade in copper objects from sites inWest Mexico southeastern Mesoamerica and lower Cen-tral America to the Maya lowland area is derived from ar-chaeological investigations chemical compositional andfabrication analyses of the copper artifacts and from eth-nohistorical documents The earliest Spanish account ofMaya trade in copper objects comes from 1502 whenColumbus reported encountering Maya canoes off the BayIslands of Honduras during his fourth voyage to the NewWorld (IZeen 1959) Among the items of their cargo thetraders carried hatchets resembling the stone hatchetsused by the other Indians but made of good copper andhawks bells of copper and crucibles to melt it (IZeen1959 231-232) By Terminal Postclassic times the Mayawere not only engaged in the exchange of copper objectsbut were also actively trading implements used in metal-lurgy We can assume that along with finished objects andproduction tools ideas were circulating between individu-als and groups engaged in coastal and riverine trade In thecase of the objects of interest here the ideas were related tothe methods and technological processes used in the pro-duction of metal objects (Hosler and Macfarlane 1996)

CopperArtifacts at LamanaiWith the exception of artifacts removed from the Sacred

Cenote at Chichen Itza during dredging operations in thefirst decade of the 20th century (Coggins and Shane 1984Lothrop 1952) those excavated during controlled archae-ological excavations at Mayapan (Paris 2008 Root 1962)and those that came from the Quemistlan bell cave inHonduras (Blackiston 1910) more copper artifacts havebeen recovered at Lamanai than at any other site in the an-cient Maya world (Simmons 2005a) To date a total of187 copper artifacts have been excavated including bellsrings tweezers various clothing ornaments pins axeschisels needles and fish hooks (TABLE r) Many of theseare forms that have been found at sites throughoutMesoamerica (Bray 1977 Graham and Wayman 1989Hosler 1986 Paris 2008 Pendergast 1962 West 1994)

Evidence for on-site copper metallurgy at Lamanai con-sists of pigs blanks sheet pieces mis-cast objects and cast-ing debris (Note that we use the term pigs here insteadof ingots as the term ingot refers to metal cast in a par-ticular shape usually oblong Pigs are the product of pour-ing remainder metal from a cast out to cool in contrast toingots pigs are usually not formed into standardized oreven semi-standardized shapes or sizes) All of these pro-duction-related objects come from Yglesiasphase depositsat the site Metallurgical and limited metallographic analy-ses of a broad sample of the copper objects from Lamanaihave been reported previously (Hosler 1994 208-215

60 Copper Artifaas in Postclassic and Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et ale

Table 1 Copper artifact types by ceramic phase from Lamanai BelizeNumber by ceramic phaseBuk Cib Yglesias

Objeatype (AD 950-12001250) (AD 12001250-1350) (AD 1350-1700) Unknown Total numberBells (whole) 6 1 11 3 21Bells (incompletemis-cast) 0 0 24 3 27Bells (flattened distorted) 1 0 29 1 31Axeceltchisel 0 0 12 0 12Axe fragments 0 0 11 0 11Axe blanks 0 0 1 0 1Rings 3 0 5 6 14Ornaments 7 6 0 0 13Sheet fragments 1 0 11 0 12Needles 0 0 10 0 10Ingotspigs 0 0 3 1 4Casting reservoirs 0 0 2 0 2Prills 0 0 10 0 10Fish hooks 0 0 5 0 5Pins 0 0 2 0 2Tweezers 0 0 2 2 4Bell-headed pins 0 2 0 0 2Pin tips 0 0 0 2 2Pin heads 0 0 2 0 2Tinkler 0 0 1 0 1Necklace 0 0 1 0 1Total 18 9 142 18 187

Totals as of August 2006

Hosler and Macfarlane 1996 1822-1823 Shugar 2005a)and the significance of metal artifacts with regard to tradelinks and the development of metallurgy in ancientMesoamerica have also been investigated (Bray 19711977 Lothrop 1952 Pendergast 1962 West 1994) Weare concerned here not with the techniques and alloys em-ployed in the manufacture of the objects or with the dis-tribution of isolated metal artifacts in the Maya lowlands asa whole but rather with the contexts in which the objectsoccur at Lamanai and with the information that is con-veyed by contextual analysis of the data

Metal artifacts appear at Lamanai in the Early Postclas-sic period and in considerable numbers around the time ofSpanish contact As a mirror of broader trade relations inthe southern Maya lowlands and as a reflection of techno-logical change the history of metal artifact use at Lamanaiis an invaluable element in the reconstruction of Postclas-sic and early historical dynamics

The Forms and Styles of Lamanais CopperObjects Typological and ContextualDesignations

The discussion of the forms and styles of copper artifactsfrom Lamanai follows Pendergasts (1962) typology ofmetal artifacts in Mesoamerica This classification is basedon the division of objects into one of three major func-tional categories utilitarian objects objects of personal

adornment and ceremonial objects (Pendergast 1962521) Hoslers (1986 104-105) more recent typology formetal artifacts in Mesoamerica tal(es into considerationboth stylistic criteria as well as certain other attributes suchas mechanical properties of metal (for such objects as axesand tweezers) and volume and pitch (for bells) Since thesedata could not be obtained for all of the copper objects inthe Lamanai assemblage and since our discussion focusesprimarily on the contexts and significance of copper objectsat the site rather than technical properties of metal we pre-fer to use Pendergasts (1962) typology We do howeversupplement the typology with Hoslers (1986 104-105)classification for certain objects such as needles for whichmore detailed typological categories exist

The contexts in which copper artifacts from Lamanaiwere found include the following burials middenscaches architectural features and surface contexts (TABLE

2) Copper artifacts in burials account for more than onequarter (n = 49 262) of all of the copper artifacts foundthus far at Lamanai Middens at Lamanai include discreterefuse accumulations a number of which have depths ap-proaching 50 cm or more as well as refuse deposits that aregenerally thinner and horizontally dispersed which we re-ferred to as sheet middens Over 43 (n = 82) of the cop-per artifacts recovered at Lamanai have come from mid-dens Copper artifacts found associated with Maya con-struction ie those included in the architecture category

Journal ofField ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 61

Table 2 The contexts of copper artifacts from Lamanai BelizeContext

Temporal phase Burial Midden Architecture Cache Suiface TotalEarly Postclassic Buk 16 1 0 1 0 18Middle Postclassic Cib 9 0 0 0 0 9Lateferminal Postclassic-Spanish Colonial Yglesias 18 81 41 2 0 142Unknown 6 0 0 0 12 18Total 49 82 41 3 12 187

oI

f

Figure 2 Plazas 1 and 2 of the NI0 grid blockand Structures NI0-2 and NI0-4 all of theBuk and Cib phase copper artifacts recoveredat Lamanai come from these two structuresStr NI0-2 is shown in a perspective drawingby Stan Loten with Str NI0-9 in the back-ground at left

were recovered in core deposits and collapse debris atopand within floor ballast materials (typically unmodifiedlimestone pieces mixed with soil) and in other contextsclearly linked with architectural features at the site Onlythree copper artifacts were recovered from caches duringinvestigations at Lamanai and 12 copper artifacts werefound on the ground surface of the site (TABLE 2)

The Contexts Forms and Styles of EarlyPostclassic Buk Phase Copper Objects

Copper artifacts from the first centuries of the Postclas-sic period come from a very limited range of contexts at

Lamanai allwere found associated with elite burials exceptfor one object found in a cache and one found in a midden(TABLE 2) All 18 copper objects associated with Buk phaseceramic vessels come from two structures NI0-2 andNI0-4 which lie very close to the New River Lagoon (FIG

2) These structures are believed to be at the heart of an areathat witnessed Maya ceremonial and probably administra-tive activities from the 11th to the 13th centuries (Pender-gast 1981) Copper objects were found in six of the 97burials excavated in these two structures Two of the finelycrafted copper objects are shown in Figures 3 and 4 Datesassigned to the archaeological contexts in which copper ar-tifacts were found at Structures NI0-2 and NI0-4 arebased largely on relative stratigraphy and on the presenceof typologically distinctive Buk phase ceramic vessels (Gra-ham 1987)

All but one of the 18 Buk phase copper artifacts recov-ered from excavations at Structures NI0-2 and NI0-4 arewhat Hosler (1994 208) describes as status display andritual objects These include seven bells seven false wire-work ornaments (FIG 4) and three filigree rings The re-maining object is a non-diagnostic piece of sheet copper

The most common copper artifacts recovered atLamanai (TABLE r) -bells-are represented in the Bulephase by seven examples (88 of the site total of79) Fol-lowing the Pendergast (1962) typological classificationbell Types IAla-i ICla IC4a IC6a and ID la are repre-sented with plain or elongated globular and pyriformtypes (IAla-i ICla and IDla) the most common (FIG 5)Early Postclassic bells with designs on resonator bodies arenot common although several have raised horizontally orvertically oriented wirework bands In addition a few areadorned with false or simulated wirework on resonatorsOnly one bell (Type IC4a) found with Burial NIO4-3 iselaborately ornamented with wirework eyes nose and up-per lip decorations Lothrop terms these head effigy bellsin his discussion of metals recovered from the SacredCenote at Chichen ltza (1952 91) Bell suspension loopsare either single or double wires with very modest to fair-ly prominent sprue projections Bell clappers are almost ex-clusively copper beads a small pebble clapper was identi-fied in only one of the bells from this phase

America (Hosler 1994) They were presumably attached toclothing by their wide cruciform rear straps and it is pos-sible that they functioned either as garment fasteners or aspersonal adornments

62 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai BelizeSimmons et al

Figure 3 Filigree copper finger rings (Type IVA3) from Buk phaseburials lA 11811 (top) from Burial 16 in Str NI0-2 ring has an out-side dialneter of 20 em lA 683 (bottom) false wirework ring fromBurial2B in Str NI0-4 ring has an outside diameter of 19 em

Two rings both of filigree strapwork fonn (Type IVA3)were associated with Buk phase burials one in StructureN10-2 and the other in NIO-4 (Pendergast 1962 5291981 47) They are characterized by intricate and delicateornamental strapwork and with linked and separated S-scroll motifs (FIG 3) Both are edged with bands dividedby a center line which creates a double-band effect One ofthe rings IA 683 is among a number of copper objectsworn by the Maya at Lamanai that Hosler notes representa local southeastern Mesoamerican metalworking tradi-tion (1994 208) Another Buk phase ring a simple un-decorated example of Type 1VAl was found at the base ofthe midden abutting the NE corner of Structure NI0-9 lo-cated immediately west of Str NIO-2 (FIG 2)

Seven oval-shaped ornaments were recovered during ex-cavations of Burial N104-3 (FIG 4) These objects are theonly ones of their kind found at Lamanai and to ourknowledge the form has not been reported from any oth-er sites in the Maya area (Bray 1977 385) The ornamentsare made of interconnected S-scroll wires attached to an el-liptical frame This S-scroll design is fairly common in thelost-wax (eire perdue) casting tradition of lower Central

The Contexts Forms and Styles of MiddlePostclassic Cib Phase Copper Objects

Nine copper artifacts have been recovered from un-equivocal Cib phase contexts (TABLE 2) all from elite buri-als in Structure NI0-4 The relatively small number of cop-per objects is likely to be a reflection of the general under-representation of Middle Postclassic activities in the ar-chaeological record of Lamanai The information we havefrom this critical period comes from excavations that havetaken place at Str N10-4 (FIG 2) Other Middle Postclas-sic residential structures at the site have been tested but noother copper artifacts from definitive Cib contexts were re-covered

One bell two bell-headed pins and six dome-shapedclothing ornaments comprise the copper artifact assem-blage from Str NI0-4 The bell from Burial NI0-446 is asub-pyriform example with shallow false wirework on itsupper body and an undecorated lower resonator The bellis a variant of Type IC2a with what was probably a strapfor suspension but only a small portion remains Its clap-per is a small globular bead The two bell-headed pinsfrom Burial NI0-429 are composed of small plain glob-ular bells of Type IAla-i attached to relatively short pinswith a small cup-like element situated between the bell andthe shaft of the pin The small amount of cloth found ad-hering to these pins suggests that they were used as cloth-ing fasteners (Pendergast 1981 47) To our knowledge noother examples of the form have been recovered in theMaya area (Bray 1977 385)

The six domed copper ornaments with Burial N1 0-428consist of hollow hemispheres with applied beadingaround their edges and applied double straps across theirbacks for attachment These are identical to gold orna-ments found in Tomb 7 at Monte Alban dating to LatePostclassic times (Caso 1969 Plate 22) The functions ofthese clothing ornaments are not entirely clear althoughseveral lines of evidence discussed below suggest howthey may have been used

The Contexts Forms and Styles of LatePostclassic-Spanish Colonial PeriodYglesias Phase Copper Objects

The vast majority of the copper artifacts from Lamanaicome from the contact period community which lies in avaguely defined area around the two Spanish churchesMost are associated with residential structures apparently

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 63

Figure 4 Right elbow area of Burial NlO-4j3 with shell-shaped ornaments and globular bells This juvenilewas buried with the greatest number of copper objects at Lamanai The largest shell-shaped ornament inthe left-center of the image is 29 em in length Note the two globular bells in the right of the image aboveone of the two bone circlets A number of barrel-shaped marcasite beads are also shown in this image

Figure 5 Bell varieties from Lamanai In the top row all bells are pyriform Type lela except the globularbell (Type lala-i) on the right end of the row On the bottom row are mis-cast globular and pyriformbells while the two on the right are laterally mashed The three specimens on the bottom left are partiallycast bell walls

64 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic LamanaiJ BelizeSimmons et al

occupied by elite members of the community A total of142 of 187 (759) of the copper objects found atLamanai are believed to date from sometime shortly beforemid-16th century Spanish contact to the late 17th centuryDating of these metal artifacts is based primarily on theirassociation with stylistically diagnostic ceramic forms Thearchaeological contexts in which copper artifacts werefound in the Spanish Church Zone have yielded distinctiveYglesias phase ceramics which were made during theSpanish colonial period but introduced at an unknowndate prior to that time Their introduction could have tak-en place around 1500 to 1510 when the effects of Euro-pean presence were first felt in the circum-Caribbean re-gion but it is also possible that their manufacture began asearly asAD 1450 (Graham 2004) Alloyed copper artifactsare associated with materials of European origin such asglass beads and Spanish majolica and olive jar sherds inseveral contexts (Simmons 2004 2005a 2005b Pender-gast 1985) but the European materials are not necessarilyindicators of the time of manufacture of the metal objectsAnalyses of late precolumbian Maya ceramic artifacts fromthis critical transitional period are ongoing (Aimers 2007Howie 2007) It is likely that other ceramic phases will bedefined (Elizabeth Graham personal communication2008) further assisting us in refming our understanding ofthe advent of on-site metallurgy at Lamanai

At the time of Spanish contact most of Lamanais in-habitants were settled in the southern third of the site butreduction efforts probably led to further concentration ofthe community in the area that includes the Spanishchurches and a number of other nearby structures The ex-tent of the contact period community the architecturalcharacteristics of its residential and special use structuresand the material culture of its residents are still being ex-plored (Simmons 2005a Wiewall2005) A number of thestructures that have been investigated thus far have yieldedcopper artifacts the most prominent of these is StructureNll-18

More copper artifacts have been recovered at StructureNll-18 than at any other structure or locus at LamanaiOver 379 (71 of 187) of the entire assemblage of cop-per objects from the site comes from various contexts with-in and immediately around this important building andhalf (496) of the copper objects associated with Yglesiasceramic artifacts come from this one structure The build-ing is very likely to have had a variety of functions and mayhave served as a residence for Lamanais colonial period na-tive authority the cacique (Pendergast 1993 128) It alsomay have functioned as a guest house for visiting digni-taries ie a casa comunidad or casa real with attendantstorage and cooking areas (Jones 1989 67)

In addition to the copper artifacts recovered during ex-cavations of several other Late Postclassic to contact periodstructures a cluster of seven copper artifacts was found to-gether in a lagoon-side midden deposit located approxi-mately 60 m east of the second Spanish church Five of theseven are axe fragments that fit together to form two com-plete axes (see below) The remaining two artifacts appearto be casting reservoirs from lost-wax casting (Simmonsand Shugar 2008) We use the term casting reservoir todescribe a portion of a lost-wax cast mold that acts as a fun-nel into which molten copper is poured once the cavity ofthe mold is filled the reservoir acts as a receptacle for ex-cess metal (Long 1964 fig 1) After the metal has cooledsufficiently both the reservoir and the sprue (the tube lead-ing from the reservoir to the cast object) are detached andmay be remelted for later casting

The majority of copper artifacts (45 64 of 142) re-covered from the Spanish Church Zone are bells Smallernumbers of status display objects including fmger ringsand tweezers have been found associated with Yglesiasphase ceramics in the Spanish Church Zone Utilitarianobjects from this period include woodworking tools suchas axes chisels and wedges as well as fish hooks needlesand pins (TABLE 3) The remaining objects from late con-texts include copper pigs pieces of sheet metal prills andother manufacturing materials

With only two exceptions bells from this area of the siteare either plain or elongated globular or pyriform types(lAla-i ICla and IDla) (FIG 5) Two very small bellspossibly functioning as buttons or other kinds of personalornaments also come from late deposits Designs or deco-rative elements of any kind are virtually absent on the bellsfrom the Spanish Church Zone Bells from this period typ-ically have only single suspension loops although ten havedouble suspension loops Sprue projections are present onnearly all of the bells from this period and in only a fewcases does it appear that any effort was made to remove orminimize sprue remnants Almost all sprue remnants arefound on the tops of the suspension loops With only oneexception bell clappers are exclusively small pebbles

Only 11 of the 64 bells recovered from very late depositsat the site are whole or complete (TABLE 3) The remaining53 are either fragments (n = 24) or have been smashed orflattened and distorted (n = 29) At least some of the bellfragments found in Yglesiasphase deposits at the site rep-resent production failures In some cases only portions ofbell walls or suspension loops have been cast whereas inother instances bells are largely complete but have promi-nent holes in their resonating chambers (FIG 5) In a greatmany cases bells are not only mis-cast but also damagedoften severely apparently prior to their deposition in ar-

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 65

Table 3 Copper artifacts from Yglesias phase contexts at Lamanai Belize

Burial Midden Architecture Cache Total

Bells (whole) 2 7 2 0 11Bells(incompletemis-cast) 0 18 6 0 24Bells (flattened distorted) 0 17 12 0 29Axeceltchisel 1 3 6 2 12

Axe fragments 0 9 2 0 11Axe blanks 0 1 0 0 1Rings 2 3 0 0 5Sheet fragments 1 5 5 0 11

Needles 1 6 3 0 10Ingotspigs 0 2 1 0 3Casting reservoirs 0 2 0 0 2Prills 6 2 2 0 10

Fish hooks 0 4 1 0 5Pins 1 0 1 0 2Pin heads 2 0 0 0 2Tweezers 1 1 0 0 2

Figure 6 Axe (Type VB) in three pieces recovered from Span-ish contact period midden deposit located at the edge of theNew River Lagoon approximately 60 m east of Lamanais Span-ish churches These axe fragments along with two others (form-ing a smaller axe) were found together with the remains of twoprobable casting reservoirs All of these objects may have beendestined for melting and recasting by Lamanais metalsmiths

chaeological contexts Almost 45 (n = 29) of the bellsdating to this period show some kind of gross deformity inshape Descriptions in Pendergasts field notes of such bellsinclude crumpled torn laterally flattened distortedwith one part of side ripped away and apparently sacri-ficed torn and smashed

All 24 of the axes axe blanks axe fragments and chiselsrecovered from Lamanai come from LatefTerminal Post-classic and Spanish colonial period contexts They make up169 of the 142 copper objects found in the SpanishChurch Zone Various sizes of axeType VB were the mostcommon (FIG 6) whereas lesser numbers of chisel TypeVA were also found (Pendergast 1962 525) A probableaxe or chisel blank was recovered as an isolated find just be-low the ground surface in the Spanish Church Zone Met-allographic analysis of the probable blank shows a ham-

mered structure that has been annealed to some extent in-dicating that the object has been partially worked this iswhat would be expected of a blank destined to later beworked into a finished form (Shugar 2005a 12)

Many of the axes and chisels from this period show ev-idence of very heavy use with battered polls and dulled bitscommon Others however show only minimal modifica-tions of their working edges (Aaron Shugar personal com-munication 2007) Eight axe fragments have also been re-covered from the Spanish Church Zone Interestingly fiveof the eight fragments (mentioned above) found in a groupfit together to form two Type VB axes one of which isshown in Figure 6

Five rings were recovered from contact period contextsThree of the five are plain narrow bands (Types IVAI andIVA2) One of the two exceptions is a ring with threeraised border bands edging a panel of conjoined circles thatproduce a triangular piercing at its borders (Type IVA3)Like a great number of the bells recovered from late con-texts this ring is smashed flat and the metal is partly tornThe other decorated finger ring has two lines of small del-icate chevrons located very close to the edges with the twolines pointing in opposite directions It appears to be avariant of Type IVAI (Pendergast 1962 529)

All four pairs of tweezers in the assemblage were recov-ered in the Spanish Church Zone three were from burialsThe remaining half pair of tweezers was recovered from asurface context and may date to the final phase of pre-columbian occupation at Lamanai The tweezers varyslightly in size but three of the four are small All have cir-cular blades and can be classified as Type IIIC (Pendergast1962 524) One is somewhat larger in size with a bladediameter of 41 cm and weight of 212 g

The five fish hooks recovered at Lamanai come from

66 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

Figure 7 Copper pigs from Lamanai The ingot on the left measures 63 x 65 cm and weighs 2755 gThe pig in the center measures 48 x 50 cm and weighs 1255 g The pig on the right measures 25 x26 em and weighs 345 g

Figure 8 Copper prill recovered from the south side middenofStr Nll-27 north side midden ofStr Nll-18

Late Postclassic to Spanish colonial period contexts All areclassifiable as Type IXA2 (Pendergast 1962 525) Hookshanks are of varying size but all are looped at their topsfor line attachment Ten needles were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone six from Str Nll-18 Most areType 2a with a small piece of metal looped over to formthe eye (Hosler 1986 377) Several are of Type 1 with aperforation through the shank of the needle serving as theeye (Hosler 1986 369)All of the needles are made of coldhammered rolled sheet metal with either a rounded or anelongated eye Two pins and four pin fragn1ents were alsofound associated with Yglesias phase ceramic material Fi-nally a possible tinlder with a double loop suspensionmade from what may be a cut pyriform bell was found atStr Nll-18

Copper Production at LamanaiCompelling evidence for the production of copper ob-

jects at Lamanai comes from pigs prills mis-cast copper

objects and by-products of lost-wax casting found in thevicinity of the Spanish churches Four pigs of varying sizehave been recovered thus far The smallest pig weighs 58g and the largest weighs just over 275 g All have a slight-ly irregular circular shape and are plano-convex in section(FIG 7) Sprues vary in size and surfaces are typically pit-ted and granular

Other evidence of copper production at Lamanai isdiminutive in size and weight but no less important inhelping us to understand the nature of Maya metallurgy Itconsists of the prills mentioned above which are very smallbeads of metal that are by-products of casting activitiesPrills are formed when molten metal is poured into moldsThey are generally quite round in shape but are sometimesdeformed by the impact produced when liquefied metalsplashes falls and strikes the ground Owing to their mi-nuscule size prills typically go unnoticed during excava-tion One found during excavations in the Spanish ChurchZone is shown in Figure 8 To our knowledge no otherobjects that might definitively be called prills have been re-ported from the Maya area

Fragments of copper sheet of various sizes were alsofound in the Spanish Church Zone Five of the 11 recov-ered are from Structure Nll-18 and three are from an ad-jacent structure Most weigh between 1 and 2 g with thelargest weighing just over 6 g

Two large lumps of copper that appear to be remnantsof the lost-wax casting process were found together withthe group of axe fragments mentioned above (Simmonsand Shugar 2008) These two masses of copper weigh ap-proximately 21 and 86 g and appear to be remnants of cast-

ing reservoirs of the kind described by Long (1964 fig 1)in his experimental study of lost-wax casting techniques

Twelve copper objects from Lamanai came from surfacecontexts and thus cannot be assigned to a temporal phasewith any confidence (TABLE 2) All were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone and most came from the area of StrN 11-18 Their association with this structure makes it like-ly that most if not all of the objects which include onepig one ring one half pair of tweezers two probable pintips and seven bells are very late in date The remaining sixcopper artifacts that cannot be assigned to any temporalphase come from a burial within a small structure locatedin the Spanish Church Zone Excavations revealed a burialof two individuals a middle-aged female seated with herleft arm around the shoulders of a seated middle-agedmale described as The Loving Couple (Pendergast1989 White et alein press) Unfortunately no ceramic orother temporally diagnostic material accompanied the cou-pIe although Pendergast (1989 2) notes that the stairblock under which the couple was interred was probablyrebuilt at some point between rougWy AD 1450 and1500 A pair of disc-bladed copper tweezers of Type IIIC(Pendergast 1962 524) and five plain rings of Type IVAI(Pendergast 1962 529) were recovered in direct associa-tion with the skeletal remains The location of the tweez-ers to which a small amount of cotton cloth still adheredat the time of their discovery suggests the man wore theobject suspended from a cord or thong around his neckThe rings which enclosed a quantity of cotton cloth werefound between the scapulae of the female a position thatsuggests they served as ornaments for her hair braid orqueue

The Functions and Meanings of Copper Objectsat Lamanai

Early and Middle Postclassic Copper Objects asImported Wealth

Commencing around AD 1100 the ceramic traditionsof Early Postclassic times at Lamanai some of which grewout of those of the Late and Terminal Classic (Graham1987 73-81) underwent significant change New formsemerged many of which were radical departures from theapproach to pottery-malcing in preceding centuries Al-most certainly of local origin the shapes and decoration ofthe Buk ceramic phase quicldy supplanted what had gonebefore but at the same time retained certain elements ofthe earlier ceramic canon (Graham 1987 81-87) With thechanges in pottery came the development of limited ce-ramic ties with polities in the northern Yucatan peninsulathat on chronological grounds appear to involve the

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 67

transmission of ideas and perhaps of the ceramic productsof those ideas from Lamanai to recipients in the north(Pendergast 1986 236-245) Possibly in return for ce-ramics and other materials sent northward metal artifactsof non-Maya manufacture began to flow into Lamanai

The results of chemical compositional studies conduct-ed by Hosler (1994 208-213) indicate that the sources ofthe copper objects that began to be imported into Lamanaiduring Early Postclassic times are West Mexico and south-eastern Mesoamerica In addition some of the objects par-ticularly the finely made rings and ornaments are similarin form and style to examples from the West Mexican statesof Michoacan and Guerrero The exotic origin of the met-al objects found at Lamanai combined with the symbolicsignificance of the objects in their areas of manufacture ap-pears to have conferred upon the artifacts a special value asmarkers of rank or status in the Early to Middle PostclassicLamanai community Metal artifacts had an entirely per-sonal association and meaning in Buk and Cib phase timesThe occurrence of metals in interments marked by a con-siderable range of grave goods reinforces the role of the ob-jects as indicators of the owners elevated standing in thecommunity All but one of the 27 Buk and Cib copper ar-tifacts recovered at Lamanai are what Hosler (1994 208)describes as status display or ritual objects These includebells (one of which was a centerpiece in a jade and shellnecldace) elaborately made false wirework and dome-shaped ornaments and finely crafted filigree rings allmade by lost-wax casting (FIG 3) It seems likely that theexotic designs and origins of these and other metal artifactsfrom the period all crafted from an unfamiliar materialwith unique properties helped to make such objects high-ly appealing to elite members of the community The flowof exotic items such as these into Lamanai has been cited asone of the clear indicators of the communitys continuedvitality as reflected in long-distance social and commercialties following the collapse of so many other southern low-land Maya polities in the 9th century AD (Pendergast1991 1993)

The Late Postclassic and Spanish Colonial PeriodsCopper Objects as Items of Local Manufacture

The contexts in which copper artifacts were found dat-ing from the centuries just prior to and during Spanishcontact differ significantly from those in which Early andMiddle Postclassic copper artifacts were recovered Mostcopper objects from very late deposits were recovered frommiddens or from architectural contexts and a considerablenumber appear to have been manufactured at the siteprobably within the Spanish Church Zone Copper oresare not locally available in the Maya lowland area (Bateson

68 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

and Hall 1977 Bray 1971 1977 West 1994) The resultsof Hoslers (1994) chemical compositional studies indicatethat at the time of Spanish contact the Maya at Lamanaiwere crafting their own metal tools and status symbols us-ing material apparently produced by melting copper ob-jects imported in earlier times She notes that by historicaltimes artisans were crafting objects at Lamanai itself andthey seem to have been doing so by using recycled metal(Hosler 1994 214) The majority of copper artifacts pro-duced during this time were made from metal cast intomolds using the lost-wax method most are undecoratedbells Hosler (1994 53) notes that available evidence indi-cates that all bells manufactured in Mesoamerica were castin one piece using the lost-wax method Various aspects ofthis metalworking technique have been described using in-formation obtained from archaeological investigations(Bruhns 1972 Bruhns and Hammond 1982 1983 Pen-dergast 1962) experimental studies (Long 1964) ethno-historical accounts (Motolirua 1950 SahagUn 1959) andmaterial analyses (Hosler 1994 Noble 1975)

We do not know when copper metallurgy began atLamanai but there is evidence that the Maya there were ac-tively engaged in the production of copper objects duringSpanish contact times and probably earlier perhaps by theend of the Cib ceramic phase The strongest evidence forindigenous metallurgy at Lamanai comes from Yglesiasphase contexts and consists of three pigs ten prills an axeblank (or ingot possibly) and two probable lost-wax cast-ing reservoirs all representing production debris (TABLE

3) In addition 24 bell fragments that are production fail-ures were recovered from Yglesias phase deposits in theSpanish Church Zone Along with the pigs and prills thesemis-cast bells add weight to the idea that copper produc-tion was taking place at Lamanai since casting failures arenot likely to have been trade items It is even possible thatthe 29 flattened bells found in Yglesiasphase contexts werecrushed by Lamanais metalsmiths in preparation for re-casting In addition to the crushed bells several othersmashed and torn copper objects were recovered fromthese late deposits Minimizing the surface area of the met-al by crushing or flattening would have facilitated meltingfor reuse in two ways (Aaron Shugar personal communi-cation 2006) Reducing the size of the objects by flatteningwould have allowed a greater number of bells to fit into acrucible for melting Also crushing would have reducedthe length of time required for maintenance of tempera-tures high enough (10830 C) to melt all of the material inthe crucible

In sum two separate but related lines of evidence sug-gest that metalsmiths were experimenting with the pro-duction of copper objects at Lamanai sometime just prior

to or during early Spanish colonial times The evidence in-cludes the presence of mis-cast copper artifacts most no-tably bells along with the pigs blanks and other produc-tion materials mentioned above and the anomalous arti-fact chemistry noted in a number of the copper objects re-covered at the site (Hosler 1994) In some cases Lamanaismetalsmiths were successful in creating whole bells nee-dles axes finger rings fish hooks and pieces of sheet cop-per The recovery of numerous lost-wax production fail-ures however indicates that at other times success eludedthem Noble (1975 369) suggests that mis-cast objectscould be the result of low melting temperatures for thecopper the presence of gas bubbles in residual wax left inmolds or movement of the clay and sand core within lost-wax molds Whatever the causes the production failurespigs prills and blanks are the kinds of metal objects onewould expect to encounter at a site where the occupantswere actively experimenting with metallurgy (Craddock1995 Young et al 1999)

Given the intermittent nature of Spanish mission activ-ity in the region the almost complete absence of Europeancopper objects and the relatively small quantity of metalinvolved overall we believe that metallurgy at Lamanai hadits roots in Late or Terminal Postclassic times and there-fore reflects a Maya technological innovation One of themost notable aspects of the assemblage of copper objectsfrom Lamanai is the absence of Spanish religious itemssuch as devotional medals personal crosses and crucifIXesrosaries copper-alloy stars reliquaries seals stamps andrings These kinds of objects are common at 16th and17th-century Spanish colonial sites throughout Floridaand the Caribbean (Deagan 2002) All but possibly one ofthe copper objects found thus far at Lamanai are distinctlyMesoamerican in form and design and based on prelimi-nary metallurgical analyses (Shugar 2005a) it appears thatmanufacturing technologies were distinctly Mesoamericanas well

Maya Metalsmiths and the Meanings of CopperMaya metalsmiths have been the focus of very little dis-

cussion among scholars (Bray 1971 1977 Hosler 19862003 Pendergast 1962 West 1994) As a result their sta-tus in ancient Mesoamerican social and economic realmsremains unclear Smith (2003 122) notes that the pro-duction of copper and bronze objects required the techni-cal expertise of highly skilled craftspeople it is difficulthowever to determine the extent to which technical skill inmetallurgy might have been correlated with certain levelsof social status in the Postclassic Maya world At Lamanaimis-cast copper objects manufacturing debris pigs andother raw materials have been recovered in domestic mid-

196

Figure 9 Metalsmith depicted in the Florentine Codex Folio 796Note the open mold of an axe into which it appears molten metal isflowing Also note the brazier possibly ceramic into which the metal-smith is forcing oxygen through a hollow tube tipped with a tuyere(blowpipe tip)

dens associated with what appear to be the relnains of bothcommoner and elite households Although the results ofongoing archaeological investigations are encouraging it isstill difficult to assess the roles that Maya elites and com-moners may have had in copper production activities vis-a-vis current models of craft specialization (Brun1fiel and Ear-le 1987 Costin 1991 Earle 1987 2002)

It is clear however that brilliantly colorful copper bellswith their wondrous sounds and sacred connotations wereregarded by Postclassic Mesoamericans as prestige goodsand hence served as powerful symbols of social identity(Hosler 1994 155-156 Smith 2003 119-121) Thecomplex designs of the finely crafted rings ornamentalclothing fasteners and tweezers speak to the highly devel-oped technical abilities of the craft specialists who createdthem Metalsmiths are identified in Maya lexicons of theSpanish colonial period asAh chuuen kaak or artificers offire (Clark and Houston 1998 44-45)Ah chuuen kaak istranslated into Spanish in the Motul Dictionary as fundi-dor de metales or one who founds and casts metals(Clark and Houston 1998 44-45) The Florentine Codexshows a Mesoamerican metalsmith casting a metal axe in amold using a tuyere or blowpipe (FIG 9) the receptacle for

Journal of Field Archaeology(Vol 34) 2009 69

melting the copper is depicted as a brazier apparently ce-ramic (Sal1agun 1959 folio 796) Bray (1977 397) sug-gests that Maya metalsmiths may have been itinerant craftspecialists traveling with their own metalworking toolssuch as tuyeres crucibles and molds It is also possible thatcopper workers were full-time residents of certain commu-nities such as Lamanai and the crucibles mentioned byColumbus may have been destined for use by metalsmitl1swho resided in such communities

To date ve have not identified copper production fea-tures or tools such as furnaces ceramic braziers cruciblesor tuyeres at Lamanai If we were to find such elements indirect association with residential or other architectural re-mains or if copper-working tools were to be recovered inindividual burials we might be able to establish tentativeassociations between the objects and the metalsmiths whoused them In addition the study of households with as-sociated metal objects and production materials and work-shop areas as well as osteological analysis of certain buri-als might provide information regarding the lives of an-cient Maya metalsmiths and the organization of their spe-cialized craft activity At present however the data shed lit-de light on the identities of Maya metalsmiths To ourknowledge copper production features have not yet beenidentified archaeologically in the Maya lowlands and veryfew copper-vorking tools have been found (but see Bruhnsand Hammond 1982 1983 Paris 2008 Shugar 2005b)The presence of a single copper pig at Tipu in the westernCayo District of Belize (FIG I) is indicative of metalwork-ing in that community as well (Graham and Wayman1989) Current archaeometallurgical studies at Lamanaiare aimed at exploring the social and economic positions ofmetalsmiths in late Maya society (Simmons 2005a Sim-mons and Shugar 2008) but until we know more aboutthe features and tools such individuals used how they or-ganized productive activities and where they lived it willbe difficult to understand the roles that Maya metalsmithsplayed in Postclassic period communities

Fortunately we know more about how the objects pro-duced by metalsmiths were regarded by the Maya Lexicaldata from Spanish colonial period dictionaries providesome insights into the various meanings assigned to cop-per objects by the people who used them In the Tzotzildictionary the term used for campana (bell) is tak)in(Laughlin 1988 643) the same term that is used formoney in both the Tzotzil Dictionary (Laughlin 1988631) and the San Francisco Dictionary (Michelon 1976584) In contemporary Chontal Maya the word tak)in istranslated as money metal literally the suns excrement(IZnowles 1984 462)

This last usage of the term suggests an underlying mean-

70 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanaiy BelizeSimmons et al

ing that is related to Maya perceptions of metals and theirproperties The significance of metallic sound and coloramong some Mesoamerican peoples particularly those inWest Mexico has been explored in Hoslers seminal workThe Sounds and Colors of Power (1994) We would argue asHosler (1986 1994 2003) has in the case of West Mexi-can peoples that certain metallic colors and sounds wereconsidered divine by the Maya The association of metalwith the sun a deity known as J(inich Ahau or God G(Miller and Taube 1993) suggests that metal objects wereperceived by the Maya as having animate qualities that theyconsidered to be divine

In the 17th century the Spanish Friar Diego Lopez deCogolludo provided unambiguous information regardinghow copper bells were used and perceived by the Maya atthe time of Spanish contact in Yucatan La moneda de queusabany era campanillas y cascabelesde cobre)que tentan el val-Orj segun la grandeza (The money that they used waslittle bells and bells of copper that had value according totheir size ) (1688 181) The writings of Diego Quija-da a 16th-century alcalde mayor (head of a provincial ad-ministration in the Spanish colonial period) also includereferences to the value ascribed to copper bells during theSpanish colonial period in Yucatan In discussing fmeslevied on Maya convicted of idolatry Quijada notes thatcacao red stones beads and campanillas y cascabelesde co-bre que tentan de tiempo de su infidelidad (small bells andbells of copper that they had from the time of their infi-delity) were to be paid to Spanish authorities (Scholes andAdams 1938 Book 2 214)

Diego de Landas 16th-century work Rclacidn de lasCosas de Yucatan (Tozzer 1941) provides further informa-tion on how the contact period Maya used some copperstatus and utilitarian objects Landa notes They had a cer-tain soft brass and with a slight mixture of gold fromwhich they made their hatchets by casting them and somelittle bells with which they danced (Tozzer 1941 186)Information from the Cordemex Dictionary supports theidea that Maya dancers used bells the terms cheh ok andcheh ok mascab are translated as cascabelesque usan los dan-zantes (bells that the dancers use) (Vasquez 1980 87)Evidently bells were attached to bands possibly of wovencotton that were worn around the lower leg just underthe knee Figure 10 shows a partially reconstructed Post-classic ceramic vessel from Lamanai used to burn incensewith what appear to be bells worn in this manner Thomp-son notes that a censer found at Mayapan believed to rep-resent the deity Xipe Totec has at about knee level bellspainted yellow presumably to represent gold or burnishedcopper (2005 9)

Other metal objects including copper axes also held a

certain value for the Maya In a manuscript written in 1620following his travels through central Guatemala FriarGabriel Salazar notes Once when in charge of searchingvery carefully among the Indians of San Marcos Coban orManche for as many as possible of the small copper axesused in these lands in pagan times I bought them eventhough they were expensive (Feldman 2000 52-53)

ConclusionThe number and variety of copper objects recovered at

Lamanai indicate that as a new commodity with remark-ably unique aural and visual properties metal artifactsplayed an important role for at least some members ofPostclassic and later contact period society Masson notesthat metal was probably the most higWy valued luxurygood in this region of the Postclassic Maya world (2003279) The inclusion of copper bells elaborate rings andbutton -like ornaments in Early and Middle Postclassic eliteburials shows that at least some residents of the site dis-played such items in certain social and ritual settings Cop-per bells worn during performances acted as auditory re-minders of the high social standing of those who displayedthem and the lustrous copper finger rings and elaborateclothing ornaments served as visual indicators of elevatedstatus

The results of chemical analyses indicate that during theBuk and Cib ceramic phases finished copper objects wornas items of personal adornment were imported intoLamanai from West Mexico and southeastern Mesoameri-ca (Hosler 1994 210-213) The sample of Bule and Cibphase copper artifacts is small but the size of the assem-blage is not the product of sampling bias given the exten-sive nature of survey and excavation in the areas occupiedduring these times (Pendergast 1981) It is conceivablethat the sample is not representative of the level of impor-tation of metal artifacts in Buk and Cib times because theartifact quantity was reduced by recycling a portion of theobjects as material for later Yglesiasphase metalworking atthe site The fact that copper artifacts have not been recov-ered from non-elite Buk or Cib phase contexts suggeststhat elite residents at the site during the first few centuriesof the Postclassic period were the beneficiaries of thestrong trade relationships that the community enjoyed be-yond the Maya area

The contexts from which metal artifacts have been re-covered suggest that the view of metals at Lamanaichanged over the course of the last few centuries of thesites existence During the Early and Middle Postclassicperiods copper objects appear to have had a personalmeaning for members of the communitys elite Elaboratecopper ornaments fmger rings and bells originating from

Journal of Field ArchaeologyVol 34) 2009 71

Figure 10 Late Postclassic incensario from Lamanai with apparent copper bells on left leg probablydepicting a Maya dancer

regions located well outside the Maya lowlands adornedelite individuals during their lives and accompanied themto their graves Ethnohistorical accounts indicate that suchobjects were symbols of elevated social rank among theMaya their gleaming visual quality which may have beenseen as reflecting the power of the sun on those who worethem helped to reify that status

The absence of copper objects in Buk and Cib phasemiddens and architecture stands in sharp contrast to thepattern of intrasite distribution just prior to and duringSpanish colonial times During the later Yglesias phaseboth elite and non-elite individuals appear to have had ac-cess to copper objects including statusritual objects im-ported from West Mexico and southeastern MesoamericaElite and non-elite community members also had access toobjects made of recycled copper produced at LamanaiCopper artifacts found in elite residential and burial con-texts include imported and recycled objects in rougWyequal numbers Copper objects produced in Yglesias timeswere both decorative and utilitarian in nature whereasthose imported from outside the Maya area in earlier cen-turies were exclusively for status display purposes

Since the Maya at Lamanai were producing copper ob-

jects from what Hosler describes as stock metal derivedfrom melted-down artifacts (1994 214) we find it puz-zling that such a large proportion of those fronl Yglesiascontexts (57) were discarded along with domestic refusePotentially recyclable bells rings needles and other fin-ished objects have been recovered in substantial numbersduring our excavations in Terminal Postclassic-contact pe-riod middens in the vicinity of the Spanish churches In ad-dition raw materials for production such as the axe frag-ments and lost-wax casting reservoirs mentioned abovealong with all four copper pigs come from rubbish dumpsor locations without apparent structural association Thepresence of these and other copper artifacts including allof the production failures found around Structure N 11-18and in the area of the Spanish churches suggests that thisportion of the site was a center for the production of cop-per objects (Simmons 2004 200Sa Simmons and Shugar2008)

Over thirty years ago Warwick Bray noted that thequantity and diversity of copper objects at Lamanai is bestaccounted for by local manufacture in Belize (1977 397)Although we have made solid strides in the past threedecades toward understanding where and how copper ob-

72 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

jects were produced in the southern Maya lowlands westill have some distance to go It is our hope that further in-vestigations will bring us closer to an understanding of theadvent of copper metallurgy the organizational aspects ofthis specialized craft activity and the roles and status ofmetalsmiths in ancient Maya society

AcknowledgmentsThe 1974-1986 Lamanai excavations were funded by

the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada the Royal Ontario Museum and the Richard IveyFoundation of London Ontario Simmons 1999-2001excavations at Lamanai along with chemical analyses ofthe copper artifacts recovered there were made possible byresearch grants from the H John Heinz III Fund for LatinAmerican Archaeology Technological analyses of the cop-per artifacts from Lamanai were supported in part by aCharles L Cahill Award from the University of North Car-olina Wilmington We appreciate the efforts of DrsDorothy Hosler and Aaron Shugar in conducting theseanalysesThanks to Stan Loten for the perspective drawingof Structure N10-2 We also appreciate the thoughtfulcomments of three anonymous reviewers At Lamanai lo-gistical support was provided by the Gonzalez family theEsquivel family Las Orquedias Womens Group and theLamanai Field Research Center Our sincere thanks go toall of the men and women of San Jose Succotz IndianChurch and San Carlos who have helped us over the yearsto gain a better understanding of Lamanais rich history

Scott E Simmons (phD 1996) University of Colorado) Boul-der) is an Associate Professorat the University of North Car-olina Wilmington and Co-Principal Investigator of theLamanai Archaeological Project His researchfocus isMayaarchaeology and his interests include craft specialization)household and political economies)and archaeometallutgy inthe Postclassicand Spanish colonialperiods in MesoamericaMailing address University of North Carolina Wilmington)601 South College Road) Wilmington) NC 28403 E-mailsimmonssuncwedu

DavidM Pendetgast (phD 1961) University ofCalifor-nia at LosAngeles) is an Honorary Research Fellow at the In-stitute ofArchaeology) University College London He has con-ducted investigations in Belize for the past four and a halfdecades and directed the Royal Ontario Museum)s LamanaiArchaeological Project from 1974 to 1986 Mailing addressInstitute ofArchaeology) University College London) 31-34Gordon Square) London) U IC WC1H opr

Elizabeth Graham (phD 1983) Cambridge University) isa Senior Lecturer at the Institute ofArchaeology) UniversityCollege London and Co-Principal Investigator of the

Lamanai Archaeological Project Her researchfocus isMayaarchaeology in Belize and her interests include the Postclassicand Spanish colonial periods as well as human-environmentalinteraction in the humid tropics and the development of tropi-cal urbanism Mailing address Institute ofArchaeology) Uni-versity College London) 31-34 Gordon Square) London) U ICWC1HOPr

Aimers James J2007 The Curse of the Ware Using Ceramic Systems in Belize

Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 4 101-110Alexander Rani T and Susan Kepecs

2005 The Postclassic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoameri-ca~ in Susan Kepecs and Rani T Alexander eds The Post-classic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoamerica Archaeolog-ical Perspectives Albuquerque University of New MexicoPress 1-12

Andres Christopher R and K Anne Pyburn2004 Out of Sight The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods

at Chau Hiix Belize in Arthur A Demarest Prudence MRice and Don S Rice eds The Terminal Classic in theMaya Lowlands Boulder University Press of Colorado402--423

Andrews Anthony P1990 The Role of Ports in Maya Civilization in Flora S Clan-

cy and Peter D Harrison eds Vision and Revision inMayaStudies Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press159-167

1993 Late Postclassic Maya Archaeology Journal of World Pre-history 7 35-69

Bateson J Howard and Ian H S Hall1977 The Geology of the Maya Mountains) Belize London Her

Majestys Stationary OfficeBerdan Frances F

2003 The Economy of Postclassic Mesoamerica in Michael ESmith and Frances F Berdan eds The PostclassicMesoamer-ican World Salt Lake City University of Utah Press93-95

Blackiston A Hooton1910 Recent Discoveries in Honduras American Anthropologist

12 536-54lBray Warwick

1971 Ancient American Metal-Smiths Proceedings of the RoyalAnthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 197125-43

1977 Maya Metalwork and its External Connections in N or-man Hammond ed Social Process in Maya Prehistory Es-says in Honour of Sir J Eric S Thompson New York Acade-mic Press 365--403

Bruhns Karen O1972 Prehispanic Cire Perdue Casting Moulds from Columbia

Man 7 308-31l

Bruhns Karen 0 and Norman Hammond1982 Maya Metal Workers Tool from Belize Antiquity 56

175-1801983 Moho Cay Hammer A Revised Opinion Antiquity 57

136-137

58 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanaiy BelizeSimmons et al

MEXICO

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Figure 1 Location of Lamanai Belize

evidence on Maya life that dates from about 1500 BC

through Postclassic (AD 950-1544) and Spanish colonialtimes (AD 1544-1700) (Graham 19872004 GrahamPendergast and Jones 1989 Jones 1989 Pendergast1981 1986 1991) The 1974-1986 Royal Ontario Mu-seum (ROM) archaeological project at Lamanai succeededin defining the sites chronology settlement characteristicsand range of material culture types and architectural fea-tures Among the many important and little-known aspectsof Postclassic and early Spanish colonial period Maya life atLamanai - the focus of interest here - is the presence ofsignificant numbers of copper artifacts

Ongoing archaeological investigations as part of theMaya Archaeometallurgy Project (Simmons 2004 2005a2005b Simmons and Howard 2003) as well as recent ex-cavations focused on periods of transition (Graham 20042006) have added to our understanding of Lamanais rela-tive stability in the face of the collapse experienced at anumber of Maya sites in the 9th and 10th centuries Thiswork has also contributed much to our knowledge of com-

munity adaptation and survival at the time of Spanish con-tact (Chase and Chase 2006 Demarest P Rice and DRice 2004 Webster 2002) Here we discuss the archaeo-logical contexts of copper objects recovered at Lamanai be-ginning vith the appearance of metal at the site by aroundAD 1150 We use the term copper for brevitys sake andbecause it is by far the dominant metallic element how-ever all of the copper artifacts found at Lamanai were al-loyed with other metals such as tin or arsenic and couldtechnically be considered bronze (Hosler 1994 210-213)In addition we consider the forms styles and probablefunctions of Lamanais copper artifacts and present a sum-mary discussion of the sources of the copper from whichthese objects were made based on provenience informationon copper sources (Hosler 1994 Hosler and Macfarlane1996) While broader discussions of the contexts mean-ings and associations of copper production activitiesthroughout the ancient Maya world are clearly neededthey are beyond the scope of this paper

We first examine the contexts forms styles uses andsources of copper objects dating from the Buk ceramicphase which coincides with the Early Postclassic period(AD 950-1200) Much of the information for this part ofthe discussion is derived from excavations at several im-portant elite ceremonialadministrative structures situatedvery close to one another on the shore of the New RiverLagoon Next we present information on tl1e archaeolog-ical contexts object forms styles uses and sources of Cibceramic phase or Middle Postclassic period (AD

1200-1350) copper artifacts Like the assemblage of cop-per objects from Buk phase contexts this is a comparative-ly small but nonetheless informative sample of material

We discuss the contexts forms styles uses and sourcesof copper objects from Late and Terminal Postclassic (AD

1350-1544) and Spanish colonial times (AD 1544-1700) Substantial numbers of metal artifacts were recov-ered in association with Yglesias phase ceramics whichwere produced during the final centuries of the Postclassicthrough the 17th century Beginning in the mid-16th cen-tury Lamanai was one of a number of Spanish missiontowns in Belize (Jones 1989) and each was visited period-ically by circuit-riding secular priests and Franciscan friarsContact between the Maya residents ofLamanai and Span-ish authorities was intermittent and there is no evidence ofpermanent Spanish occupation (Graham Pendergast andJones 1989 Jones 1989) It was during the Yglesias ce-ramic phase that the Maya at Lamanai produced their ownmetal objects and although there was contact with theSpanish during the latter part of this phase it appears thatthe Spanish had little if any influence on copper metallur-gy at the site

The contexts in which copper objects were found at thesite differ over time and yet it is clear that both continuitiesand discontinuities exist in their forms styles and the waysthey were used in the centuries prior to and during Span-ish contact Finally we examine the manner in which theMaya may have regarded the various copper objects thatwere relatively new to their world Our discussion focuseson the social cultural and economic significance these ob-jects may have had through the centuries for the people ofLamanai

Copper as a Postclassic Maya CommodityTrade was an essential component of Mesoamerican life

in the Postclassic period and the Maya were active partici-pants in a vast macro regional trade network (Alexanderand IZepecs 2005 Andrews 1990 1993 Berdan 2003Sharer and Traxler 2006 Smith and Berdan 2003) A widevariety of objects circulated around the Yucatan peninsulabefore the time of Spanish contact via a well-developedcircum-peninsular exchange system that itself appears tohave been part of a larger Postclassic Mesoamericanworld system (Smith and Berdan 2003 4) The move-ment of commodities as well as information and ideas intointerior areas of the peninsula was facilitated by canoe trav-el along the coast and the extensive river systems in BelizeThe importation of finished copper objects into the Mayaarea during Postclassic times was made possible by a vi-brant well-established exchange network that includedLamanai and a number of smaller Postclassic sites in north-ern Belize (Andres and Pyburn 2004 Chase and Chase1988 Guderjan 2005 Guderjan and Garber 1995 Jones1998 Masson 2002 2003)

Diego de Landa noted that for the contact period Mayathe occupation to which they had the greatest inclinationwas trade (Tozzer 1941 94) Lamanais key location onthe New River Lagoon provided the sites inhabitants withaccess to a variety of Mesoamerican trade goods through-out of the sites 3500-year occupation (Pendergast 19811986 1991 1993) Among the durable goods that movedwithin this coastal and riverine trade network was a con-siderable range of copper objects many of which weresmall bells Smith notes that alloyed copper bells were themost extensively traded metal objects in PostclassicMesoamerica (2003 124) Indeed copper bells were sohighly valued that by Spanish contact they were usedthroughout the Maya area as currency (see below) Copperobjects such as bells rings and tweezers not only had greateconomic value but were also highly charged symbolic ob-jects whose sounds and colors made them particularly im-portant for use in ritual performances and as ornaments re-flecting social status (Hosler 1994 2003)

Journal of Field ArchaeologyfVol 34) 2009 59

Our knowledge of trade in copper objects from sites inWest Mexico southeastern Mesoamerica and lower Cen-tral America to the Maya lowland area is derived from ar-chaeological investigations chemical compositional andfabrication analyses of the copper artifacts and from eth-nohistorical documents The earliest Spanish account ofMaya trade in copper objects comes from 1502 whenColumbus reported encountering Maya canoes off the BayIslands of Honduras during his fourth voyage to the NewWorld (IZeen 1959) Among the items of their cargo thetraders carried hatchets resembling the stone hatchetsused by the other Indians but made of good copper andhawks bells of copper and crucibles to melt it (IZeen1959 231-232) By Terminal Postclassic times the Mayawere not only engaged in the exchange of copper objectsbut were also actively trading implements used in metal-lurgy We can assume that along with finished objects andproduction tools ideas were circulating between individu-als and groups engaged in coastal and riverine trade In thecase of the objects of interest here the ideas were related tothe methods and technological processes used in the pro-duction of metal objects (Hosler and Macfarlane 1996)

CopperArtifacts at LamanaiWith the exception of artifacts removed from the Sacred

Cenote at Chichen Itza during dredging operations in thefirst decade of the 20th century (Coggins and Shane 1984Lothrop 1952) those excavated during controlled archae-ological excavations at Mayapan (Paris 2008 Root 1962)and those that came from the Quemistlan bell cave inHonduras (Blackiston 1910) more copper artifacts havebeen recovered at Lamanai than at any other site in the an-cient Maya world (Simmons 2005a) To date a total of187 copper artifacts have been excavated including bellsrings tweezers various clothing ornaments pins axeschisels needles and fish hooks (TABLE r) Many of theseare forms that have been found at sites throughoutMesoamerica (Bray 1977 Graham and Wayman 1989Hosler 1986 Paris 2008 Pendergast 1962 West 1994)

Evidence for on-site copper metallurgy at Lamanai con-sists of pigs blanks sheet pieces mis-cast objects and cast-ing debris (Note that we use the term pigs here insteadof ingots as the term ingot refers to metal cast in a par-ticular shape usually oblong Pigs are the product of pour-ing remainder metal from a cast out to cool in contrast toingots pigs are usually not formed into standardized oreven semi-standardized shapes or sizes) All of these pro-duction-related objects come from Yglesiasphase depositsat the site Metallurgical and limited metallographic analy-ses of a broad sample of the copper objects from Lamanaihave been reported previously (Hosler 1994 208-215

60 Copper Artifaas in Postclassic and Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et ale

Table 1 Copper artifact types by ceramic phase from Lamanai BelizeNumber by ceramic phaseBuk Cib Yglesias

Objeatype (AD 950-12001250) (AD 12001250-1350) (AD 1350-1700) Unknown Total numberBells (whole) 6 1 11 3 21Bells (incompletemis-cast) 0 0 24 3 27Bells (flattened distorted) 1 0 29 1 31Axeceltchisel 0 0 12 0 12Axe fragments 0 0 11 0 11Axe blanks 0 0 1 0 1Rings 3 0 5 6 14Ornaments 7 6 0 0 13Sheet fragments 1 0 11 0 12Needles 0 0 10 0 10Ingotspigs 0 0 3 1 4Casting reservoirs 0 0 2 0 2Prills 0 0 10 0 10Fish hooks 0 0 5 0 5Pins 0 0 2 0 2Tweezers 0 0 2 2 4Bell-headed pins 0 2 0 0 2Pin tips 0 0 0 2 2Pin heads 0 0 2 0 2Tinkler 0 0 1 0 1Necklace 0 0 1 0 1Total 18 9 142 18 187

Totals as of August 2006

Hosler and Macfarlane 1996 1822-1823 Shugar 2005a)and the significance of metal artifacts with regard to tradelinks and the development of metallurgy in ancientMesoamerica have also been investigated (Bray 19711977 Lothrop 1952 Pendergast 1962 West 1994) Weare concerned here not with the techniques and alloys em-ployed in the manufacture of the objects or with the dis-tribution of isolated metal artifacts in the Maya lowlands asa whole but rather with the contexts in which the objectsoccur at Lamanai and with the information that is con-veyed by contextual analysis of the data

Metal artifacts appear at Lamanai in the Early Postclas-sic period and in considerable numbers around the time ofSpanish contact As a mirror of broader trade relations inthe southern Maya lowlands and as a reflection of techno-logical change the history of metal artifact use at Lamanaiis an invaluable element in the reconstruction of Postclas-sic and early historical dynamics

The Forms and Styles of Lamanais CopperObjects Typological and ContextualDesignations

The discussion of the forms and styles of copper artifactsfrom Lamanai follows Pendergasts (1962) typology ofmetal artifacts in Mesoamerica This classification is basedon the division of objects into one of three major func-tional categories utilitarian objects objects of personal

adornment and ceremonial objects (Pendergast 1962521) Hoslers (1986 104-105) more recent typology formetal artifacts in Mesoamerica tal(es into considerationboth stylistic criteria as well as certain other attributes suchas mechanical properties of metal (for such objects as axesand tweezers) and volume and pitch (for bells) Since thesedata could not be obtained for all of the copper objects inthe Lamanai assemblage and since our discussion focusesprimarily on the contexts and significance of copper objectsat the site rather than technical properties of metal we pre-fer to use Pendergasts (1962) typology We do howeversupplement the typology with Hoslers (1986 104-105)classification for certain objects such as needles for whichmore detailed typological categories exist

The contexts in which copper artifacts from Lamanaiwere found include the following burials middenscaches architectural features and surface contexts (TABLE

2) Copper artifacts in burials account for more than onequarter (n = 49 262) of all of the copper artifacts foundthus far at Lamanai Middens at Lamanai include discreterefuse accumulations a number of which have depths ap-proaching 50 cm or more as well as refuse deposits that aregenerally thinner and horizontally dispersed which we re-ferred to as sheet middens Over 43 (n = 82) of the cop-per artifacts recovered at Lamanai have come from mid-dens Copper artifacts found associated with Maya con-struction ie those included in the architecture category

Journal ofField ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 61

Table 2 The contexts of copper artifacts from Lamanai BelizeContext

Temporal phase Burial Midden Architecture Cache Suiface TotalEarly Postclassic Buk 16 1 0 1 0 18Middle Postclassic Cib 9 0 0 0 0 9Lateferminal Postclassic-Spanish Colonial Yglesias 18 81 41 2 0 142Unknown 6 0 0 0 12 18Total 49 82 41 3 12 187

oI

f

Figure 2 Plazas 1 and 2 of the NI0 grid blockand Structures NI0-2 and NI0-4 all of theBuk and Cib phase copper artifacts recoveredat Lamanai come from these two structuresStr NI0-2 is shown in a perspective drawingby Stan Loten with Str NI0-9 in the back-ground at left

were recovered in core deposits and collapse debris atopand within floor ballast materials (typically unmodifiedlimestone pieces mixed with soil) and in other contextsclearly linked with architectural features at the site Onlythree copper artifacts were recovered from caches duringinvestigations at Lamanai and 12 copper artifacts werefound on the ground surface of the site (TABLE 2)

The Contexts Forms and Styles of EarlyPostclassic Buk Phase Copper Objects

Copper artifacts from the first centuries of the Postclas-sic period come from a very limited range of contexts at

Lamanai allwere found associated with elite burials exceptfor one object found in a cache and one found in a midden(TABLE 2) All 18 copper objects associated with Buk phaseceramic vessels come from two structures NI0-2 andNI0-4 which lie very close to the New River Lagoon (FIG

2) These structures are believed to be at the heart of an areathat witnessed Maya ceremonial and probably administra-tive activities from the 11th to the 13th centuries (Pender-gast 1981) Copper objects were found in six of the 97burials excavated in these two structures Two of the finelycrafted copper objects are shown in Figures 3 and 4 Datesassigned to the archaeological contexts in which copper ar-tifacts were found at Structures NI0-2 and NI0-4 arebased largely on relative stratigraphy and on the presenceof typologically distinctive Buk phase ceramic vessels (Gra-ham 1987)

All but one of the 18 Buk phase copper artifacts recov-ered from excavations at Structures NI0-2 and NI0-4 arewhat Hosler (1994 208) describes as status display andritual objects These include seven bells seven false wire-work ornaments (FIG 4) and three filigree rings The re-maining object is a non-diagnostic piece of sheet copper

The most common copper artifacts recovered atLamanai (TABLE r) -bells-are represented in the Bulephase by seven examples (88 of the site total of79) Fol-lowing the Pendergast (1962) typological classificationbell Types IAla-i ICla IC4a IC6a and ID la are repre-sented with plain or elongated globular and pyriformtypes (IAla-i ICla and IDla) the most common (FIG 5)Early Postclassic bells with designs on resonator bodies arenot common although several have raised horizontally orvertically oriented wirework bands In addition a few areadorned with false or simulated wirework on resonatorsOnly one bell (Type IC4a) found with Burial NIO4-3 iselaborately ornamented with wirework eyes nose and up-per lip decorations Lothrop terms these head effigy bellsin his discussion of metals recovered from the SacredCenote at Chichen ltza (1952 91) Bell suspension loopsare either single or double wires with very modest to fair-ly prominent sprue projections Bell clappers are almost ex-clusively copper beads a small pebble clapper was identi-fied in only one of the bells from this phase

America (Hosler 1994) They were presumably attached toclothing by their wide cruciform rear straps and it is pos-sible that they functioned either as garment fasteners or aspersonal adornments

62 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai BelizeSimmons et al

Figure 3 Filigree copper finger rings (Type IVA3) from Buk phaseburials lA 11811 (top) from Burial 16 in Str NI0-2 ring has an out-side dialneter of 20 em lA 683 (bottom) false wirework ring fromBurial2B in Str NI0-4 ring has an outside diameter of 19 em

Two rings both of filigree strapwork fonn (Type IVA3)were associated with Buk phase burials one in StructureN10-2 and the other in NIO-4 (Pendergast 1962 5291981 47) They are characterized by intricate and delicateornamental strapwork and with linked and separated S-scroll motifs (FIG 3) Both are edged with bands dividedby a center line which creates a double-band effect One ofthe rings IA 683 is among a number of copper objectsworn by the Maya at Lamanai that Hosler notes representa local southeastern Mesoamerican metalworking tradi-tion (1994 208) Another Buk phase ring a simple un-decorated example of Type 1VAl was found at the base ofthe midden abutting the NE corner of Structure NI0-9 lo-cated immediately west of Str NIO-2 (FIG 2)

Seven oval-shaped ornaments were recovered during ex-cavations of Burial N104-3 (FIG 4) These objects are theonly ones of their kind found at Lamanai and to ourknowledge the form has not been reported from any oth-er sites in the Maya area (Bray 1977 385) The ornamentsare made of interconnected S-scroll wires attached to an el-liptical frame This S-scroll design is fairly common in thelost-wax (eire perdue) casting tradition of lower Central

The Contexts Forms and Styles of MiddlePostclassic Cib Phase Copper Objects

Nine copper artifacts have been recovered from un-equivocal Cib phase contexts (TABLE 2) all from elite buri-als in Structure NI0-4 The relatively small number of cop-per objects is likely to be a reflection of the general under-representation of Middle Postclassic activities in the ar-chaeological record of Lamanai The information we havefrom this critical period comes from excavations that havetaken place at Str N10-4 (FIG 2) Other Middle Postclas-sic residential structures at the site have been tested but noother copper artifacts from definitive Cib contexts were re-covered

One bell two bell-headed pins and six dome-shapedclothing ornaments comprise the copper artifact assem-blage from Str NI0-4 The bell from Burial NI0-446 is asub-pyriform example with shallow false wirework on itsupper body and an undecorated lower resonator The bellis a variant of Type IC2a with what was probably a strapfor suspension but only a small portion remains Its clap-per is a small globular bead The two bell-headed pinsfrom Burial NI0-429 are composed of small plain glob-ular bells of Type IAla-i attached to relatively short pinswith a small cup-like element situated between the bell andthe shaft of the pin The small amount of cloth found ad-hering to these pins suggests that they were used as cloth-ing fasteners (Pendergast 1981 47) To our knowledge noother examples of the form have been recovered in theMaya area (Bray 1977 385)

The six domed copper ornaments with Burial N1 0-428consist of hollow hemispheres with applied beadingaround their edges and applied double straps across theirbacks for attachment These are identical to gold orna-ments found in Tomb 7 at Monte Alban dating to LatePostclassic times (Caso 1969 Plate 22) The functions ofthese clothing ornaments are not entirely clear althoughseveral lines of evidence discussed below suggest howthey may have been used

The Contexts Forms and Styles of LatePostclassic-Spanish Colonial PeriodYglesias Phase Copper Objects

The vast majority of the copper artifacts from Lamanaicome from the contact period community which lies in avaguely defined area around the two Spanish churchesMost are associated with residential structures apparently

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 63

Figure 4 Right elbow area of Burial NlO-4j3 with shell-shaped ornaments and globular bells This juvenilewas buried with the greatest number of copper objects at Lamanai The largest shell-shaped ornament inthe left-center of the image is 29 em in length Note the two globular bells in the right of the image aboveone of the two bone circlets A number of barrel-shaped marcasite beads are also shown in this image

Figure 5 Bell varieties from Lamanai In the top row all bells are pyriform Type lela except the globularbell (Type lala-i) on the right end of the row On the bottom row are mis-cast globular and pyriformbells while the two on the right are laterally mashed The three specimens on the bottom left are partiallycast bell walls

64 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic LamanaiJ BelizeSimmons et al

occupied by elite members of the community A total of142 of 187 (759) of the copper objects found atLamanai are believed to date from sometime shortly beforemid-16th century Spanish contact to the late 17th centuryDating of these metal artifacts is based primarily on theirassociation with stylistically diagnostic ceramic forms Thearchaeological contexts in which copper artifacts werefound in the Spanish Church Zone have yielded distinctiveYglesias phase ceramics which were made during theSpanish colonial period but introduced at an unknowndate prior to that time Their introduction could have tak-en place around 1500 to 1510 when the effects of Euro-pean presence were first felt in the circum-Caribbean re-gion but it is also possible that their manufacture began asearly asAD 1450 (Graham 2004) Alloyed copper artifactsare associated with materials of European origin such asglass beads and Spanish majolica and olive jar sherds inseveral contexts (Simmons 2004 2005a 2005b Pender-gast 1985) but the European materials are not necessarilyindicators of the time of manufacture of the metal objectsAnalyses of late precolumbian Maya ceramic artifacts fromthis critical transitional period are ongoing (Aimers 2007Howie 2007) It is likely that other ceramic phases will bedefined (Elizabeth Graham personal communication2008) further assisting us in refming our understanding ofthe advent of on-site metallurgy at Lamanai

At the time of Spanish contact most of Lamanais in-habitants were settled in the southern third of the site butreduction efforts probably led to further concentration ofthe community in the area that includes the Spanishchurches and a number of other nearby structures The ex-tent of the contact period community the architecturalcharacteristics of its residential and special use structuresand the material culture of its residents are still being ex-plored (Simmons 2005a Wiewall2005) A number of thestructures that have been investigated thus far have yieldedcopper artifacts the most prominent of these is StructureNll-18

More copper artifacts have been recovered at StructureNll-18 than at any other structure or locus at LamanaiOver 379 (71 of 187) of the entire assemblage of cop-per objects from the site comes from various contexts with-in and immediately around this important building andhalf (496) of the copper objects associated with Yglesiasceramic artifacts come from this one structure The build-ing is very likely to have had a variety of functions and mayhave served as a residence for Lamanais colonial period na-tive authority the cacique (Pendergast 1993 128) It alsomay have functioned as a guest house for visiting digni-taries ie a casa comunidad or casa real with attendantstorage and cooking areas (Jones 1989 67)

In addition to the copper artifacts recovered during ex-cavations of several other Late Postclassic to contact periodstructures a cluster of seven copper artifacts was found to-gether in a lagoon-side midden deposit located approxi-mately 60 m east of the second Spanish church Five of theseven are axe fragments that fit together to form two com-plete axes (see below) The remaining two artifacts appearto be casting reservoirs from lost-wax casting (Simmonsand Shugar 2008) We use the term casting reservoir todescribe a portion of a lost-wax cast mold that acts as a fun-nel into which molten copper is poured once the cavity ofthe mold is filled the reservoir acts as a receptacle for ex-cess metal (Long 1964 fig 1) After the metal has cooledsufficiently both the reservoir and the sprue (the tube lead-ing from the reservoir to the cast object) are detached andmay be remelted for later casting

The majority of copper artifacts (45 64 of 142) re-covered from the Spanish Church Zone are bells Smallernumbers of status display objects including fmger ringsand tweezers have been found associated with Yglesiasphase ceramics in the Spanish Church Zone Utilitarianobjects from this period include woodworking tools suchas axes chisels and wedges as well as fish hooks needlesand pins (TABLE 3) The remaining objects from late con-texts include copper pigs pieces of sheet metal prills andother manufacturing materials

With only two exceptions bells from this area of the siteare either plain or elongated globular or pyriform types(lAla-i ICla and IDla) (FIG 5) Two very small bellspossibly functioning as buttons or other kinds of personalornaments also come from late deposits Designs or deco-rative elements of any kind are virtually absent on the bellsfrom the Spanish Church Zone Bells from this period typ-ically have only single suspension loops although ten havedouble suspension loops Sprue projections are present onnearly all of the bells from this period and in only a fewcases does it appear that any effort was made to remove orminimize sprue remnants Almost all sprue remnants arefound on the tops of the suspension loops With only oneexception bell clappers are exclusively small pebbles

Only 11 of the 64 bells recovered from very late depositsat the site are whole or complete (TABLE 3) The remaining53 are either fragments (n = 24) or have been smashed orflattened and distorted (n = 29) At least some of the bellfragments found in Yglesiasphase deposits at the site rep-resent production failures In some cases only portions ofbell walls or suspension loops have been cast whereas inother instances bells are largely complete but have promi-nent holes in their resonating chambers (FIG 5) In a greatmany cases bells are not only mis-cast but also damagedoften severely apparently prior to their deposition in ar-

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 65

Table 3 Copper artifacts from Yglesias phase contexts at Lamanai Belize

Burial Midden Architecture Cache Total

Bells (whole) 2 7 2 0 11Bells(incompletemis-cast) 0 18 6 0 24Bells (flattened distorted) 0 17 12 0 29Axeceltchisel 1 3 6 2 12

Axe fragments 0 9 2 0 11Axe blanks 0 1 0 0 1Rings 2 3 0 0 5Sheet fragments 1 5 5 0 11

Needles 1 6 3 0 10Ingotspigs 0 2 1 0 3Casting reservoirs 0 2 0 0 2Prills 6 2 2 0 10

Fish hooks 0 4 1 0 5Pins 1 0 1 0 2Pin heads 2 0 0 0 2Tweezers 1 1 0 0 2

Figure 6 Axe (Type VB) in three pieces recovered from Span-ish contact period midden deposit located at the edge of theNew River Lagoon approximately 60 m east of Lamanais Span-ish churches These axe fragments along with two others (form-ing a smaller axe) were found together with the remains of twoprobable casting reservoirs All of these objects may have beendestined for melting and recasting by Lamanais metalsmiths

chaeological contexts Almost 45 (n = 29) of the bellsdating to this period show some kind of gross deformity inshape Descriptions in Pendergasts field notes of such bellsinclude crumpled torn laterally flattened distortedwith one part of side ripped away and apparently sacri-ficed torn and smashed

All 24 of the axes axe blanks axe fragments and chiselsrecovered from Lamanai come from LatefTerminal Post-classic and Spanish colonial period contexts They make up169 of the 142 copper objects found in the SpanishChurch Zone Various sizes of axeType VB were the mostcommon (FIG 6) whereas lesser numbers of chisel TypeVA were also found (Pendergast 1962 525) A probableaxe or chisel blank was recovered as an isolated find just be-low the ground surface in the Spanish Church Zone Met-allographic analysis of the probable blank shows a ham-

mered structure that has been annealed to some extent in-dicating that the object has been partially worked this iswhat would be expected of a blank destined to later beworked into a finished form (Shugar 2005a 12)

Many of the axes and chisels from this period show ev-idence of very heavy use with battered polls and dulled bitscommon Others however show only minimal modifica-tions of their working edges (Aaron Shugar personal com-munication 2007) Eight axe fragments have also been re-covered from the Spanish Church Zone Interestingly fiveof the eight fragments (mentioned above) found in a groupfit together to form two Type VB axes one of which isshown in Figure 6

Five rings were recovered from contact period contextsThree of the five are plain narrow bands (Types IVAI andIVA2) One of the two exceptions is a ring with threeraised border bands edging a panel of conjoined circles thatproduce a triangular piercing at its borders (Type IVA3)Like a great number of the bells recovered from late con-texts this ring is smashed flat and the metal is partly tornThe other decorated finger ring has two lines of small del-icate chevrons located very close to the edges with the twolines pointing in opposite directions It appears to be avariant of Type IVAI (Pendergast 1962 529)

All four pairs of tweezers in the assemblage were recov-ered in the Spanish Church Zone three were from burialsThe remaining half pair of tweezers was recovered from asurface context and may date to the final phase of pre-columbian occupation at Lamanai The tweezers varyslightly in size but three of the four are small All have cir-cular blades and can be classified as Type IIIC (Pendergast1962 524) One is somewhat larger in size with a bladediameter of 41 cm and weight of 212 g

The five fish hooks recovered at Lamanai come from

66 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

Figure 7 Copper pigs from Lamanai The ingot on the left measures 63 x 65 cm and weighs 2755 gThe pig in the center measures 48 x 50 cm and weighs 1255 g The pig on the right measures 25 x26 em and weighs 345 g

Figure 8 Copper prill recovered from the south side middenofStr Nll-27 north side midden ofStr Nll-18

Late Postclassic to Spanish colonial period contexts All areclassifiable as Type IXA2 (Pendergast 1962 525) Hookshanks are of varying size but all are looped at their topsfor line attachment Ten needles were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone six from Str Nll-18 Most areType 2a with a small piece of metal looped over to formthe eye (Hosler 1986 377) Several are of Type 1 with aperforation through the shank of the needle serving as theeye (Hosler 1986 369)All of the needles are made of coldhammered rolled sheet metal with either a rounded or anelongated eye Two pins and four pin fragn1ents were alsofound associated with Yglesias phase ceramic material Fi-nally a possible tinlder with a double loop suspensionmade from what may be a cut pyriform bell was found atStr Nll-18

Copper Production at LamanaiCompelling evidence for the production of copper ob-

jects at Lamanai comes from pigs prills mis-cast copper

objects and by-products of lost-wax casting found in thevicinity of the Spanish churches Four pigs of varying sizehave been recovered thus far The smallest pig weighs 58g and the largest weighs just over 275 g All have a slight-ly irregular circular shape and are plano-convex in section(FIG 7) Sprues vary in size and surfaces are typically pit-ted and granular

Other evidence of copper production at Lamanai isdiminutive in size and weight but no less important inhelping us to understand the nature of Maya metallurgy Itconsists of the prills mentioned above which are very smallbeads of metal that are by-products of casting activitiesPrills are formed when molten metal is poured into moldsThey are generally quite round in shape but are sometimesdeformed by the impact produced when liquefied metalsplashes falls and strikes the ground Owing to their mi-nuscule size prills typically go unnoticed during excava-tion One found during excavations in the Spanish ChurchZone is shown in Figure 8 To our knowledge no otherobjects that might definitively be called prills have been re-ported from the Maya area

Fragments of copper sheet of various sizes were alsofound in the Spanish Church Zone Five of the 11 recov-ered are from Structure Nll-18 and three are from an ad-jacent structure Most weigh between 1 and 2 g with thelargest weighing just over 6 g

Two large lumps of copper that appear to be remnantsof the lost-wax casting process were found together withthe group of axe fragments mentioned above (Simmonsand Shugar 2008) These two masses of copper weigh ap-proximately 21 and 86 g and appear to be remnants of cast-

ing reservoirs of the kind described by Long (1964 fig 1)in his experimental study of lost-wax casting techniques

Twelve copper objects from Lamanai came from surfacecontexts and thus cannot be assigned to a temporal phasewith any confidence (TABLE 2) All were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone and most came from the area of StrN 11-18 Their association with this structure makes it like-ly that most if not all of the objects which include onepig one ring one half pair of tweezers two probable pintips and seven bells are very late in date The remaining sixcopper artifacts that cannot be assigned to any temporalphase come from a burial within a small structure locatedin the Spanish Church Zone Excavations revealed a burialof two individuals a middle-aged female seated with herleft arm around the shoulders of a seated middle-agedmale described as The Loving Couple (Pendergast1989 White et alein press) Unfortunately no ceramic orother temporally diagnostic material accompanied the cou-pIe although Pendergast (1989 2) notes that the stairblock under which the couple was interred was probablyrebuilt at some point between rougWy AD 1450 and1500 A pair of disc-bladed copper tweezers of Type IIIC(Pendergast 1962 524) and five plain rings of Type IVAI(Pendergast 1962 529) were recovered in direct associa-tion with the skeletal remains The location of the tweez-ers to which a small amount of cotton cloth still adheredat the time of their discovery suggests the man wore theobject suspended from a cord or thong around his neckThe rings which enclosed a quantity of cotton cloth werefound between the scapulae of the female a position thatsuggests they served as ornaments for her hair braid orqueue

The Functions and Meanings of Copper Objectsat Lamanai

Early and Middle Postclassic Copper Objects asImported Wealth

Commencing around AD 1100 the ceramic traditionsof Early Postclassic times at Lamanai some of which grewout of those of the Late and Terminal Classic (Graham1987 73-81) underwent significant change New formsemerged many of which were radical departures from theapproach to pottery-malcing in preceding centuries Al-most certainly of local origin the shapes and decoration ofthe Buk ceramic phase quicldy supplanted what had gonebefore but at the same time retained certain elements ofthe earlier ceramic canon (Graham 1987 81-87) With thechanges in pottery came the development of limited ce-ramic ties with polities in the northern Yucatan peninsulathat on chronological grounds appear to involve the

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 67

transmission of ideas and perhaps of the ceramic productsof those ideas from Lamanai to recipients in the north(Pendergast 1986 236-245) Possibly in return for ce-ramics and other materials sent northward metal artifactsof non-Maya manufacture began to flow into Lamanai

The results of chemical compositional studies conduct-ed by Hosler (1994 208-213) indicate that the sources ofthe copper objects that began to be imported into Lamanaiduring Early Postclassic times are West Mexico and south-eastern Mesoamerica In addition some of the objects par-ticularly the finely made rings and ornaments are similarin form and style to examples from the West Mexican statesof Michoacan and Guerrero The exotic origin of the met-al objects found at Lamanai combined with the symbolicsignificance of the objects in their areas of manufacture ap-pears to have conferred upon the artifacts a special value asmarkers of rank or status in the Early to Middle PostclassicLamanai community Metal artifacts had an entirely per-sonal association and meaning in Buk and Cib phase timesThe occurrence of metals in interments marked by a con-siderable range of grave goods reinforces the role of the ob-jects as indicators of the owners elevated standing in thecommunity All but one of the 27 Buk and Cib copper ar-tifacts recovered at Lamanai are what Hosler (1994 208)describes as status display or ritual objects These includebells (one of which was a centerpiece in a jade and shellnecldace) elaborately made false wirework and dome-shaped ornaments and finely crafted filigree rings allmade by lost-wax casting (FIG 3) It seems likely that theexotic designs and origins of these and other metal artifactsfrom the period all crafted from an unfamiliar materialwith unique properties helped to make such objects high-ly appealing to elite members of the community The flowof exotic items such as these into Lamanai has been cited asone of the clear indicators of the communitys continuedvitality as reflected in long-distance social and commercialties following the collapse of so many other southern low-land Maya polities in the 9th century AD (Pendergast1991 1993)

The Late Postclassic and Spanish Colonial PeriodsCopper Objects as Items of Local Manufacture

The contexts in which copper artifacts were found dat-ing from the centuries just prior to and during Spanishcontact differ significantly from those in which Early andMiddle Postclassic copper artifacts were recovered Mostcopper objects from very late deposits were recovered frommiddens or from architectural contexts and a considerablenumber appear to have been manufactured at the siteprobably within the Spanish Church Zone Copper oresare not locally available in the Maya lowland area (Bateson

68 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

and Hall 1977 Bray 1971 1977 West 1994) The resultsof Hoslers (1994) chemical compositional studies indicatethat at the time of Spanish contact the Maya at Lamanaiwere crafting their own metal tools and status symbols us-ing material apparently produced by melting copper ob-jects imported in earlier times She notes that by historicaltimes artisans were crafting objects at Lamanai itself andthey seem to have been doing so by using recycled metal(Hosler 1994 214) The majority of copper artifacts pro-duced during this time were made from metal cast intomolds using the lost-wax method most are undecoratedbells Hosler (1994 53) notes that available evidence indi-cates that all bells manufactured in Mesoamerica were castin one piece using the lost-wax method Various aspects ofthis metalworking technique have been described using in-formation obtained from archaeological investigations(Bruhns 1972 Bruhns and Hammond 1982 1983 Pen-dergast 1962) experimental studies (Long 1964) ethno-historical accounts (Motolirua 1950 SahagUn 1959) andmaterial analyses (Hosler 1994 Noble 1975)

We do not know when copper metallurgy began atLamanai but there is evidence that the Maya there were ac-tively engaged in the production of copper objects duringSpanish contact times and probably earlier perhaps by theend of the Cib ceramic phase The strongest evidence forindigenous metallurgy at Lamanai comes from Yglesiasphase contexts and consists of three pigs ten prills an axeblank (or ingot possibly) and two probable lost-wax cast-ing reservoirs all representing production debris (TABLE

3) In addition 24 bell fragments that are production fail-ures were recovered from Yglesias phase deposits in theSpanish Church Zone Along with the pigs and prills thesemis-cast bells add weight to the idea that copper produc-tion was taking place at Lamanai since casting failures arenot likely to have been trade items It is even possible thatthe 29 flattened bells found in Yglesiasphase contexts werecrushed by Lamanais metalsmiths in preparation for re-casting In addition to the crushed bells several othersmashed and torn copper objects were recovered fromthese late deposits Minimizing the surface area of the met-al by crushing or flattening would have facilitated meltingfor reuse in two ways (Aaron Shugar personal communi-cation 2006) Reducing the size of the objects by flatteningwould have allowed a greater number of bells to fit into acrucible for melting Also crushing would have reducedthe length of time required for maintenance of tempera-tures high enough (10830 C) to melt all of the material inthe crucible

In sum two separate but related lines of evidence sug-gest that metalsmiths were experimenting with the pro-duction of copper objects at Lamanai sometime just prior

to or during early Spanish colonial times The evidence in-cludes the presence of mis-cast copper artifacts most no-tably bells along with the pigs blanks and other produc-tion materials mentioned above and the anomalous arti-fact chemistry noted in a number of the copper objects re-covered at the site (Hosler 1994) In some cases Lamanaismetalsmiths were successful in creating whole bells nee-dles axes finger rings fish hooks and pieces of sheet cop-per The recovery of numerous lost-wax production fail-ures however indicates that at other times success eludedthem Noble (1975 369) suggests that mis-cast objectscould be the result of low melting temperatures for thecopper the presence of gas bubbles in residual wax left inmolds or movement of the clay and sand core within lost-wax molds Whatever the causes the production failurespigs prills and blanks are the kinds of metal objects onewould expect to encounter at a site where the occupantswere actively experimenting with metallurgy (Craddock1995 Young et al 1999)

Given the intermittent nature of Spanish mission activ-ity in the region the almost complete absence of Europeancopper objects and the relatively small quantity of metalinvolved overall we believe that metallurgy at Lamanai hadits roots in Late or Terminal Postclassic times and there-fore reflects a Maya technological innovation One of themost notable aspects of the assemblage of copper objectsfrom Lamanai is the absence of Spanish religious itemssuch as devotional medals personal crosses and crucifIXesrosaries copper-alloy stars reliquaries seals stamps andrings These kinds of objects are common at 16th and17th-century Spanish colonial sites throughout Floridaand the Caribbean (Deagan 2002) All but possibly one ofthe copper objects found thus far at Lamanai are distinctlyMesoamerican in form and design and based on prelimi-nary metallurgical analyses (Shugar 2005a) it appears thatmanufacturing technologies were distinctly Mesoamericanas well

Maya Metalsmiths and the Meanings of CopperMaya metalsmiths have been the focus of very little dis-

cussion among scholars (Bray 1971 1977 Hosler 19862003 Pendergast 1962 West 1994) As a result their sta-tus in ancient Mesoamerican social and economic realmsremains unclear Smith (2003 122) notes that the pro-duction of copper and bronze objects required the techni-cal expertise of highly skilled craftspeople it is difficulthowever to determine the extent to which technical skill inmetallurgy might have been correlated with certain levelsof social status in the Postclassic Maya world At Lamanaimis-cast copper objects manufacturing debris pigs andother raw materials have been recovered in domestic mid-

196

Figure 9 Metalsmith depicted in the Florentine Codex Folio 796Note the open mold of an axe into which it appears molten metal isflowing Also note the brazier possibly ceramic into which the metal-smith is forcing oxygen through a hollow tube tipped with a tuyere(blowpipe tip)

dens associated with what appear to be the relnains of bothcommoner and elite households Although the results ofongoing archaeological investigations are encouraging it isstill difficult to assess the roles that Maya elites and com-moners may have had in copper production activities vis-a-vis current models of craft specialization (Brun1fiel and Ear-le 1987 Costin 1991 Earle 1987 2002)

It is clear however that brilliantly colorful copper bellswith their wondrous sounds and sacred connotations wereregarded by Postclassic Mesoamericans as prestige goodsand hence served as powerful symbols of social identity(Hosler 1994 155-156 Smith 2003 119-121) Thecomplex designs of the finely crafted rings ornamentalclothing fasteners and tweezers speak to the highly devel-oped technical abilities of the craft specialists who createdthem Metalsmiths are identified in Maya lexicons of theSpanish colonial period asAh chuuen kaak or artificers offire (Clark and Houston 1998 44-45)Ah chuuen kaak istranslated into Spanish in the Motul Dictionary as fundi-dor de metales or one who founds and casts metals(Clark and Houston 1998 44-45) The Florentine Codexshows a Mesoamerican metalsmith casting a metal axe in amold using a tuyere or blowpipe (FIG 9) the receptacle for

Journal of Field Archaeology(Vol 34) 2009 69

melting the copper is depicted as a brazier apparently ce-ramic (Sal1agun 1959 folio 796) Bray (1977 397) sug-gests that Maya metalsmiths may have been itinerant craftspecialists traveling with their own metalworking toolssuch as tuyeres crucibles and molds It is also possible thatcopper workers were full-time residents of certain commu-nities such as Lamanai and the crucibles mentioned byColumbus may have been destined for use by metalsmitl1swho resided in such communities

To date ve have not identified copper production fea-tures or tools such as furnaces ceramic braziers cruciblesor tuyeres at Lamanai If we were to find such elements indirect association with residential or other architectural re-mains or if copper-working tools were to be recovered inindividual burials we might be able to establish tentativeassociations between the objects and the metalsmiths whoused them In addition the study of households with as-sociated metal objects and production materials and work-shop areas as well as osteological analysis of certain buri-als might provide information regarding the lives of an-cient Maya metalsmiths and the organization of their spe-cialized craft activity At present however the data shed lit-de light on the identities of Maya metalsmiths To ourknowledge copper production features have not yet beenidentified archaeologically in the Maya lowlands and veryfew copper-vorking tools have been found (but see Bruhnsand Hammond 1982 1983 Paris 2008 Shugar 2005b)The presence of a single copper pig at Tipu in the westernCayo District of Belize (FIG I) is indicative of metalwork-ing in that community as well (Graham and Wayman1989) Current archaeometallurgical studies at Lamanaiare aimed at exploring the social and economic positions ofmetalsmiths in late Maya society (Simmons 2005a Sim-mons and Shugar 2008) but until we know more aboutthe features and tools such individuals used how they or-ganized productive activities and where they lived it willbe difficult to understand the roles that Maya metalsmithsplayed in Postclassic period communities

Fortunately we know more about how the objects pro-duced by metalsmiths were regarded by the Maya Lexicaldata from Spanish colonial period dictionaries providesome insights into the various meanings assigned to cop-per objects by the people who used them In the Tzotzildictionary the term used for campana (bell) is tak)in(Laughlin 1988 643) the same term that is used formoney in both the Tzotzil Dictionary (Laughlin 1988631) and the San Francisco Dictionary (Michelon 1976584) In contemporary Chontal Maya the word tak)in istranslated as money metal literally the suns excrement(IZnowles 1984 462)

This last usage of the term suggests an underlying mean-

70 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanaiy BelizeSimmons et al

ing that is related to Maya perceptions of metals and theirproperties The significance of metallic sound and coloramong some Mesoamerican peoples particularly those inWest Mexico has been explored in Hoslers seminal workThe Sounds and Colors of Power (1994) We would argue asHosler (1986 1994 2003) has in the case of West Mexi-can peoples that certain metallic colors and sounds wereconsidered divine by the Maya The association of metalwith the sun a deity known as J(inich Ahau or God G(Miller and Taube 1993) suggests that metal objects wereperceived by the Maya as having animate qualities that theyconsidered to be divine

In the 17th century the Spanish Friar Diego Lopez deCogolludo provided unambiguous information regardinghow copper bells were used and perceived by the Maya atthe time of Spanish contact in Yucatan La moneda de queusabany era campanillas y cascabelesde cobre)que tentan el val-Orj segun la grandeza (The money that they used waslittle bells and bells of copper that had value according totheir size ) (1688 181) The writings of Diego Quija-da a 16th-century alcalde mayor (head of a provincial ad-ministration in the Spanish colonial period) also includereferences to the value ascribed to copper bells during theSpanish colonial period in Yucatan In discussing fmeslevied on Maya convicted of idolatry Quijada notes thatcacao red stones beads and campanillas y cascabelesde co-bre que tentan de tiempo de su infidelidad (small bells andbells of copper that they had from the time of their infi-delity) were to be paid to Spanish authorities (Scholes andAdams 1938 Book 2 214)

Diego de Landas 16th-century work Rclacidn de lasCosas de Yucatan (Tozzer 1941) provides further informa-tion on how the contact period Maya used some copperstatus and utilitarian objects Landa notes They had a cer-tain soft brass and with a slight mixture of gold fromwhich they made their hatchets by casting them and somelittle bells with which they danced (Tozzer 1941 186)Information from the Cordemex Dictionary supports theidea that Maya dancers used bells the terms cheh ok andcheh ok mascab are translated as cascabelesque usan los dan-zantes (bells that the dancers use) (Vasquez 1980 87)Evidently bells were attached to bands possibly of wovencotton that were worn around the lower leg just underthe knee Figure 10 shows a partially reconstructed Post-classic ceramic vessel from Lamanai used to burn incensewith what appear to be bells worn in this manner Thomp-son notes that a censer found at Mayapan believed to rep-resent the deity Xipe Totec has at about knee level bellspainted yellow presumably to represent gold or burnishedcopper (2005 9)

Other metal objects including copper axes also held a

certain value for the Maya In a manuscript written in 1620following his travels through central Guatemala FriarGabriel Salazar notes Once when in charge of searchingvery carefully among the Indians of San Marcos Coban orManche for as many as possible of the small copper axesused in these lands in pagan times I bought them eventhough they were expensive (Feldman 2000 52-53)

ConclusionThe number and variety of copper objects recovered at

Lamanai indicate that as a new commodity with remark-ably unique aural and visual properties metal artifactsplayed an important role for at least some members ofPostclassic and later contact period society Masson notesthat metal was probably the most higWy valued luxurygood in this region of the Postclassic Maya world (2003279) The inclusion of copper bells elaborate rings andbutton -like ornaments in Early and Middle Postclassic eliteburials shows that at least some residents of the site dis-played such items in certain social and ritual settings Cop-per bells worn during performances acted as auditory re-minders of the high social standing of those who displayedthem and the lustrous copper finger rings and elaborateclothing ornaments served as visual indicators of elevatedstatus

The results of chemical analyses indicate that during theBuk and Cib ceramic phases finished copper objects wornas items of personal adornment were imported intoLamanai from West Mexico and southeastern Mesoameri-ca (Hosler 1994 210-213) The sample of Bule and Cibphase copper artifacts is small but the size of the assem-blage is not the product of sampling bias given the exten-sive nature of survey and excavation in the areas occupiedduring these times (Pendergast 1981) It is conceivablethat the sample is not representative of the level of impor-tation of metal artifacts in Buk and Cib times because theartifact quantity was reduced by recycling a portion of theobjects as material for later Yglesiasphase metalworking atthe site The fact that copper artifacts have not been recov-ered from non-elite Buk or Cib phase contexts suggeststhat elite residents at the site during the first few centuriesof the Postclassic period were the beneficiaries of thestrong trade relationships that the community enjoyed be-yond the Maya area

The contexts from which metal artifacts have been re-covered suggest that the view of metals at Lamanaichanged over the course of the last few centuries of thesites existence During the Early and Middle Postclassicperiods copper objects appear to have had a personalmeaning for members of the communitys elite Elaboratecopper ornaments fmger rings and bells originating from

Journal of Field ArchaeologyVol 34) 2009 71

Figure 10 Late Postclassic incensario from Lamanai with apparent copper bells on left leg probablydepicting a Maya dancer

regions located well outside the Maya lowlands adornedelite individuals during their lives and accompanied themto their graves Ethnohistorical accounts indicate that suchobjects were symbols of elevated social rank among theMaya their gleaming visual quality which may have beenseen as reflecting the power of the sun on those who worethem helped to reify that status

The absence of copper objects in Buk and Cib phasemiddens and architecture stands in sharp contrast to thepattern of intrasite distribution just prior to and duringSpanish colonial times During the later Yglesias phaseboth elite and non-elite individuals appear to have had ac-cess to copper objects including statusritual objects im-ported from West Mexico and southeastern MesoamericaElite and non-elite community members also had access toobjects made of recycled copper produced at LamanaiCopper artifacts found in elite residential and burial con-texts include imported and recycled objects in rougWyequal numbers Copper objects produced in Yglesias timeswere both decorative and utilitarian in nature whereasthose imported from outside the Maya area in earlier cen-turies were exclusively for status display purposes

Since the Maya at Lamanai were producing copper ob-

jects from what Hosler describes as stock metal derivedfrom melted-down artifacts (1994 214) we find it puz-zling that such a large proportion of those fronl Yglesiascontexts (57) were discarded along with domestic refusePotentially recyclable bells rings needles and other fin-ished objects have been recovered in substantial numbersduring our excavations in Terminal Postclassic-contact pe-riod middens in the vicinity of the Spanish churches In ad-dition raw materials for production such as the axe frag-ments and lost-wax casting reservoirs mentioned abovealong with all four copper pigs come from rubbish dumpsor locations without apparent structural association Thepresence of these and other copper artifacts including allof the production failures found around Structure N 11-18and in the area of the Spanish churches suggests that thisportion of the site was a center for the production of cop-per objects (Simmons 2004 200Sa Simmons and Shugar2008)

Over thirty years ago Warwick Bray noted that thequantity and diversity of copper objects at Lamanai is bestaccounted for by local manufacture in Belize (1977 397)Although we have made solid strides in the past threedecades toward understanding where and how copper ob-

72 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

jects were produced in the southern Maya lowlands westill have some distance to go It is our hope that further in-vestigations will bring us closer to an understanding of theadvent of copper metallurgy the organizational aspects ofthis specialized craft activity and the roles and status ofmetalsmiths in ancient Maya society

AcknowledgmentsThe 1974-1986 Lamanai excavations were funded by

the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada the Royal Ontario Museum and the Richard IveyFoundation of London Ontario Simmons 1999-2001excavations at Lamanai along with chemical analyses ofthe copper artifacts recovered there were made possible byresearch grants from the H John Heinz III Fund for LatinAmerican Archaeology Technological analyses of the cop-per artifacts from Lamanai were supported in part by aCharles L Cahill Award from the University of North Car-olina Wilmington We appreciate the efforts of DrsDorothy Hosler and Aaron Shugar in conducting theseanalysesThanks to Stan Loten for the perspective drawingof Structure N10-2 We also appreciate the thoughtfulcomments of three anonymous reviewers At Lamanai lo-gistical support was provided by the Gonzalez family theEsquivel family Las Orquedias Womens Group and theLamanai Field Research Center Our sincere thanks go toall of the men and women of San Jose Succotz IndianChurch and San Carlos who have helped us over the yearsto gain a better understanding of Lamanais rich history

Scott E Simmons (phD 1996) University of Colorado) Boul-der) is an Associate Professorat the University of North Car-olina Wilmington and Co-Principal Investigator of theLamanai Archaeological Project His researchfocus isMayaarchaeology and his interests include craft specialization)household and political economies)and archaeometallutgy inthe Postclassicand Spanish colonialperiods in MesoamericaMailing address University of North Carolina Wilmington)601 South College Road) Wilmington) NC 28403 E-mailsimmonssuncwedu

DavidM Pendetgast (phD 1961) University ofCalifor-nia at LosAngeles) is an Honorary Research Fellow at the In-stitute ofArchaeology) University College London He has con-ducted investigations in Belize for the past four and a halfdecades and directed the Royal Ontario Museum)s LamanaiArchaeological Project from 1974 to 1986 Mailing addressInstitute ofArchaeology) University College London) 31-34Gordon Square) London) U IC WC1H opr

Elizabeth Graham (phD 1983) Cambridge University) isa Senior Lecturer at the Institute ofArchaeology) UniversityCollege London and Co-Principal Investigator of the

Lamanai Archaeological Project Her researchfocus isMayaarchaeology in Belize and her interests include the Postclassicand Spanish colonial periods as well as human-environmentalinteraction in the humid tropics and the development of tropi-cal urbanism Mailing address Institute ofArchaeology) Uni-versity College London) 31-34 Gordon Square) London) U ICWC1HOPr

Aimers James J2007 The Curse of the Ware Using Ceramic Systems in Belize

Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 4 101-110Alexander Rani T and Susan Kepecs

2005 The Postclassic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoameri-ca~ in Susan Kepecs and Rani T Alexander eds The Post-classic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoamerica Archaeolog-ical Perspectives Albuquerque University of New MexicoPress 1-12

Andres Christopher R and K Anne Pyburn2004 Out of Sight The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods

at Chau Hiix Belize in Arthur A Demarest Prudence MRice and Don S Rice eds The Terminal Classic in theMaya Lowlands Boulder University Press of Colorado402--423

Andrews Anthony P1990 The Role of Ports in Maya Civilization in Flora S Clan-

cy and Peter D Harrison eds Vision and Revision inMayaStudies Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press159-167

1993 Late Postclassic Maya Archaeology Journal of World Pre-history 7 35-69

Bateson J Howard and Ian H S Hall1977 The Geology of the Maya Mountains) Belize London Her

Majestys Stationary OfficeBerdan Frances F

2003 The Economy of Postclassic Mesoamerica in Michael ESmith and Frances F Berdan eds The PostclassicMesoamer-ican World Salt Lake City University of Utah Press93-95

Blackiston A Hooton1910 Recent Discoveries in Honduras American Anthropologist

12 536-54lBray Warwick

1971 Ancient American Metal-Smiths Proceedings of the RoyalAnthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 197125-43

1977 Maya Metalwork and its External Connections in N or-man Hammond ed Social Process in Maya Prehistory Es-says in Honour of Sir J Eric S Thompson New York Acade-mic Press 365--403

Bruhns Karen O1972 Prehispanic Cire Perdue Casting Moulds from Columbia

Man 7 308-31l

Bruhns Karen 0 and Norman Hammond1982 Maya Metal Workers Tool from Belize Antiquity 56

175-1801983 Moho Cay Hammer A Revised Opinion Antiquity 57

136-137

The contexts in which copper objects were found at thesite differ over time and yet it is clear that both continuitiesand discontinuities exist in their forms styles and the waysthey were used in the centuries prior to and during Span-ish contact Finally we examine the manner in which theMaya may have regarded the various copper objects thatwere relatively new to their world Our discussion focuseson the social cultural and economic significance these ob-jects may have had through the centuries for the people ofLamanai

Copper as a Postclassic Maya CommodityTrade was an essential component of Mesoamerican life

in the Postclassic period and the Maya were active partici-pants in a vast macro regional trade network (Alexanderand IZepecs 2005 Andrews 1990 1993 Berdan 2003Sharer and Traxler 2006 Smith and Berdan 2003) A widevariety of objects circulated around the Yucatan peninsulabefore the time of Spanish contact via a well-developedcircum-peninsular exchange system that itself appears tohave been part of a larger Postclassic Mesoamericanworld system (Smith and Berdan 2003 4) The move-ment of commodities as well as information and ideas intointerior areas of the peninsula was facilitated by canoe trav-el along the coast and the extensive river systems in BelizeThe importation of finished copper objects into the Mayaarea during Postclassic times was made possible by a vi-brant well-established exchange network that includedLamanai and a number of smaller Postclassic sites in north-ern Belize (Andres and Pyburn 2004 Chase and Chase1988 Guderjan 2005 Guderjan and Garber 1995 Jones1998 Masson 2002 2003)

Diego de Landa noted that for the contact period Mayathe occupation to which they had the greatest inclinationwas trade (Tozzer 1941 94) Lamanais key location onthe New River Lagoon provided the sites inhabitants withaccess to a variety of Mesoamerican trade goods through-out of the sites 3500-year occupation (Pendergast 19811986 1991 1993) Among the durable goods that movedwithin this coastal and riverine trade network was a con-siderable range of copper objects many of which weresmall bells Smith notes that alloyed copper bells were themost extensively traded metal objects in PostclassicMesoamerica (2003 124) Indeed copper bells were sohighly valued that by Spanish contact they were usedthroughout the Maya area as currency (see below) Copperobjects such as bells rings and tweezers not only had greateconomic value but were also highly charged symbolic ob-jects whose sounds and colors made them particularly im-portant for use in ritual performances and as ornaments re-flecting social status (Hosler 1994 2003)

Journal of Field ArchaeologyfVol 34) 2009 59

Our knowledge of trade in copper objects from sites inWest Mexico southeastern Mesoamerica and lower Cen-tral America to the Maya lowland area is derived from ar-chaeological investigations chemical compositional andfabrication analyses of the copper artifacts and from eth-nohistorical documents The earliest Spanish account ofMaya trade in copper objects comes from 1502 whenColumbus reported encountering Maya canoes off the BayIslands of Honduras during his fourth voyage to the NewWorld (IZeen 1959) Among the items of their cargo thetraders carried hatchets resembling the stone hatchetsused by the other Indians but made of good copper andhawks bells of copper and crucibles to melt it (IZeen1959 231-232) By Terminal Postclassic times the Mayawere not only engaged in the exchange of copper objectsbut were also actively trading implements used in metal-lurgy We can assume that along with finished objects andproduction tools ideas were circulating between individu-als and groups engaged in coastal and riverine trade In thecase of the objects of interest here the ideas were related tothe methods and technological processes used in the pro-duction of metal objects (Hosler and Macfarlane 1996)

CopperArtifacts at LamanaiWith the exception of artifacts removed from the Sacred

Cenote at Chichen Itza during dredging operations in thefirst decade of the 20th century (Coggins and Shane 1984Lothrop 1952) those excavated during controlled archae-ological excavations at Mayapan (Paris 2008 Root 1962)and those that came from the Quemistlan bell cave inHonduras (Blackiston 1910) more copper artifacts havebeen recovered at Lamanai than at any other site in the an-cient Maya world (Simmons 2005a) To date a total of187 copper artifacts have been excavated including bellsrings tweezers various clothing ornaments pins axeschisels needles and fish hooks (TABLE r) Many of theseare forms that have been found at sites throughoutMesoamerica (Bray 1977 Graham and Wayman 1989Hosler 1986 Paris 2008 Pendergast 1962 West 1994)

Evidence for on-site copper metallurgy at Lamanai con-sists of pigs blanks sheet pieces mis-cast objects and cast-ing debris (Note that we use the term pigs here insteadof ingots as the term ingot refers to metal cast in a par-ticular shape usually oblong Pigs are the product of pour-ing remainder metal from a cast out to cool in contrast toingots pigs are usually not formed into standardized oreven semi-standardized shapes or sizes) All of these pro-duction-related objects come from Yglesiasphase depositsat the site Metallurgical and limited metallographic analy-ses of a broad sample of the copper objects from Lamanaihave been reported previously (Hosler 1994 208-215

60 Copper Artifaas in Postclassic and Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et ale

Table 1 Copper artifact types by ceramic phase from Lamanai BelizeNumber by ceramic phaseBuk Cib Yglesias

Objeatype (AD 950-12001250) (AD 12001250-1350) (AD 1350-1700) Unknown Total numberBells (whole) 6 1 11 3 21Bells (incompletemis-cast) 0 0 24 3 27Bells (flattened distorted) 1 0 29 1 31Axeceltchisel 0 0 12 0 12Axe fragments 0 0 11 0 11Axe blanks 0 0 1 0 1Rings 3 0 5 6 14Ornaments 7 6 0 0 13Sheet fragments 1 0 11 0 12Needles 0 0 10 0 10Ingotspigs 0 0 3 1 4Casting reservoirs 0 0 2 0 2Prills 0 0 10 0 10Fish hooks 0 0 5 0 5Pins 0 0 2 0 2Tweezers 0 0 2 2 4Bell-headed pins 0 2 0 0 2Pin tips 0 0 0 2 2Pin heads 0 0 2 0 2Tinkler 0 0 1 0 1Necklace 0 0 1 0 1Total 18 9 142 18 187

Totals as of August 2006

Hosler and Macfarlane 1996 1822-1823 Shugar 2005a)and the significance of metal artifacts with regard to tradelinks and the development of metallurgy in ancientMesoamerica have also been investigated (Bray 19711977 Lothrop 1952 Pendergast 1962 West 1994) Weare concerned here not with the techniques and alloys em-ployed in the manufacture of the objects or with the dis-tribution of isolated metal artifacts in the Maya lowlands asa whole but rather with the contexts in which the objectsoccur at Lamanai and with the information that is con-veyed by contextual analysis of the data

Metal artifacts appear at Lamanai in the Early Postclas-sic period and in considerable numbers around the time ofSpanish contact As a mirror of broader trade relations inthe southern Maya lowlands and as a reflection of techno-logical change the history of metal artifact use at Lamanaiis an invaluable element in the reconstruction of Postclas-sic and early historical dynamics

The Forms and Styles of Lamanais CopperObjects Typological and ContextualDesignations

The discussion of the forms and styles of copper artifactsfrom Lamanai follows Pendergasts (1962) typology ofmetal artifacts in Mesoamerica This classification is basedon the division of objects into one of three major func-tional categories utilitarian objects objects of personal

adornment and ceremonial objects (Pendergast 1962521) Hoslers (1986 104-105) more recent typology formetal artifacts in Mesoamerica tal(es into considerationboth stylistic criteria as well as certain other attributes suchas mechanical properties of metal (for such objects as axesand tweezers) and volume and pitch (for bells) Since thesedata could not be obtained for all of the copper objects inthe Lamanai assemblage and since our discussion focusesprimarily on the contexts and significance of copper objectsat the site rather than technical properties of metal we pre-fer to use Pendergasts (1962) typology We do howeversupplement the typology with Hoslers (1986 104-105)classification for certain objects such as needles for whichmore detailed typological categories exist

The contexts in which copper artifacts from Lamanaiwere found include the following burials middenscaches architectural features and surface contexts (TABLE

2) Copper artifacts in burials account for more than onequarter (n = 49 262) of all of the copper artifacts foundthus far at Lamanai Middens at Lamanai include discreterefuse accumulations a number of which have depths ap-proaching 50 cm or more as well as refuse deposits that aregenerally thinner and horizontally dispersed which we re-ferred to as sheet middens Over 43 (n = 82) of the cop-per artifacts recovered at Lamanai have come from mid-dens Copper artifacts found associated with Maya con-struction ie those included in the architecture category

Journal ofField ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 61

Table 2 The contexts of copper artifacts from Lamanai BelizeContext

Temporal phase Burial Midden Architecture Cache Suiface TotalEarly Postclassic Buk 16 1 0 1 0 18Middle Postclassic Cib 9 0 0 0 0 9Lateferminal Postclassic-Spanish Colonial Yglesias 18 81 41 2 0 142Unknown 6 0 0 0 12 18Total 49 82 41 3 12 187

oI

f

Figure 2 Plazas 1 and 2 of the NI0 grid blockand Structures NI0-2 and NI0-4 all of theBuk and Cib phase copper artifacts recoveredat Lamanai come from these two structuresStr NI0-2 is shown in a perspective drawingby Stan Loten with Str NI0-9 in the back-ground at left

were recovered in core deposits and collapse debris atopand within floor ballast materials (typically unmodifiedlimestone pieces mixed with soil) and in other contextsclearly linked with architectural features at the site Onlythree copper artifacts were recovered from caches duringinvestigations at Lamanai and 12 copper artifacts werefound on the ground surface of the site (TABLE 2)

The Contexts Forms and Styles of EarlyPostclassic Buk Phase Copper Objects

Copper artifacts from the first centuries of the Postclas-sic period come from a very limited range of contexts at

Lamanai allwere found associated with elite burials exceptfor one object found in a cache and one found in a midden(TABLE 2) All 18 copper objects associated with Buk phaseceramic vessels come from two structures NI0-2 andNI0-4 which lie very close to the New River Lagoon (FIG

2) These structures are believed to be at the heart of an areathat witnessed Maya ceremonial and probably administra-tive activities from the 11th to the 13th centuries (Pender-gast 1981) Copper objects were found in six of the 97burials excavated in these two structures Two of the finelycrafted copper objects are shown in Figures 3 and 4 Datesassigned to the archaeological contexts in which copper ar-tifacts were found at Structures NI0-2 and NI0-4 arebased largely on relative stratigraphy and on the presenceof typologically distinctive Buk phase ceramic vessels (Gra-ham 1987)

All but one of the 18 Buk phase copper artifacts recov-ered from excavations at Structures NI0-2 and NI0-4 arewhat Hosler (1994 208) describes as status display andritual objects These include seven bells seven false wire-work ornaments (FIG 4) and three filigree rings The re-maining object is a non-diagnostic piece of sheet copper

The most common copper artifacts recovered atLamanai (TABLE r) -bells-are represented in the Bulephase by seven examples (88 of the site total of79) Fol-lowing the Pendergast (1962) typological classificationbell Types IAla-i ICla IC4a IC6a and ID la are repre-sented with plain or elongated globular and pyriformtypes (IAla-i ICla and IDla) the most common (FIG 5)Early Postclassic bells with designs on resonator bodies arenot common although several have raised horizontally orvertically oriented wirework bands In addition a few areadorned with false or simulated wirework on resonatorsOnly one bell (Type IC4a) found with Burial NIO4-3 iselaborately ornamented with wirework eyes nose and up-per lip decorations Lothrop terms these head effigy bellsin his discussion of metals recovered from the SacredCenote at Chichen ltza (1952 91) Bell suspension loopsare either single or double wires with very modest to fair-ly prominent sprue projections Bell clappers are almost ex-clusively copper beads a small pebble clapper was identi-fied in only one of the bells from this phase

America (Hosler 1994) They were presumably attached toclothing by their wide cruciform rear straps and it is pos-sible that they functioned either as garment fasteners or aspersonal adornments

62 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai BelizeSimmons et al

Figure 3 Filigree copper finger rings (Type IVA3) from Buk phaseburials lA 11811 (top) from Burial 16 in Str NI0-2 ring has an out-side dialneter of 20 em lA 683 (bottom) false wirework ring fromBurial2B in Str NI0-4 ring has an outside diameter of 19 em

Two rings both of filigree strapwork fonn (Type IVA3)were associated with Buk phase burials one in StructureN10-2 and the other in NIO-4 (Pendergast 1962 5291981 47) They are characterized by intricate and delicateornamental strapwork and with linked and separated S-scroll motifs (FIG 3) Both are edged with bands dividedby a center line which creates a double-band effect One ofthe rings IA 683 is among a number of copper objectsworn by the Maya at Lamanai that Hosler notes representa local southeastern Mesoamerican metalworking tradi-tion (1994 208) Another Buk phase ring a simple un-decorated example of Type 1VAl was found at the base ofthe midden abutting the NE corner of Structure NI0-9 lo-cated immediately west of Str NIO-2 (FIG 2)

Seven oval-shaped ornaments were recovered during ex-cavations of Burial N104-3 (FIG 4) These objects are theonly ones of their kind found at Lamanai and to ourknowledge the form has not been reported from any oth-er sites in the Maya area (Bray 1977 385) The ornamentsare made of interconnected S-scroll wires attached to an el-liptical frame This S-scroll design is fairly common in thelost-wax (eire perdue) casting tradition of lower Central

The Contexts Forms and Styles of MiddlePostclassic Cib Phase Copper Objects

Nine copper artifacts have been recovered from un-equivocal Cib phase contexts (TABLE 2) all from elite buri-als in Structure NI0-4 The relatively small number of cop-per objects is likely to be a reflection of the general under-representation of Middle Postclassic activities in the ar-chaeological record of Lamanai The information we havefrom this critical period comes from excavations that havetaken place at Str N10-4 (FIG 2) Other Middle Postclas-sic residential structures at the site have been tested but noother copper artifacts from definitive Cib contexts were re-covered

One bell two bell-headed pins and six dome-shapedclothing ornaments comprise the copper artifact assem-blage from Str NI0-4 The bell from Burial NI0-446 is asub-pyriform example with shallow false wirework on itsupper body and an undecorated lower resonator The bellis a variant of Type IC2a with what was probably a strapfor suspension but only a small portion remains Its clap-per is a small globular bead The two bell-headed pinsfrom Burial NI0-429 are composed of small plain glob-ular bells of Type IAla-i attached to relatively short pinswith a small cup-like element situated between the bell andthe shaft of the pin The small amount of cloth found ad-hering to these pins suggests that they were used as cloth-ing fasteners (Pendergast 1981 47) To our knowledge noother examples of the form have been recovered in theMaya area (Bray 1977 385)

The six domed copper ornaments with Burial N1 0-428consist of hollow hemispheres with applied beadingaround their edges and applied double straps across theirbacks for attachment These are identical to gold orna-ments found in Tomb 7 at Monte Alban dating to LatePostclassic times (Caso 1969 Plate 22) The functions ofthese clothing ornaments are not entirely clear althoughseveral lines of evidence discussed below suggest howthey may have been used

The Contexts Forms and Styles of LatePostclassic-Spanish Colonial PeriodYglesias Phase Copper Objects

The vast majority of the copper artifacts from Lamanaicome from the contact period community which lies in avaguely defined area around the two Spanish churchesMost are associated with residential structures apparently

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 63

Figure 4 Right elbow area of Burial NlO-4j3 with shell-shaped ornaments and globular bells This juvenilewas buried with the greatest number of copper objects at Lamanai The largest shell-shaped ornament inthe left-center of the image is 29 em in length Note the two globular bells in the right of the image aboveone of the two bone circlets A number of barrel-shaped marcasite beads are also shown in this image

Figure 5 Bell varieties from Lamanai In the top row all bells are pyriform Type lela except the globularbell (Type lala-i) on the right end of the row On the bottom row are mis-cast globular and pyriformbells while the two on the right are laterally mashed The three specimens on the bottom left are partiallycast bell walls

64 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic LamanaiJ BelizeSimmons et al

occupied by elite members of the community A total of142 of 187 (759) of the copper objects found atLamanai are believed to date from sometime shortly beforemid-16th century Spanish contact to the late 17th centuryDating of these metal artifacts is based primarily on theirassociation with stylistically diagnostic ceramic forms Thearchaeological contexts in which copper artifacts werefound in the Spanish Church Zone have yielded distinctiveYglesias phase ceramics which were made during theSpanish colonial period but introduced at an unknowndate prior to that time Their introduction could have tak-en place around 1500 to 1510 when the effects of Euro-pean presence were first felt in the circum-Caribbean re-gion but it is also possible that their manufacture began asearly asAD 1450 (Graham 2004) Alloyed copper artifactsare associated with materials of European origin such asglass beads and Spanish majolica and olive jar sherds inseveral contexts (Simmons 2004 2005a 2005b Pender-gast 1985) but the European materials are not necessarilyindicators of the time of manufacture of the metal objectsAnalyses of late precolumbian Maya ceramic artifacts fromthis critical transitional period are ongoing (Aimers 2007Howie 2007) It is likely that other ceramic phases will bedefined (Elizabeth Graham personal communication2008) further assisting us in refming our understanding ofthe advent of on-site metallurgy at Lamanai

At the time of Spanish contact most of Lamanais in-habitants were settled in the southern third of the site butreduction efforts probably led to further concentration ofthe community in the area that includes the Spanishchurches and a number of other nearby structures The ex-tent of the contact period community the architecturalcharacteristics of its residential and special use structuresand the material culture of its residents are still being ex-plored (Simmons 2005a Wiewall2005) A number of thestructures that have been investigated thus far have yieldedcopper artifacts the most prominent of these is StructureNll-18

More copper artifacts have been recovered at StructureNll-18 than at any other structure or locus at LamanaiOver 379 (71 of 187) of the entire assemblage of cop-per objects from the site comes from various contexts with-in and immediately around this important building andhalf (496) of the copper objects associated with Yglesiasceramic artifacts come from this one structure The build-ing is very likely to have had a variety of functions and mayhave served as a residence for Lamanais colonial period na-tive authority the cacique (Pendergast 1993 128) It alsomay have functioned as a guest house for visiting digni-taries ie a casa comunidad or casa real with attendantstorage and cooking areas (Jones 1989 67)

In addition to the copper artifacts recovered during ex-cavations of several other Late Postclassic to contact periodstructures a cluster of seven copper artifacts was found to-gether in a lagoon-side midden deposit located approxi-mately 60 m east of the second Spanish church Five of theseven are axe fragments that fit together to form two com-plete axes (see below) The remaining two artifacts appearto be casting reservoirs from lost-wax casting (Simmonsand Shugar 2008) We use the term casting reservoir todescribe a portion of a lost-wax cast mold that acts as a fun-nel into which molten copper is poured once the cavity ofthe mold is filled the reservoir acts as a receptacle for ex-cess metal (Long 1964 fig 1) After the metal has cooledsufficiently both the reservoir and the sprue (the tube lead-ing from the reservoir to the cast object) are detached andmay be remelted for later casting

The majority of copper artifacts (45 64 of 142) re-covered from the Spanish Church Zone are bells Smallernumbers of status display objects including fmger ringsand tweezers have been found associated with Yglesiasphase ceramics in the Spanish Church Zone Utilitarianobjects from this period include woodworking tools suchas axes chisels and wedges as well as fish hooks needlesand pins (TABLE 3) The remaining objects from late con-texts include copper pigs pieces of sheet metal prills andother manufacturing materials

With only two exceptions bells from this area of the siteare either plain or elongated globular or pyriform types(lAla-i ICla and IDla) (FIG 5) Two very small bellspossibly functioning as buttons or other kinds of personalornaments also come from late deposits Designs or deco-rative elements of any kind are virtually absent on the bellsfrom the Spanish Church Zone Bells from this period typ-ically have only single suspension loops although ten havedouble suspension loops Sprue projections are present onnearly all of the bells from this period and in only a fewcases does it appear that any effort was made to remove orminimize sprue remnants Almost all sprue remnants arefound on the tops of the suspension loops With only oneexception bell clappers are exclusively small pebbles

Only 11 of the 64 bells recovered from very late depositsat the site are whole or complete (TABLE 3) The remaining53 are either fragments (n = 24) or have been smashed orflattened and distorted (n = 29) At least some of the bellfragments found in Yglesiasphase deposits at the site rep-resent production failures In some cases only portions ofbell walls or suspension loops have been cast whereas inother instances bells are largely complete but have promi-nent holes in their resonating chambers (FIG 5) In a greatmany cases bells are not only mis-cast but also damagedoften severely apparently prior to their deposition in ar-

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 65

Table 3 Copper artifacts from Yglesias phase contexts at Lamanai Belize

Burial Midden Architecture Cache Total

Bells (whole) 2 7 2 0 11Bells(incompletemis-cast) 0 18 6 0 24Bells (flattened distorted) 0 17 12 0 29Axeceltchisel 1 3 6 2 12

Axe fragments 0 9 2 0 11Axe blanks 0 1 0 0 1Rings 2 3 0 0 5Sheet fragments 1 5 5 0 11

Needles 1 6 3 0 10Ingotspigs 0 2 1 0 3Casting reservoirs 0 2 0 0 2Prills 6 2 2 0 10

Fish hooks 0 4 1 0 5Pins 1 0 1 0 2Pin heads 2 0 0 0 2Tweezers 1 1 0 0 2

Figure 6 Axe (Type VB) in three pieces recovered from Span-ish contact period midden deposit located at the edge of theNew River Lagoon approximately 60 m east of Lamanais Span-ish churches These axe fragments along with two others (form-ing a smaller axe) were found together with the remains of twoprobable casting reservoirs All of these objects may have beendestined for melting and recasting by Lamanais metalsmiths

chaeological contexts Almost 45 (n = 29) of the bellsdating to this period show some kind of gross deformity inshape Descriptions in Pendergasts field notes of such bellsinclude crumpled torn laterally flattened distortedwith one part of side ripped away and apparently sacri-ficed torn and smashed

All 24 of the axes axe blanks axe fragments and chiselsrecovered from Lamanai come from LatefTerminal Post-classic and Spanish colonial period contexts They make up169 of the 142 copper objects found in the SpanishChurch Zone Various sizes of axeType VB were the mostcommon (FIG 6) whereas lesser numbers of chisel TypeVA were also found (Pendergast 1962 525) A probableaxe or chisel blank was recovered as an isolated find just be-low the ground surface in the Spanish Church Zone Met-allographic analysis of the probable blank shows a ham-

mered structure that has been annealed to some extent in-dicating that the object has been partially worked this iswhat would be expected of a blank destined to later beworked into a finished form (Shugar 2005a 12)

Many of the axes and chisels from this period show ev-idence of very heavy use with battered polls and dulled bitscommon Others however show only minimal modifica-tions of their working edges (Aaron Shugar personal com-munication 2007) Eight axe fragments have also been re-covered from the Spanish Church Zone Interestingly fiveof the eight fragments (mentioned above) found in a groupfit together to form two Type VB axes one of which isshown in Figure 6

Five rings were recovered from contact period contextsThree of the five are plain narrow bands (Types IVAI andIVA2) One of the two exceptions is a ring with threeraised border bands edging a panel of conjoined circles thatproduce a triangular piercing at its borders (Type IVA3)Like a great number of the bells recovered from late con-texts this ring is smashed flat and the metal is partly tornThe other decorated finger ring has two lines of small del-icate chevrons located very close to the edges with the twolines pointing in opposite directions It appears to be avariant of Type IVAI (Pendergast 1962 529)

All four pairs of tweezers in the assemblage were recov-ered in the Spanish Church Zone three were from burialsThe remaining half pair of tweezers was recovered from asurface context and may date to the final phase of pre-columbian occupation at Lamanai The tweezers varyslightly in size but three of the four are small All have cir-cular blades and can be classified as Type IIIC (Pendergast1962 524) One is somewhat larger in size with a bladediameter of 41 cm and weight of 212 g

The five fish hooks recovered at Lamanai come from

66 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

Figure 7 Copper pigs from Lamanai The ingot on the left measures 63 x 65 cm and weighs 2755 gThe pig in the center measures 48 x 50 cm and weighs 1255 g The pig on the right measures 25 x26 em and weighs 345 g

Figure 8 Copper prill recovered from the south side middenofStr Nll-27 north side midden ofStr Nll-18

Late Postclassic to Spanish colonial period contexts All areclassifiable as Type IXA2 (Pendergast 1962 525) Hookshanks are of varying size but all are looped at their topsfor line attachment Ten needles were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone six from Str Nll-18 Most areType 2a with a small piece of metal looped over to formthe eye (Hosler 1986 377) Several are of Type 1 with aperforation through the shank of the needle serving as theeye (Hosler 1986 369)All of the needles are made of coldhammered rolled sheet metal with either a rounded or anelongated eye Two pins and four pin fragn1ents were alsofound associated with Yglesias phase ceramic material Fi-nally a possible tinlder with a double loop suspensionmade from what may be a cut pyriform bell was found atStr Nll-18

Copper Production at LamanaiCompelling evidence for the production of copper ob-

jects at Lamanai comes from pigs prills mis-cast copper

objects and by-products of lost-wax casting found in thevicinity of the Spanish churches Four pigs of varying sizehave been recovered thus far The smallest pig weighs 58g and the largest weighs just over 275 g All have a slight-ly irregular circular shape and are plano-convex in section(FIG 7) Sprues vary in size and surfaces are typically pit-ted and granular

Other evidence of copper production at Lamanai isdiminutive in size and weight but no less important inhelping us to understand the nature of Maya metallurgy Itconsists of the prills mentioned above which are very smallbeads of metal that are by-products of casting activitiesPrills are formed when molten metal is poured into moldsThey are generally quite round in shape but are sometimesdeformed by the impact produced when liquefied metalsplashes falls and strikes the ground Owing to their mi-nuscule size prills typically go unnoticed during excava-tion One found during excavations in the Spanish ChurchZone is shown in Figure 8 To our knowledge no otherobjects that might definitively be called prills have been re-ported from the Maya area

Fragments of copper sheet of various sizes were alsofound in the Spanish Church Zone Five of the 11 recov-ered are from Structure Nll-18 and three are from an ad-jacent structure Most weigh between 1 and 2 g with thelargest weighing just over 6 g

Two large lumps of copper that appear to be remnantsof the lost-wax casting process were found together withthe group of axe fragments mentioned above (Simmonsand Shugar 2008) These two masses of copper weigh ap-proximately 21 and 86 g and appear to be remnants of cast-

ing reservoirs of the kind described by Long (1964 fig 1)in his experimental study of lost-wax casting techniques

Twelve copper objects from Lamanai came from surfacecontexts and thus cannot be assigned to a temporal phasewith any confidence (TABLE 2) All were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone and most came from the area of StrN 11-18 Their association with this structure makes it like-ly that most if not all of the objects which include onepig one ring one half pair of tweezers two probable pintips and seven bells are very late in date The remaining sixcopper artifacts that cannot be assigned to any temporalphase come from a burial within a small structure locatedin the Spanish Church Zone Excavations revealed a burialof two individuals a middle-aged female seated with herleft arm around the shoulders of a seated middle-agedmale described as The Loving Couple (Pendergast1989 White et alein press) Unfortunately no ceramic orother temporally diagnostic material accompanied the cou-pIe although Pendergast (1989 2) notes that the stairblock under which the couple was interred was probablyrebuilt at some point between rougWy AD 1450 and1500 A pair of disc-bladed copper tweezers of Type IIIC(Pendergast 1962 524) and five plain rings of Type IVAI(Pendergast 1962 529) were recovered in direct associa-tion with the skeletal remains The location of the tweez-ers to which a small amount of cotton cloth still adheredat the time of their discovery suggests the man wore theobject suspended from a cord or thong around his neckThe rings which enclosed a quantity of cotton cloth werefound between the scapulae of the female a position thatsuggests they served as ornaments for her hair braid orqueue

The Functions and Meanings of Copper Objectsat Lamanai

Early and Middle Postclassic Copper Objects asImported Wealth

Commencing around AD 1100 the ceramic traditionsof Early Postclassic times at Lamanai some of which grewout of those of the Late and Terminal Classic (Graham1987 73-81) underwent significant change New formsemerged many of which were radical departures from theapproach to pottery-malcing in preceding centuries Al-most certainly of local origin the shapes and decoration ofthe Buk ceramic phase quicldy supplanted what had gonebefore but at the same time retained certain elements ofthe earlier ceramic canon (Graham 1987 81-87) With thechanges in pottery came the development of limited ce-ramic ties with polities in the northern Yucatan peninsulathat on chronological grounds appear to involve the

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 67

transmission of ideas and perhaps of the ceramic productsof those ideas from Lamanai to recipients in the north(Pendergast 1986 236-245) Possibly in return for ce-ramics and other materials sent northward metal artifactsof non-Maya manufacture began to flow into Lamanai

The results of chemical compositional studies conduct-ed by Hosler (1994 208-213) indicate that the sources ofthe copper objects that began to be imported into Lamanaiduring Early Postclassic times are West Mexico and south-eastern Mesoamerica In addition some of the objects par-ticularly the finely made rings and ornaments are similarin form and style to examples from the West Mexican statesof Michoacan and Guerrero The exotic origin of the met-al objects found at Lamanai combined with the symbolicsignificance of the objects in their areas of manufacture ap-pears to have conferred upon the artifacts a special value asmarkers of rank or status in the Early to Middle PostclassicLamanai community Metal artifacts had an entirely per-sonal association and meaning in Buk and Cib phase timesThe occurrence of metals in interments marked by a con-siderable range of grave goods reinforces the role of the ob-jects as indicators of the owners elevated standing in thecommunity All but one of the 27 Buk and Cib copper ar-tifacts recovered at Lamanai are what Hosler (1994 208)describes as status display or ritual objects These includebells (one of which was a centerpiece in a jade and shellnecldace) elaborately made false wirework and dome-shaped ornaments and finely crafted filigree rings allmade by lost-wax casting (FIG 3) It seems likely that theexotic designs and origins of these and other metal artifactsfrom the period all crafted from an unfamiliar materialwith unique properties helped to make such objects high-ly appealing to elite members of the community The flowof exotic items such as these into Lamanai has been cited asone of the clear indicators of the communitys continuedvitality as reflected in long-distance social and commercialties following the collapse of so many other southern low-land Maya polities in the 9th century AD (Pendergast1991 1993)

The Late Postclassic and Spanish Colonial PeriodsCopper Objects as Items of Local Manufacture

The contexts in which copper artifacts were found dat-ing from the centuries just prior to and during Spanishcontact differ significantly from those in which Early andMiddle Postclassic copper artifacts were recovered Mostcopper objects from very late deposits were recovered frommiddens or from architectural contexts and a considerablenumber appear to have been manufactured at the siteprobably within the Spanish Church Zone Copper oresare not locally available in the Maya lowland area (Bateson

68 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

and Hall 1977 Bray 1971 1977 West 1994) The resultsof Hoslers (1994) chemical compositional studies indicatethat at the time of Spanish contact the Maya at Lamanaiwere crafting their own metal tools and status symbols us-ing material apparently produced by melting copper ob-jects imported in earlier times She notes that by historicaltimes artisans were crafting objects at Lamanai itself andthey seem to have been doing so by using recycled metal(Hosler 1994 214) The majority of copper artifacts pro-duced during this time were made from metal cast intomolds using the lost-wax method most are undecoratedbells Hosler (1994 53) notes that available evidence indi-cates that all bells manufactured in Mesoamerica were castin one piece using the lost-wax method Various aspects ofthis metalworking technique have been described using in-formation obtained from archaeological investigations(Bruhns 1972 Bruhns and Hammond 1982 1983 Pen-dergast 1962) experimental studies (Long 1964) ethno-historical accounts (Motolirua 1950 SahagUn 1959) andmaterial analyses (Hosler 1994 Noble 1975)

We do not know when copper metallurgy began atLamanai but there is evidence that the Maya there were ac-tively engaged in the production of copper objects duringSpanish contact times and probably earlier perhaps by theend of the Cib ceramic phase The strongest evidence forindigenous metallurgy at Lamanai comes from Yglesiasphase contexts and consists of three pigs ten prills an axeblank (or ingot possibly) and two probable lost-wax cast-ing reservoirs all representing production debris (TABLE

3) In addition 24 bell fragments that are production fail-ures were recovered from Yglesias phase deposits in theSpanish Church Zone Along with the pigs and prills thesemis-cast bells add weight to the idea that copper produc-tion was taking place at Lamanai since casting failures arenot likely to have been trade items It is even possible thatthe 29 flattened bells found in Yglesiasphase contexts werecrushed by Lamanais metalsmiths in preparation for re-casting In addition to the crushed bells several othersmashed and torn copper objects were recovered fromthese late deposits Minimizing the surface area of the met-al by crushing or flattening would have facilitated meltingfor reuse in two ways (Aaron Shugar personal communi-cation 2006) Reducing the size of the objects by flatteningwould have allowed a greater number of bells to fit into acrucible for melting Also crushing would have reducedthe length of time required for maintenance of tempera-tures high enough (10830 C) to melt all of the material inthe crucible

In sum two separate but related lines of evidence sug-gest that metalsmiths were experimenting with the pro-duction of copper objects at Lamanai sometime just prior

to or during early Spanish colonial times The evidence in-cludes the presence of mis-cast copper artifacts most no-tably bells along with the pigs blanks and other produc-tion materials mentioned above and the anomalous arti-fact chemistry noted in a number of the copper objects re-covered at the site (Hosler 1994) In some cases Lamanaismetalsmiths were successful in creating whole bells nee-dles axes finger rings fish hooks and pieces of sheet cop-per The recovery of numerous lost-wax production fail-ures however indicates that at other times success eludedthem Noble (1975 369) suggests that mis-cast objectscould be the result of low melting temperatures for thecopper the presence of gas bubbles in residual wax left inmolds or movement of the clay and sand core within lost-wax molds Whatever the causes the production failurespigs prills and blanks are the kinds of metal objects onewould expect to encounter at a site where the occupantswere actively experimenting with metallurgy (Craddock1995 Young et al 1999)

Given the intermittent nature of Spanish mission activ-ity in the region the almost complete absence of Europeancopper objects and the relatively small quantity of metalinvolved overall we believe that metallurgy at Lamanai hadits roots in Late or Terminal Postclassic times and there-fore reflects a Maya technological innovation One of themost notable aspects of the assemblage of copper objectsfrom Lamanai is the absence of Spanish religious itemssuch as devotional medals personal crosses and crucifIXesrosaries copper-alloy stars reliquaries seals stamps andrings These kinds of objects are common at 16th and17th-century Spanish colonial sites throughout Floridaand the Caribbean (Deagan 2002) All but possibly one ofthe copper objects found thus far at Lamanai are distinctlyMesoamerican in form and design and based on prelimi-nary metallurgical analyses (Shugar 2005a) it appears thatmanufacturing technologies were distinctly Mesoamericanas well

Maya Metalsmiths and the Meanings of CopperMaya metalsmiths have been the focus of very little dis-

cussion among scholars (Bray 1971 1977 Hosler 19862003 Pendergast 1962 West 1994) As a result their sta-tus in ancient Mesoamerican social and economic realmsremains unclear Smith (2003 122) notes that the pro-duction of copper and bronze objects required the techni-cal expertise of highly skilled craftspeople it is difficulthowever to determine the extent to which technical skill inmetallurgy might have been correlated with certain levelsof social status in the Postclassic Maya world At Lamanaimis-cast copper objects manufacturing debris pigs andother raw materials have been recovered in domestic mid-

196

Figure 9 Metalsmith depicted in the Florentine Codex Folio 796Note the open mold of an axe into which it appears molten metal isflowing Also note the brazier possibly ceramic into which the metal-smith is forcing oxygen through a hollow tube tipped with a tuyere(blowpipe tip)

dens associated with what appear to be the relnains of bothcommoner and elite households Although the results ofongoing archaeological investigations are encouraging it isstill difficult to assess the roles that Maya elites and com-moners may have had in copper production activities vis-a-vis current models of craft specialization (Brun1fiel and Ear-le 1987 Costin 1991 Earle 1987 2002)

It is clear however that brilliantly colorful copper bellswith their wondrous sounds and sacred connotations wereregarded by Postclassic Mesoamericans as prestige goodsand hence served as powerful symbols of social identity(Hosler 1994 155-156 Smith 2003 119-121) Thecomplex designs of the finely crafted rings ornamentalclothing fasteners and tweezers speak to the highly devel-oped technical abilities of the craft specialists who createdthem Metalsmiths are identified in Maya lexicons of theSpanish colonial period asAh chuuen kaak or artificers offire (Clark and Houston 1998 44-45)Ah chuuen kaak istranslated into Spanish in the Motul Dictionary as fundi-dor de metales or one who founds and casts metals(Clark and Houston 1998 44-45) The Florentine Codexshows a Mesoamerican metalsmith casting a metal axe in amold using a tuyere or blowpipe (FIG 9) the receptacle for

Journal of Field Archaeology(Vol 34) 2009 69

melting the copper is depicted as a brazier apparently ce-ramic (Sal1agun 1959 folio 796) Bray (1977 397) sug-gests that Maya metalsmiths may have been itinerant craftspecialists traveling with their own metalworking toolssuch as tuyeres crucibles and molds It is also possible thatcopper workers were full-time residents of certain commu-nities such as Lamanai and the crucibles mentioned byColumbus may have been destined for use by metalsmitl1swho resided in such communities

To date ve have not identified copper production fea-tures or tools such as furnaces ceramic braziers cruciblesor tuyeres at Lamanai If we were to find such elements indirect association with residential or other architectural re-mains or if copper-working tools were to be recovered inindividual burials we might be able to establish tentativeassociations between the objects and the metalsmiths whoused them In addition the study of households with as-sociated metal objects and production materials and work-shop areas as well as osteological analysis of certain buri-als might provide information regarding the lives of an-cient Maya metalsmiths and the organization of their spe-cialized craft activity At present however the data shed lit-de light on the identities of Maya metalsmiths To ourknowledge copper production features have not yet beenidentified archaeologically in the Maya lowlands and veryfew copper-vorking tools have been found (but see Bruhnsand Hammond 1982 1983 Paris 2008 Shugar 2005b)The presence of a single copper pig at Tipu in the westernCayo District of Belize (FIG I) is indicative of metalwork-ing in that community as well (Graham and Wayman1989) Current archaeometallurgical studies at Lamanaiare aimed at exploring the social and economic positions ofmetalsmiths in late Maya society (Simmons 2005a Sim-mons and Shugar 2008) but until we know more aboutthe features and tools such individuals used how they or-ganized productive activities and where they lived it willbe difficult to understand the roles that Maya metalsmithsplayed in Postclassic period communities

Fortunately we know more about how the objects pro-duced by metalsmiths were regarded by the Maya Lexicaldata from Spanish colonial period dictionaries providesome insights into the various meanings assigned to cop-per objects by the people who used them In the Tzotzildictionary the term used for campana (bell) is tak)in(Laughlin 1988 643) the same term that is used formoney in both the Tzotzil Dictionary (Laughlin 1988631) and the San Francisco Dictionary (Michelon 1976584) In contemporary Chontal Maya the word tak)in istranslated as money metal literally the suns excrement(IZnowles 1984 462)

This last usage of the term suggests an underlying mean-

70 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanaiy BelizeSimmons et al

ing that is related to Maya perceptions of metals and theirproperties The significance of metallic sound and coloramong some Mesoamerican peoples particularly those inWest Mexico has been explored in Hoslers seminal workThe Sounds and Colors of Power (1994) We would argue asHosler (1986 1994 2003) has in the case of West Mexi-can peoples that certain metallic colors and sounds wereconsidered divine by the Maya The association of metalwith the sun a deity known as J(inich Ahau or God G(Miller and Taube 1993) suggests that metal objects wereperceived by the Maya as having animate qualities that theyconsidered to be divine

In the 17th century the Spanish Friar Diego Lopez deCogolludo provided unambiguous information regardinghow copper bells were used and perceived by the Maya atthe time of Spanish contact in Yucatan La moneda de queusabany era campanillas y cascabelesde cobre)que tentan el val-Orj segun la grandeza (The money that they used waslittle bells and bells of copper that had value according totheir size ) (1688 181) The writings of Diego Quija-da a 16th-century alcalde mayor (head of a provincial ad-ministration in the Spanish colonial period) also includereferences to the value ascribed to copper bells during theSpanish colonial period in Yucatan In discussing fmeslevied on Maya convicted of idolatry Quijada notes thatcacao red stones beads and campanillas y cascabelesde co-bre que tentan de tiempo de su infidelidad (small bells andbells of copper that they had from the time of their infi-delity) were to be paid to Spanish authorities (Scholes andAdams 1938 Book 2 214)

Diego de Landas 16th-century work Rclacidn de lasCosas de Yucatan (Tozzer 1941) provides further informa-tion on how the contact period Maya used some copperstatus and utilitarian objects Landa notes They had a cer-tain soft brass and with a slight mixture of gold fromwhich they made their hatchets by casting them and somelittle bells with which they danced (Tozzer 1941 186)Information from the Cordemex Dictionary supports theidea that Maya dancers used bells the terms cheh ok andcheh ok mascab are translated as cascabelesque usan los dan-zantes (bells that the dancers use) (Vasquez 1980 87)Evidently bells were attached to bands possibly of wovencotton that were worn around the lower leg just underthe knee Figure 10 shows a partially reconstructed Post-classic ceramic vessel from Lamanai used to burn incensewith what appear to be bells worn in this manner Thomp-son notes that a censer found at Mayapan believed to rep-resent the deity Xipe Totec has at about knee level bellspainted yellow presumably to represent gold or burnishedcopper (2005 9)

Other metal objects including copper axes also held a

certain value for the Maya In a manuscript written in 1620following his travels through central Guatemala FriarGabriel Salazar notes Once when in charge of searchingvery carefully among the Indians of San Marcos Coban orManche for as many as possible of the small copper axesused in these lands in pagan times I bought them eventhough they were expensive (Feldman 2000 52-53)

ConclusionThe number and variety of copper objects recovered at

Lamanai indicate that as a new commodity with remark-ably unique aural and visual properties metal artifactsplayed an important role for at least some members ofPostclassic and later contact period society Masson notesthat metal was probably the most higWy valued luxurygood in this region of the Postclassic Maya world (2003279) The inclusion of copper bells elaborate rings andbutton -like ornaments in Early and Middle Postclassic eliteburials shows that at least some residents of the site dis-played such items in certain social and ritual settings Cop-per bells worn during performances acted as auditory re-minders of the high social standing of those who displayedthem and the lustrous copper finger rings and elaborateclothing ornaments served as visual indicators of elevatedstatus

The results of chemical analyses indicate that during theBuk and Cib ceramic phases finished copper objects wornas items of personal adornment were imported intoLamanai from West Mexico and southeastern Mesoameri-ca (Hosler 1994 210-213) The sample of Bule and Cibphase copper artifacts is small but the size of the assem-blage is not the product of sampling bias given the exten-sive nature of survey and excavation in the areas occupiedduring these times (Pendergast 1981) It is conceivablethat the sample is not representative of the level of impor-tation of metal artifacts in Buk and Cib times because theartifact quantity was reduced by recycling a portion of theobjects as material for later Yglesiasphase metalworking atthe site The fact that copper artifacts have not been recov-ered from non-elite Buk or Cib phase contexts suggeststhat elite residents at the site during the first few centuriesof the Postclassic period were the beneficiaries of thestrong trade relationships that the community enjoyed be-yond the Maya area

The contexts from which metal artifacts have been re-covered suggest that the view of metals at Lamanaichanged over the course of the last few centuries of thesites existence During the Early and Middle Postclassicperiods copper objects appear to have had a personalmeaning for members of the communitys elite Elaboratecopper ornaments fmger rings and bells originating from

Journal of Field ArchaeologyVol 34) 2009 71

Figure 10 Late Postclassic incensario from Lamanai with apparent copper bells on left leg probablydepicting a Maya dancer

regions located well outside the Maya lowlands adornedelite individuals during their lives and accompanied themto their graves Ethnohistorical accounts indicate that suchobjects were symbols of elevated social rank among theMaya their gleaming visual quality which may have beenseen as reflecting the power of the sun on those who worethem helped to reify that status

The absence of copper objects in Buk and Cib phasemiddens and architecture stands in sharp contrast to thepattern of intrasite distribution just prior to and duringSpanish colonial times During the later Yglesias phaseboth elite and non-elite individuals appear to have had ac-cess to copper objects including statusritual objects im-ported from West Mexico and southeastern MesoamericaElite and non-elite community members also had access toobjects made of recycled copper produced at LamanaiCopper artifacts found in elite residential and burial con-texts include imported and recycled objects in rougWyequal numbers Copper objects produced in Yglesias timeswere both decorative and utilitarian in nature whereasthose imported from outside the Maya area in earlier cen-turies were exclusively for status display purposes

Since the Maya at Lamanai were producing copper ob-

jects from what Hosler describes as stock metal derivedfrom melted-down artifacts (1994 214) we find it puz-zling that such a large proportion of those fronl Yglesiascontexts (57) were discarded along with domestic refusePotentially recyclable bells rings needles and other fin-ished objects have been recovered in substantial numbersduring our excavations in Terminal Postclassic-contact pe-riod middens in the vicinity of the Spanish churches In ad-dition raw materials for production such as the axe frag-ments and lost-wax casting reservoirs mentioned abovealong with all four copper pigs come from rubbish dumpsor locations without apparent structural association Thepresence of these and other copper artifacts including allof the production failures found around Structure N 11-18and in the area of the Spanish churches suggests that thisportion of the site was a center for the production of cop-per objects (Simmons 2004 200Sa Simmons and Shugar2008)

Over thirty years ago Warwick Bray noted that thequantity and diversity of copper objects at Lamanai is bestaccounted for by local manufacture in Belize (1977 397)Although we have made solid strides in the past threedecades toward understanding where and how copper ob-

72 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

jects were produced in the southern Maya lowlands westill have some distance to go It is our hope that further in-vestigations will bring us closer to an understanding of theadvent of copper metallurgy the organizational aspects ofthis specialized craft activity and the roles and status ofmetalsmiths in ancient Maya society

AcknowledgmentsThe 1974-1986 Lamanai excavations were funded by

the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada the Royal Ontario Museum and the Richard IveyFoundation of London Ontario Simmons 1999-2001excavations at Lamanai along with chemical analyses ofthe copper artifacts recovered there were made possible byresearch grants from the H John Heinz III Fund for LatinAmerican Archaeology Technological analyses of the cop-per artifacts from Lamanai were supported in part by aCharles L Cahill Award from the University of North Car-olina Wilmington We appreciate the efforts of DrsDorothy Hosler and Aaron Shugar in conducting theseanalysesThanks to Stan Loten for the perspective drawingof Structure N10-2 We also appreciate the thoughtfulcomments of three anonymous reviewers At Lamanai lo-gistical support was provided by the Gonzalez family theEsquivel family Las Orquedias Womens Group and theLamanai Field Research Center Our sincere thanks go toall of the men and women of San Jose Succotz IndianChurch and San Carlos who have helped us over the yearsto gain a better understanding of Lamanais rich history

Scott E Simmons (phD 1996) University of Colorado) Boul-der) is an Associate Professorat the University of North Car-olina Wilmington and Co-Principal Investigator of theLamanai Archaeological Project His researchfocus isMayaarchaeology and his interests include craft specialization)household and political economies)and archaeometallutgy inthe Postclassicand Spanish colonialperiods in MesoamericaMailing address University of North Carolina Wilmington)601 South College Road) Wilmington) NC 28403 E-mailsimmonssuncwedu

DavidM Pendetgast (phD 1961) University ofCalifor-nia at LosAngeles) is an Honorary Research Fellow at the In-stitute ofArchaeology) University College London He has con-ducted investigations in Belize for the past four and a halfdecades and directed the Royal Ontario Museum)s LamanaiArchaeological Project from 1974 to 1986 Mailing addressInstitute ofArchaeology) University College London) 31-34Gordon Square) London) U IC WC1H opr

Elizabeth Graham (phD 1983) Cambridge University) isa Senior Lecturer at the Institute ofArchaeology) UniversityCollege London and Co-Principal Investigator of the

Lamanai Archaeological Project Her researchfocus isMayaarchaeology in Belize and her interests include the Postclassicand Spanish colonial periods as well as human-environmentalinteraction in the humid tropics and the development of tropi-cal urbanism Mailing address Institute ofArchaeology) Uni-versity College London) 31-34 Gordon Square) London) U ICWC1HOPr

Aimers James J2007 The Curse of the Ware Using Ceramic Systems in Belize

Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 4 101-110Alexander Rani T and Susan Kepecs

2005 The Postclassic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoameri-ca~ in Susan Kepecs and Rani T Alexander eds The Post-classic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoamerica Archaeolog-ical Perspectives Albuquerque University of New MexicoPress 1-12

Andres Christopher R and K Anne Pyburn2004 Out of Sight The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods

at Chau Hiix Belize in Arthur A Demarest Prudence MRice and Don S Rice eds The Terminal Classic in theMaya Lowlands Boulder University Press of Colorado402--423

Andrews Anthony P1990 The Role of Ports in Maya Civilization in Flora S Clan-

cy and Peter D Harrison eds Vision and Revision inMayaStudies Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press159-167

1993 Late Postclassic Maya Archaeology Journal of World Pre-history 7 35-69

Bateson J Howard and Ian H S Hall1977 The Geology of the Maya Mountains) Belize London Her

Majestys Stationary OfficeBerdan Frances F

2003 The Economy of Postclassic Mesoamerica in Michael ESmith and Frances F Berdan eds The PostclassicMesoamer-ican World Salt Lake City University of Utah Press93-95

Blackiston A Hooton1910 Recent Discoveries in Honduras American Anthropologist

12 536-54lBray Warwick

1971 Ancient American Metal-Smiths Proceedings of the RoyalAnthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 197125-43

1977 Maya Metalwork and its External Connections in N or-man Hammond ed Social Process in Maya Prehistory Es-says in Honour of Sir J Eric S Thompson New York Acade-mic Press 365--403

Bruhns Karen O1972 Prehispanic Cire Perdue Casting Moulds from Columbia

Man 7 308-31l

Bruhns Karen 0 and Norman Hammond1982 Maya Metal Workers Tool from Belize Antiquity 56

175-1801983 Moho Cay Hammer A Revised Opinion Antiquity 57

136-137

60 Copper Artifaas in Postclassic and Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et ale

Table 1 Copper artifact types by ceramic phase from Lamanai BelizeNumber by ceramic phaseBuk Cib Yglesias

Objeatype (AD 950-12001250) (AD 12001250-1350) (AD 1350-1700) Unknown Total numberBells (whole) 6 1 11 3 21Bells (incompletemis-cast) 0 0 24 3 27Bells (flattened distorted) 1 0 29 1 31Axeceltchisel 0 0 12 0 12Axe fragments 0 0 11 0 11Axe blanks 0 0 1 0 1Rings 3 0 5 6 14Ornaments 7 6 0 0 13Sheet fragments 1 0 11 0 12Needles 0 0 10 0 10Ingotspigs 0 0 3 1 4Casting reservoirs 0 0 2 0 2Prills 0 0 10 0 10Fish hooks 0 0 5 0 5Pins 0 0 2 0 2Tweezers 0 0 2 2 4Bell-headed pins 0 2 0 0 2Pin tips 0 0 0 2 2Pin heads 0 0 2 0 2Tinkler 0 0 1 0 1Necklace 0 0 1 0 1Total 18 9 142 18 187

Totals as of August 2006

Hosler and Macfarlane 1996 1822-1823 Shugar 2005a)and the significance of metal artifacts with regard to tradelinks and the development of metallurgy in ancientMesoamerica have also been investigated (Bray 19711977 Lothrop 1952 Pendergast 1962 West 1994) Weare concerned here not with the techniques and alloys em-ployed in the manufacture of the objects or with the dis-tribution of isolated metal artifacts in the Maya lowlands asa whole but rather with the contexts in which the objectsoccur at Lamanai and with the information that is con-veyed by contextual analysis of the data

Metal artifacts appear at Lamanai in the Early Postclas-sic period and in considerable numbers around the time ofSpanish contact As a mirror of broader trade relations inthe southern Maya lowlands and as a reflection of techno-logical change the history of metal artifact use at Lamanaiis an invaluable element in the reconstruction of Postclas-sic and early historical dynamics

The Forms and Styles of Lamanais CopperObjects Typological and ContextualDesignations

The discussion of the forms and styles of copper artifactsfrom Lamanai follows Pendergasts (1962) typology ofmetal artifacts in Mesoamerica This classification is basedon the division of objects into one of three major func-tional categories utilitarian objects objects of personal

adornment and ceremonial objects (Pendergast 1962521) Hoslers (1986 104-105) more recent typology formetal artifacts in Mesoamerica tal(es into considerationboth stylistic criteria as well as certain other attributes suchas mechanical properties of metal (for such objects as axesand tweezers) and volume and pitch (for bells) Since thesedata could not be obtained for all of the copper objects inthe Lamanai assemblage and since our discussion focusesprimarily on the contexts and significance of copper objectsat the site rather than technical properties of metal we pre-fer to use Pendergasts (1962) typology We do howeversupplement the typology with Hoslers (1986 104-105)classification for certain objects such as needles for whichmore detailed typological categories exist

The contexts in which copper artifacts from Lamanaiwere found include the following burials middenscaches architectural features and surface contexts (TABLE

2) Copper artifacts in burials account for more than onequarter (n = 49 262) of all of the copper artifacts foundthus far at Lamanai Middens at Lamanai include discreterefuse accumulations a number of which have depths ap-proaching 50 cm or more as well as refuse deposits that aregenerally thinner and horizontally dispersed which we re-ferred to as sheet middens Over 43 (n = 82) of the cop-per artifacts recovered at Lamanai have come from mid-dens Copper artifacts found associated with Maya con-struction ie those included in the architecture category

Journal ofField ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 61

Table 2 The contexts of copper artifacts from Lamanai BelizeContext

Temporal phase Burial Midden Architecture Cache Suiface TotalEarly Postclassic Buk 16 1 0 1 0 18Middle Postclassic Cib 9 0 0 0 0 9Lateferminal Postclassic-Spanish Colonial Yglesias 18 81 41 2 0 142Unknown 6 0 0 0 12 18Total 49 82 41 3 12 187

oI

f

Figure 2 Plazas 1 and 2 of the NI0 grid blockand Structures NI0-2 and NI0-4 all of theBuk and Cib phase copper artifacts recoveredat Lamanai come from these two structuresStr NI0-2 is shown in a perspective drawingby Stan Loten with Str NI0-9 in the back-ground at left

were recovered in core deposits and collapse debris atopand within floor ballast materials (typically unmodifiedlimestone pieces mixed with soil) and in other contextsclearly linked with architectural features at the site Onlythree copper artifacts were recovered from caches duringinvestigations at Lamanai and 12 copper artifacts werefound on the ground surface of the site (TABLE 2)

The Contexts Forms and Styles of EarlyPostclassic Buk Phase Copper Objects

Copper artifacts from the first centuries of the Postclas-sic period come from a very limited range of contexts at

Lamanai allwere found associated with elite burials exceptfor one object found in a cache and one found in a midden(TABLE 2) All 18 copper objects associated with Buk phaseceramic vessels come from two structures NI0-2 andNI0-4 which lie very close to the New River Lagoon (FIG

2) These structures are believed to be at the heart of an areathat witnessed Maya ceremonial and probably administra-tive activities from the 11th to the 13th centuries (Pender-gast 1981) Copper objects were found in six of the 97burials excavated in these two structures Two of the finelycrafted copper objects are shown in Figures 3 and 4 Datesassigned to the archaeological contexts in which copper ar-tifacts were found at Structures NI0-2 and NI0-4 arebased largely on relative stratigraphy and on the presenceof typologically distinctive Buk phase ceramic vessels (Gra-ham 1987)

All but one of the 18 Buk phase copper artifacts recov-ered from excavations at Structures NI0-2 and NI0-4 arewhat Hosler (1994 208) describes as status display andritual objects These include seven bells seven false wire-work ornaments (FIG 4) and three filigree rings The re-maining object is a non-diagnostic piece of sheet copper

The most common copper artifacts recovered atLamanai (TABLE r) -bells-are represented in the Bulephase by seven examples (88 of the site total of79) Fol-lowing the Pendergast (1962) typological classificationbell Types IAla-i ICla IC4a IC6a and ID la are repre-sented with plain or elongated globular and pyriformtypes (IAla-i ICla and IDla) the most common (FIG 5)Early Postclassic bells with designs on resonator bodies arenot common although several have raised horizontally orvertically oriented wirework bands In addition a few areadorned with false or simulated wirework on resonatorsOnly one bell (Type IC4a) found with Burial NIO4-3 iselaborately ornamented with wirework eyes nose and up-per lip decorations Lothrop terms these head effigy bellsin his discussion of metals recovered from the SacredCenote at Chichen ltza (1952 91) Bell suspension loopsare either single or double wires with very modest to fair-ly prominent sprue projections Bell clappers are almost ex-clusively copper beads a small pebble clapper was identi-fied in only one of the bells from this phase

America (Hosler 1994) They were presumably attached toclothing by their wide cruciform rear straps and it is pos-sible that they functioned either as garment fasteners or aspersonal adornments

62 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai BelizeSimmons et al

Figure 3 Filigree copper finger rings (Type IVA3) from Buk phaseburials lA 11811 (top) from Burial 16 in Str NI0-2 ring has an out-side dialneter of 20 em lA 683 (bottom) false wirework ring fromBurial2B in Str NI0-4 ring has an outside diameter of 19 em

Two rings both of filigree strapwork fonn (Type IVA3)were associated with Buk phase burials one in StructureN10-2 and the other in NIO-4 (Pendergast 1962 5291981 47) They are characterized by intricate and delicateornamental strapwork and with linked and separated S-scroll motifs (FIG 3) Both are edged with bands dividedby a center line which creates a double-band effect One ofthe rings IA 683 is among a number of copper objectsworn by the Maya at Lamanai that Hosler notes representa local southeastern Mesoamerican metalworking tradi-tion (1994 208) Another Buk phase ring a simple un-decorated example of Type 1VAl was found at the base ofthe midden abutting the NE corner of Structure NI0-9 lo-cated immediately west of Str NIO-2 (FIG 2)

Seven oval-shaped ornaments were recovered during ex-cavations of Burial N104-3 (FIG 4) These objects are theonly ones of their kind found at Lamanai and to ourknowledge the form has not been reported from any oth-er sites in the Maya area (Bray 1977 385) The ornamentsare made of interconnected S-scroll wires attached to an el-liptical frame This S-scroll design is fairly common in thelost-wax (eire perdue) casting tradition of lower Central

The Contexts Forms and Styles of MiddlePostclassic Cib Phase Copper Objects

Nine copper artifacts have been recovered from un-equivocal Cib phase contexts (TABLE 2) all from elite buri-als in Structure NI0-4 The relatively small number of cop-per objects is likely to be a reflection of the general under-representation of Middle Postclassic activities in the ar-chaeological record of Lamanai The information we havefrom this critical period comes from excavations that havetaken place at Str N10-4 (FIG 2) Other Middle Postclas-sic residential structures at the site have been tested but noother copper artifacts from definitive Cib contexts were re-covered

One bell two bell-headed pins and six dome-shapedclothing ornaments comprise the copper artifact assem-blage from Str NI0-4 The bell from Burial NI0-446 is asub-pyriform example with shallow false wirework on itsupper body and an undecorated lower resonator The bellis a variant of Type IC2a with what was probably a strapfor suspension but only a small portion remains Its clap-per is a small globular bead The two bell-headed pinsfrom Burial NI0-429 are composed of small plain glob-ular bells of Type IAla-i attached to relatively short pinswith a small cup-like element situated between the bell andthe shaft of the pin The small amount of cloth found ad-hering to these pins suggests that they were used as cloth-ing fasteners (Pendergast 1981 47) To our knowledge noother examples of the form have been recovered in theMaya area (Bray 1977 385)

The six domed copper ornaments with Burial N1 0-428consist of hollow hemispheres with applied beadingaround their edges and applied double straps across theirbacks for attachment These are identical to gold orna-ments found in Tomb 7 at Monte Alban dating to LatePostclassic times (Caso 1969 Plate 22) The functions ofthese clothing ornaments are not entirely clear althoughseveral lines of evidence discussed below suggest howthey may have been used

The Contexts Forms and Styles of LatePostclassic-Spanish Colonial PeriodYglesias Phase Copper Objects

The vast majority of the copper artifacts from Lamanaicome from the contact period community which lies in avaguely defined area around the two Spanish churchesMost are associated with residential structures apparently

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 63

Figure 4 Right elbow area of Burial NlO-4j3 with shell-shaped ornaments and globular bells This juvenilewas buried with the greatest number of copper objects at Lamanai The largest shell-shaped ornament inthe left-center of the image is 29 em in length Note the two globular bells in the right of the image aboveone of the two bone circlets A number of barrel-shaped marcasite beads are also shown in this image

Figure 5 Bell varieties from Lamanai In the top row all bells are pyriform Type lela except the globularbell (Type lala-i) on the right end of the row On the bottom row are mis-cast globular and pyriformbells while the two on the right are laterally mashed The three specimens on the bottom left are partiallycast bell walls

64 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic LamanaiJ BelizeSimmons et al

occupied by elite members of the community A total of142 of 187 (759) of the copper objects found atLamanai are believed to date from sometime shortly beforemid-16th century Spanish contact to the late 17th centuryDating of these metal artifacts is based primarily on theirassociation with stylistically diagnostic ceramic forms Thearchaeological contexts in which copper artifacts werefound in the Spanish Church Zone have yielded distinctiveYglesias phase ceramics which were made during theSpanish colonial period but introduced at an unknowndate prior to that time Their introduction could have tak-en place around 1500 to 1510 when the effects of Euro-pean presence were first felt in the circum-Caribbean re-gion but it is also possible that their manufacture began asearly asAD 1450 (Graham 2004) Alloyed copper artifactsare associated with materials of European origin such asglass beads and Spanish majolica and olive jar sherds inseveral contexts (Simmons 2004 2005a 2005b Pender-gast 1985) but the European materials are not necessarilyindicators of the time of manufacture of the metal objectsAnalyses of late precolumbian Maya ceramic artifacts fromthis critical transitional period are ongoing (Aimers 2007Howie 2007) It is likely that other ceramic phases will bedefined (Elizabeth Graham personal communication2008) further assisting us in refming our understanding ofthe advent of on-site metallurgy at Lamanai

At the time of Spanish contact most of Lamanais in-habitants were settled in the southern third of the site butreduction efforts probably led to further concentration ofthe community in the area that includes the Spanishchurches and a number of other nearby structures The ex-tent of the contact period community the architecturalcharacteristics of its residential and special use structuresand the material culture of its residents are still being ex-plored (Simmons 2005a Wiewall2005) A number of thestructures that have been investigated thus far have yieldedcopper artifacts the most prominent of these is StructureNll-18

More copper artifacts have been recovered at StructureNll-18 than at any other structure or locus at LamanaiOver 379 (71 of 187) of the entire assemblage of cop-per objects from the site comes from various contexts with-in and immediately around this important building andhalf (496) of the copper objects associated with Yglesiasceramic artifacts come from this one structure The build-ing is very likely to have had a variety of functions and mayhave served as a residence for Lamanais colonial period na-tive authority the cacique (Pendergast 1993 128) It alsomay have functioned as a guest house for visiting digni-taries ie a casa comunidad or casa real with attendantstorage and cooking areas (Jones 1989 67)

In addition to the copper artifacts recovered during ex-cavations of several other Late Postclassic to contact periodstructures a cluster of seven copper artifacts was found to-gether in a lagoon-side midden deposit located approxi-mately 60 m east of the second Spanish church Five of theseven are axe fragments that fit together to form two com-plete axes (see below) The remaining two artifacts appearto be casting reservoirs from lost-wax casting (Simmonsand Shugar 2008) We use the term casting reservoir todescribe a portion of a lost-wax cast mold that acts as a fun-nel into which molten copper is poured once the cavity ofthe mold is filled the reservoir acts as a receptacle for ex-cess metal (Long 1964 fig 1) After the metal has cooledsufficiently both the reservoir and the sprue (the tube lead-ing from the reservoir to the cast object) are detached andmay be remelted for later casting

The majority of copper artifacts (45 64 of 142) re-covered from the Spanish Church Zone are bells Smallernumbers of status display objects including fmger ringsand tweezers have been found associated with Yglesiasphase ceramics in the Spanish Church Zone Utilitarianobjects from this period include woodworking tools suchas axes chisels and wedges as well as fish hooks needlesand pins (TABLE 3) The remaining objects from late con-texts include copper pigs pieces of sheet metal prills andother manufacturing materials

With only two exceptions bells from this area of the siteare either plain or elongated globular or pyriform types(lAla-i ICla and IDla) (FIG 5) Two very small bellspossibly functioning as buttons or other kinds of personalornaments also come from late deposits Designs or deco-rative elements of any kind are virtually absent on the bellsfrom the Spanish Church Zone Bells from this period typ-ically have only single suspension loops although ten havedouble suspension loops Sprue projections are present onnearly all of the bells from this period and in only a fewcases does it appear that any effort was made to remove orminimize sprue remnants Almost all sprue remnants arefound on the tops of the suspension loops With only oneexception bell clappers are exclusively small pebbles

Only 11 of the 64 bells recovered from very late depositsat the site are whole or complete (TABLE 3) The remaining53 are either fragments (n = 24) or have been smashed orflattened and distorted (n = 29) At least some of the bellfragments found in Yglesiasphase deposits at the site rep-resent production failures In some cases only portions ofbell walls or suspension loops have been cast whereas inother instances bells are largely complete but have promi-nent holes in their resonating chambers (FIG 5) In a greatmany cases bells are not only mis-cast but also damagedoften severely apparently prior to their deposition in ar-

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 65

Table 3 Copper artifacts from Yglesias phase contexts at Lamanai Belize

Burial Midden Architecture Cache Total

Bells (whole) 2 7 2 0 11Bells(incompletemis-cast) 0 18 6 0 24Bells (flattened distorted) 0 17 12 0 29Axeceltchisel 1 3 6 2 12

Axe fragments 0 9 2 0 11Axe blanks 0 1 0 0 1Rings 2 3 0 0 5Sheet fragments 1 5 5 0 11

Needles 1 6 3 0 10Ingotspigs 0 2 1 0 3Casting reservoirs 0 2 0 0 2Prills 6 2 2 0 10

Fish hooks 0 4 1 0 5Pins 1 0 1 0 2Pin heads 2 0 0 0 2Tweezers 1 1 0 0 2

Figure 6 Axe (Type VB) in three pieces recovered from Span-ish contact period midden deposit located at the edge of theNew River Lagoon approximately 60 m east of Lamanais Span-ish churches These axe fragments along with two others (form-ing a smaller axe) were found together with the remains of twoprobable casting reservoirs All of these objects may have beendestined for melting and recasting by Lamanais metalsmiths

chaeological contexts Almost 45 (n = 29) of the bellsdating to this period show some kind of gross deformity inshape Descriptions in Pendergasts field notes of such bellsinclude crumpled torn laterally flattened distortedwith one part of side ripped away and apparently sacri-ficed torn and smashed

All 24 of the axes axe blanks axe fragments and chiselsrecovered from Lamanai come from LatefTerminal Post-classic and Spanish colonial period contexts They make up169 of the 142 copper objects found in the SpanishChurch Zone Various sizes of axeType VB were the mostcommon (FIG 6) whereas lesser numbers of chisel TypeVA were also found (Pendergast 1962 525) A probableaxe or chisel blank was recovered as an isolated find just be-low the ground surface in the Spanish Church Zone Met-allographic analysis of the probable blank shows a ham-

mered structure that has been annealed to some extent in-dicating that the object has been partially worked this iswhat would be expected of a blank destined to later beworked into a finished form (Shugar 2005a 12)

Many of the axes and chisels from this period show ev-idence of very heavy use with battered polls and dulled bitscommon Others however show only minimal modifica-tions of their working edges (Aaron Shugar personal com-munication 2007) Eight axe fragments have also been re-covered from the Spanish Church Zone Interestingly fiveof the eight fragments (mentioned above) found in a groupfit together to form two Type VB axes one of which isshown in Figure 6

Five rings were recovered from contact period contextsThree of the five are plain narrow bands (Types IVAI andIVA2) One of the two exceptions is a ring with threeraised border bands edging a panel of conjoined circles thatproduce a triangular piercing at its borders (Type IVA3)Like a great number of the bells recovered from late con-texts this ring is smashed flat and the metal is partly tornThe other decorated finger ring has two lines of small del-icate chevrons located very close to the edges with the twolines pointing in opposite directions It appears to be avariant of Type IVAI (Pendergast 1962 529)

All four pairs of tweezers in the assemblage were recov-ered in the Spanish Church Zone three were from burialsThe remaining half pair of tweezers was recovered from asurface context and may date to the final phase of pre-columbian occupation at Lamanai The tweezers varyslightly in size but three of the four are small All have cir-cular blades and can be classified as Type IIIC (Pendergast1962 524) One is somewhat larger in size with a bladediameter of 41 cm and weight of 212 g

The five fish hooks recovered at Lamanai come from

66 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

Figure 7 Copper pigs from Lamanai The ingot on the left measures 63 x 65 cm and weighs 2755 gThe pig in the center measures 48 x 50 cm and weighs 1255 g The pig on the right measures 25 x26 em and weighs 345 g

Figure 8 Copper prill recovered from the south side middenofStr Nll-27 north side midden ofStr Nll-18

Late Postclassic to Spanish colonial period contexts All areclassifiable as Type IXA2 (Pendergast 1962 525) Hookshanks are of varying size but all are looped at their topsfor line attachment Ten needles were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone six from Str Nll-18 Most areType 2a with a small piece of metal looped over to formthe eye (Hosler 1986 377) Several are of Type 1 with aperforation through the shank of the needle serving as theeye (Hosler 1986 369)All of the needles are made of coldhammered rolled sheet metal with either a rounded or anelongated eye Two pins and four pin fragn1ents were alsofound associated with Yglesias phase ceramic material Fi-nally a possible tinlder with a double loop suspensionmade from what may be a cut pyriform bell was found atStr Nll-18

Copper Production at LamanaiCompelling evidence for the production of copper ob-

jects at Lamanai comes from pigs prills mis-cast copper

objects and by-products of lost-wax casting found in thevicinity of the Spanish churches Four pigs of varying sizehave been recovered thus far The smallest pig weighs 58g and the largest weighs just over 275 g All have a slight-ly irregular circular shape and are plano-convex in section(FIG 7) Sprues vary in size and surfaces are typically pit-ted and granular

Other evidence of copper production at Lamanai isdiminutive in size and weight but no less important inhelping us to understand the nature of Maya metallurgy Itconsists of the prills mentioned above which are very smallbeads of metal that are by-products of casting activitiesPrills are formed when molten metal is poured into moldsThey are generally quite round in shape but are sometimesdeformed by the impact produced when liquefied metalsplashes falls and strikes the ground Owing to their mi-nuscule size prills typically go unnoticed during excava-tion One found during excavations in the Spanish ChurchZone is shown in Figure 8 To our knowledge no otherobjects that might definitively be called prills have been re-ported from the Maya area

Fragments of copper sheet of various sizes were alsofound in the Spanish Church Zone Five of the 11 recov-ered are from Structure Nll-18 and three are from an ad-jacent structure Most weigh between 1 and 2 g with thelargest weighing just over 6 g

Two large lumps of copper that appear to be remnantsof the lost-wax casting process were found together withthe group of axe fragments mentioned above (Simmonsand Shugar 2008) These two masses of copper weigh ap-proximately 21 and 86 g and appear to be remnants of cast-

ing reservoirs of the kind described by Long (1964 fig 1)in his experimental study of lost-wax casting techniques

Twelve copper objects from Lamanai came from surfacecontexts and thus cannot be assigned to a temporal phasewith any confidence (TABLE 2) All were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone and most came from the area of StrN 11-18 Their association with this structure makes it like-ly that most if not all of the objects which include onepig one ring one half pair of tweezers two probable pintips and seven bells are very late in date The remaining sixcopper artifacts that cannot be assigned to any temporalphase come from a burial within a small structure locatedin the Spanish Church Zone Excavations revealed a burialof two individuals a middle-aged female seated with herleft arm around the shoulders of a seated middle-agedmale described as The Loving Couple (Pendergast1989 White et alein press) Unfortunately no ceramic orother temporally diagnostic material accompanied the cou-pIe although Pendergast (1989 2) notes that the stairblock under which the couple was interred was probablyrebuilt at some point between rougWy AD 1450 and1500 A pair of disc-bladed copper tweezers of Type IIIC(Pendergast 1962 524) and five plain rings of Type IVAI(Pendergast 1962 529) were recovered in direct associa-tion with the skeletal remains The location of the tweez-ers to which a small amount of cotton cloth still adheredat the time of their discovery suggests the man wore theobject suspended from a cord or thong around his neckThe rings which enclosed a quantity of cotton cloth werefound between the scapulae of the female a position thatsuggests they served as ornaments for her hair braid orqueue

The Functions and Meanings of Copper Objectsat Lamanai

Early and Middle Postclassic Copper Objects asImported Wealth

Commencing around AD 1100 the ceramic traditionsof Early Postclassic times at Lamanai some of which grewout of those of the Late and Terminal Classic (Graham1987 73-81) underwent significant change New formsemerged many of which were radical departures from theapproach to pottery-malcing in preceding centuries Al-most certainly of local origin the shapes and decoration ofthe Buk ceramic phase quicldy supplanted what had gonebefore but at the same time retained certain elements ofthe earlier ceramic canon (Graham 1987 81-87) With thechanges in pottery came the development of limited ce-ramic ties with polities in the northern Yucatan peninsulathat on chronological grounds appear to involve the

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 67

transmission of ideas and perhaps of the ceramic productsof those ideas from Lamanai to recipients in the north(Pendergast 1986 236-245) Possibly in return for ce-ramics and other materials sent northward metal artifactsof non-Maya manufacture began to flow into Lamanai

The results of chemical compositional studies conduct-ed by Hosler (1994 208-213) indicate that the sources ofthe copper objects that began to be imported into Lamanaiduring Early Postclassic times are West Mexico and south-eastern Mesoamerica In addition some of the objects par-ticularly the finely made rings and ornaments are similarin form and style to examples from the West Mexican statesof Michoacan and Guerrero The exotic origin of the met-al objects found at Lamanai combined with the symbolicsignificance of the objects in their areas of manufacture ap-pears to have conferred upon the artifacts a special value asmarkers of rank or status in the Early to Middle PostclassicLamanai community Metal artifacts had an entirely per-sonal association and meaning in Buk and Cib phase timesThe occurrence of metals in interments marked by a con-siderable range of grave goods reinforces the role of the ob-jects as indicators of the owners elevated standing in thecommunity All but one of the 27 Buk and Cib copper ar-tifacts recovered at Lamanai are what Hosler (1994 208)describes as status display or ritual objects These includebells (one of which was a centerpiece in a jade and shellnecldace) elaborately made false wirework and dome-shaped ornaments and finely crafted filigree rings allmade by lost-wax casting (FIG 3) It seems likely that theexotic designs and origins of these and other metal artifactsfrom the period all crafted from an unfamiliar materialwith unique properties helped to make such objects high-ly appealing to elite members of the community The flowof exotic items such as these into Lamanai has been cited asone of the clear indicators of the communitys continuedvitality as reflected in long-distance social and commercialties following the collapse of so many other southern low-land Maya polities in the 9th century AD (Pendergast1991 1993)

The Late Postclassic and Spanish Colonial PeriodsCopper Objects as Items of Local Manufacture

The contexts in which copper artifacts were found dat-ing from the centuries just prior to and during Spanishcontact differ significantly from those in which Early andMiddle Postclassic copper artifacts were recovered Mostcopper objects from very late deposits were recovered frommiddens or from architectural contexts and a considerablenumber appear to have been manufactured at the siteprobably within the Spanish Church Zone Copper oresare not locally available in the Maya lowland area (Bateson

68 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

and Hall 1977 Bray 1971 1977 West 1994) The resultsof Hoslers (1994) chemical compositional studies indicatethat at the time of Spanish contact the Maya at Lamanaiwere crafting their own metal tools and status symbols us-ing material apparently produced by melting copper ob-jects imported in earlier times She notes that by historicaltimes artisans were crafting objects at Lamanai itself andthey seem to have been doing so by using recycled metal(Hosler 1994 214) The majority of copper artifacts pro-duced during this time were made from metal cast intomolds using the lost-wax method most are undecoratedbells Hosler (1994 53) notes that available evidence indi-cates that all bells manufactured in Mesoamerica were castin one piece using the lost-wax method Various aspects ofthis metalworking technique have been described using in-formation obtained from archaeological investigations(Bruhns 1972 Bruhns and Hammond 1982 1983 Pen-dergast 1962) experimental studies (Long 1964) ethno-historical accounts (Motolirua 1950 SahagUn 1959) andmaterial analyses (Hosler 1994 Noble 1975)

We do not know when copper metallurgy began atLamanai but there is evidence that the Maya there were ac-tively engaged in the production of copper objects duringSpanish contact times and probably earlier perhaps by theend of the Cib ceramic phase The strongest evidence forindigenous metallurgy at Lamanai comes from Yglesiasphase contexts and consists of three pigs ten prills an axeblank (or ingot possibly) and two probable lost-wax cast-ing reservoirs all representing production debris (TABLE

3) In addition 24 bell fragments that are production fail-ures were recovered from Yglesias phase deposits in theSpanish Church Zone Along with the pigs and prills thesemis-cast bells add weight to the idea that copper produc-tion was taking place at Lamanai since casting failures arenot likely to have been trade items It is even possible thatthe 29 flattened bells found in Yglesiasphase contexts werecrushed by Lamanais metalsmiths in preparation for re-casting In addition to the crushed bells several othersmashed and torn copper objects were recovered fromthese late deposits Minimizing the surface area of the met-al by crushing or flattening would have facilitated meltingfor reuse in two ways (Aaron Shugar personal communi-cation 2006) Reducing the size of the objects by flatteningwould have allowed a greater number of bells to fit into acrucible for melting Also crushing would have reducedthe length of time required for maintenance of tempera-tures high enough (10830 C) to melt all of the material inthe crucible

In sum two separate but related lines of evidence sug-gest that metalsmiths were experimenting with the pro-duction of copper objects at Lamanai sometime just prior

to or during early Spanish colonial times The evidence in-cludes the presence of mis-cast copper artifacts most no-tably bells along with the pigs blanks and other produc-tion materials mentioned above and the anomalous arti-fact chemistry noted in a number of the copper objects re-covered at the site (Hosler 1994) In some cases Lamanaismetalsmiths were successful in creating whole bells nee-dles axes finger rings fish hooks and pieces of sheet cop-per The recovery of numerous lost-wax production fail-ures however indicates that at other times success eludedthem Noble (1975 369) suggests that mis-cast objectscould be the result of low melting temperatures for thecopper the presence of gas bubbles in residual wax left inmolds or movement of the clay and sand core within lost-wax molds Whatever the causes the production failurespigs prills and blanks are the kinds of metal objects onewould expect to encounter at a site where the occupantswere actively experimenting with metallurgy (Craddock1995 Young et al 1999)

Given the intermittent nature of Spanish mission activ-ity in the region the almost complete absence of Europeancopper objects and the relatively small quantity of metalinvolved overall we believe that metallurgy at Lamanai hadits roots in Late or Terminal Postclassic times and there-fore reflects a Maya technological innovation One of themost notable aspects of the assemblage of copper objectsfrom Lamanai is the absence of Spanish religious itemssuch as devotional medals personal crosses and crucifIXesrosaries copper-alloy stars reliquaries seals stamps andrings These kinds of objects are common at 16th and17th-century Spanish colonial sites throughout Floridaand the Caribbean (Deagan 2002) All but possibly one ofthe copper objects found thus far at Lamanai are distinctlyMesoamerican in form and design and based on prelimi-nary metallurgical analyses (Shugar 2005a) it appears thatmanufacturing technologies were distinctly Mesoamericanas well

Maya Metalsmiths and the Meanings of CopperMaya metalsmiths have been the focus of very little dis-

cussion among scholars (Bray 1971 1977 Hosler 19862003 Pendergast 1962 West 1994) As a result their sta-tus in ancient Mesoamerican social and economic realmsremains unclear Smith (2003 122) notes that the pro-duction of copper and bronze objects required the techni-cal expertise of highly skilled craftspeople it is difficulthowever to determine the extent to which technical skill inmetallurgy might have been correlated with certain levelsof social status in the Postclassic Maya world At Lamanaimis-cast copper objects manufacturing debris pigs andother raw materials have been recovered in domestic mid-

196

Figure 9 Metalsmith depicted in the Florentine Codex Folio 796Note the open mold of an axe into which it appears molten metal isflowing Also note the brazier possibly ceramic into which the metal-smith is forcing oxygen through a hollow tube tipped with a tuyere(blowpipe tip)

dens associated with what appear to be the relnains of bothcommoner and elite households Although the results ofongoing archaeological investigations are encouraging it isstill difficult to assess the roles that Maya elites and com-moners may have had in copper production activities vis-a-vis current models of craft specialization (Brun1fiel and Ear-le 1987 Costin 1991 Earle 1987 2002)

It is clear however that brilliantly colorful copper bellswith their wondrous sounds and sacred connotations wereregarded by Postclassic Mesoamericans as prestige goodsand hence served as powerful symbols of social identity(Hosler 1994 155-156 Smith 2003 119-121) Thecomplex designs of the finely crafted rings ornamentalclothing fasteners and tweezers speak to the highly devel-oped technical abilities of the craft specialists who createdthem Metalsmiths are identified in Maya lexicons of theSpanish colonial period asAh chuuen kaak or artificers offire (Clark and Houston 1998 44-45)Ah chuuen kaak istranslated into Spanish in the Motul Dictionary as fundi-dor de metales or one who founds and casts metals(Clark and Houston 1998 44-45) The Florentine Codexshows a Mesoamerican metalsmith casting a metal axe in amold using a tuyere or blowpipe (FIG 9) the receptacle for

Journal of Field Archaeology(Vol 34) 2009 69

melting the copper is depicted as a brazier apparently ce-ramic (Sal1agun 1959 folio 796) Bray (1977 397) sug-gests that Maya metalsmiths may have been itinerant craftspecialists traveling with their own metalworking toolssuch as tuyeres crucibles and molds It is also possible thatcopper workers were full-time residents of certain commu-nities such as Lamanai and the crucibles mentioned byColumbus may have been destined for use by metalsmitl1swho resided in such communities

To date ve have not identified copper production fea-tures or tools such as furnaces ceramic braziers cruciblesor tuyeres at Lamanai If we were to find such elements indirect association with residential or other architectural re-mains or if copper-working tools were to be recovered inindividual burials we might be able to establish tentativeassociations between the objects and the metalsmiths whoused them In addition the study of households with as-sociated metal objects and production materials and work-shop areas as well as osteological analysis of certain buri-als might provide information regarding the lives of an-cient Maya metalsmiths and the organization of their spe-cialized craft activity At present however the data shed lit-de light on the identities of Maya metalsmiths To ourknowledge copper production features have not yet beenidentified archaeologically in the Maya lowlands and veryfew copper-vorking tools have been found (but see Bruhnsand Hammond 1982 1983 Paris 2008 Shugar 2005b)The presence of a single copper pig at Tipu in the westernCayo District of Belize (FIG I) is indicative of metalwork-ing in that community as well (Graham and Wayman1989) Current archaeometallurgical studies at Lamanaiare aimed at exploring the social and economic positions ofmetalsmiths in late Maya society (Simmons 2005a Sim-mons and Shugar 2008) but until we know more aboutthe features and tools such individuals used how they or-ganized productive activities and where they lived it willbe difficult to understand the roles that Maya metalsmithsplayed in Postclassic period communities

Fortunately we know more about how the objects pro-duced by metalsmiths were regarded by the Maya Lexicaldata from Spanish colonial period dictionaries providesome insights into the various meanings assigned to cop-per objects by the people who used them In the Tzotzildictionary the term used for campana (bell) is tak)in(Laughlin 1988 643) the same term that is used formoney in both the Tzotzil Dictionary (Laughlin 1988631) and the San Francisco Dictionary (Michelon 1976584) In contemporary Chontal Maya the word tak)in istranslated as money metal literally the suns excrement(IZnowles 1984 462)

This last usage of the term suggests an underlying mean-

70 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanaiy BelizeSimmons et al

ing that is related to Maya perceptions of metals and theirproperties The significance of metallic sound and coloramong some Mesoamerican peoples particularly those inWest Mexico has been explored in Hoslers seminal workThe Sounds and Colors of Power (1994) We would argue asHosler (1986 1994 2003) has in the case of West Mexi-can peoples that certain metallic colors and sounds wereconsidered divine by the Maya The association of metalwith the sun a deity known as J(inich Ahau or God G(Miller and Taube 1993) suggests that metal objects wereperceived by the Maya as having animate qualities that theyconsidered to be divine

In the 17th century the Spanish Friar Diego Lopez deCogolludo provided unambiguous information regardinghow copper bells were used and perceived by the Maya atthe time of Spanish contact in Yucatan La moneda de queusabany era campanillas y cascabelesde cobre)que tentan el val-Orj segun la grandeza (The money that they used waslittle bells and bells of copper that had value according totheir size ) (1688 181) The writings of Diego Quija-da a 16th-century alcalde mayor (head of a provincial ad-ministration in the Spanish colonial period) also includereferences to the value ascribed to copper bells during theSpanish colonial period in Yucatan In discussing fmeslevied on Maya convicted of idolatry Quijada notes thatcacao red stones beads and campanillas y cascabelesde co-bre que tentan de tiempo de su infidelidad (small bells andbells of copper that they had from the time of their infi-delity) were to be paid to Spanish authorities (Scholes andAdams 1938 Book 2 214)

Diego de Landas 16th-century work Rclacidn de lasCosas de Yucatan (Tozzer 1941) provides further informa-tion on how the contact period Maya used some copperstatus and utilitarian objects Landa notes They had a cer-tain soft brass and with a slight mixture of gold fromwhich they made their hatchets by casting them and somelittle bells with which they danced (Tozzer 1941 186)Information from the Cordemex Dictionary supports theidea that Maya dancers used bells the terms cheh ok andcheh ok mascab are translated as cascabelesque usan los dan-zantes (bells that the dancers use) (Vasquez 1980 87)Evidently bells were attached to bands possibly of wovencotton that were worn around the lower leg just underthe knee Figure 10 shows a partially reconstructed Post-classic ceramic vessel from Lamanai used to burn incensewith what appear to be bells worn in this manner Thomp-son notes that a censer found at Mayapan believed to rep-resent the deity Xipe Totec has at about knee level bellspainted yellow presumably to represent gold or burnishedcopper (2005 9)

Other metal objects including copper axes also held a

certain value for the Maya In a manuscript written in 1620following his travels through central Guatemala FriarGabriel Salazar notes Once when in charge of searchingvery carefully among the Indians of San Marcos Coban orManche for as many as possible of the small copper axesused in these lands in pagan times I bought them eventhough they were expensive (Feldman 2000 52-53)

ConclusionThe number and variety of copper objects recovered at

Lamanai indicate that as a new commodity with remark-ably unique aural and visual properties metal artifactsplayed an important role for at least some members ofPostclassic and later contact period society Masson notesthat metal was probably the most higWy valued luxurygood in this region of the Postclassic Maya world (2003279) The inclusion of copper bells elaborate rings andbutton -like ornaments in Early and Middle Postclassic eliteburials shows that at least some residents of the site dis-played such items in certain social and ritual settings Cop-per bells worn during performances acted as auditory re-minders of the high social standing of those who displayedthem and the lustrous copper finger rings and elaborateclothing ornaments served as visual indicators of elevatedstatus

The results of chemical analyses indicate that during theBuk and Cib ceramic phases finished copper objects wornas items of personal adornment were imported intoLamanai from West Mexico and southeastern Mesoameri-ca (Hosler 1994 210-213) The sample of Bule and Cibphase copper artifacts is small but the size of the assem-blage is not the product of sampling bias given the exten-sive nature of survey and excavation in the areas occupiedduring these times (Pendergast 1981) It is conceivablethat the sample is not representative of the level of impor-tation of metal artifacts in Buk and Cib times because theartifact quantity was reduced by recycling a portion of theobjects as material for later Yglesiasphase metalworking atthe site The fact that copper artifacts have not been recov-ered from non-elite Buk or Cib phase contexts suggeststhat elite residents at the site during the first few centuriesof the Postclassic period were the beneficiaries of thestrong trade relationships that the community enjoyed be-yond the Maya area

The contexts from which metal artifacts have been re-covered suggest that the view of metals at Lamanaichanged over the course of the last few centuries of thesites existence During the Early and Middle Postclassicperiods copper objects appear to have had a personalmeaning for members of the communitys elite Elaboratecopper ornaments fmger rings and bells originating from

Journal of Field ArchaeologyVol 34) 2009 71

Figure 10 Late Postclassic incensario from Lamanai with apparent copper bells on left leg probablydepicting a Maya dancer

regions located well outside the Maya lowlands adornedelite individuals during their lives and accompanied themto their graves Ethnohistorical accounts indicate that suchobjects were symbols of elevated social rank among theMaya their gleaming visual quality which may have beenseen as reflecting the power of the sun on those who worethem helped to reify that status

The absence of copper objects in Buk and Cib phasemiddens and architecture stands in sharp contrast to thepattern of intrasite distribution just prior to and duringSpanish colonial times During the later Yglesias phaseboth elite and non-elite individuals appear to have had ac-cess to copper objects including statusritual objects im-ported from West Mexico and southeastern MesoamericaElite and non-elite community members also had access toobjects made of recycled copper produced at LamanaiCopper artifacts found in elite residential and burial con-texts include imported and recycled objects in rougWyequal numbers Copper objects produced in Yglesias timeswere both decorative and utilitarian in nature whereasthose imported from outside the Maya area in earlier cen-turies were exclusively for status display purposes

Since the Maya at Lamanai were producing copper ob-

jects from what Hosler describes as stock metal derivedfrom melted-down artifacts (1994 214) we find it puz-zling that such a large proportion of those fronl Yglesiascontexts (57) were discarded along with domestic refusePotentially recyclable bells rings needles and other fin-ished objects have been recovered in substantial numbersduring our excavations in Terminal Postclassic-contact pe-riod middens in the vicinity of the Spanish churches In ad-dition raw materials for production such as the axe frag-ments and lost-wax casting reservoirs mentioned abovealong with all four copper pigs come from rubbish dumpsor locations without apparent structural association Thepresence of these and other copper artifacts including allof the production failures found around Structure N 11-18and in the area of the Spanish churches suggests that thisportion of the site was a center for the production of cop-per objects (Simmons 2004 200Sa Simmons and Shugar2008)

Over thirty years ago Warwick Bray noted that thequantity and diversity of copper objects at Lamanai is bestaccounted for by local manufacture in Belize (1977 397)Although we have made solid strides in the past threedecades toward understanding where and how copper ob-

72 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

jects were produced in the southern Maya lowlands westill have some distance to go It is our hope that further in-vestigations will bring us closer to an understanding of theadvent of copper metallurgy the organizational aspects ofthis specialized craft activity and the roles and status ofmetalsmiths in ancient Maya society

AcknowledgmentsThe 1974-1986 Lamanai excavations were funded by

the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada the Royal Ontario Museum and the Richard IveyFoundation of London Ontario Simmons 1999-2001excavations at Lamanai along with chemical analyses ofthe copper artifacts recovered there were made possible byresearch grants from the H John Heinz III Fund for LatinAmerican Archaeology Technological analyses of the cop-per artifacts from Lamanai were supported in part by aCharles L Cahill Award from the University of North Car-olina Wilmington We appreciate the efforts of DrsDorothy Hosler and Aaron Shugar in conducting theseanalysesThanks to Stan Loten for the perspective drawingof Structure N10-2 We also appreciate the thoughtfulcomments of three anonymous reviewers At Lamanai lo-gistical support was provided by the Gonzalez family theEsquivel family Las Orquedias Womens Group and theLamanai Field Research Center Our sincere thanks go toall of the men and women of San Jose Succotz IndianChurch and San Carlos who have helped us over the yearsto gain a better understanding of Lamanais rich history

Scott E Simmons (phD 1996) University of Colorado) Boul-der) is an Associate Professorat the University of North Car-olina Wilmington and Co-Principal Investigator of theLamanai Archaeological Project His researchfocus isMayaarchaeology and his interests include craft specialization)household and political economies)and archaeometallutgy inthe Postclassicand Spanish colonialperiods in MesoamericaMailing address University of North Carolina Wilmington)601 South College Road) Wilmington) NC 28403 E-mailsimmonssuncwedu

DavidM Pendetgast (phD 1961) University ofCalifor-nia at LosAngeles) is an Honorary Research Fellow at the In-stitute ofArchaeology) University College London He has con-ducted investigations in Belize for the past four and a halfdecades and directed the Royal Ontario Museum)s LamanaiArchaeological Project from 1974 to 1986 Mailing addressInstitute ofArchaeology) University College London) 31-34Gordon Square) London) U IC WC1H opr

Elizabeth Graham (phD 1983) Cambridge University) isa Senior Lecturer at the Institute ofArchaeology) UniversityCollege London and Co-Principal Investigator of the

Lamanai Archaeological Project Her researchfocus isMayaarchaeology in Belize and her interests include the Postclassicand Spanish colonial periods as well as human-environmentalinteraction in the humid tropics and the development of tropi-cal urbanism Mailing address Institute ofArchaeology) Uni-versity College London) 31-34 Gordon Square) London) U ICWC1HOPr

Aimers James J2007 The Curse of the Ware Using Ceramic Systems in Belize

Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 4 101-110Alexander Rani T and Susan Kepecs

2005 The Postclassic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoameri-ca~ in Susan Kepecs and Rani T Alexander eds The Post-classic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoamerica Archaeolog-ical Perspectives Albuquerque University of New MexicoPress 1-12

Andres Christopher R and K Anne Pyburn2004 Out of Sight The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods

at Chau Hiix Belize in Arthur A Demarest Prudence MRice and Don S Rice eds The Terminal Classic in theMaya Lowlands Boulder University Press of Colorado402--423

Andrews Anthony P1990 The Role of Ports in Maya Civilization in Flora S Clan-

cy and Peter D Harrison eds Vision and Revision inMayaStudies Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press159-167

1993 Late Postclassic Maya Archaeology Journal of World Pre-history 7 35-69

Bateson J Howard and Ian H S Hall1977 The Geology of the Maya Mountains) Belize London Her

Majestys Stationary OfficeBerdan Frances F

2003 The Economy of Postclassic Mesoamerica in Michael ESmith and Frances F Berdan eds The PostclassicMesoamer-ican World Salt Lake City University of Utah Press93-95

Blackiston A Hooton1910 Recent Discoveries in Honduras American Anthropologist

12 536-54lBray Warwick

1971 Ancient American Metal-Smiths Proceedings of the RoyalAnthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 197125-43

1977 Maya Metalwork and its External Connections in N or-man Hammond ed Social Process in Maya Prehistory Es-says in Honour of Sir J Eric S Thompson New York Acade-mic Press 365--403

Bruhns Karen O1972 Prehispanic Cire Perdue Casting Moulds from Columbia

Man 7 308-31l

Bruhns Karen 0 and Norman Hammond1982 Maya Metal Workers Tool from Belize Antiquity 56

175-1801983 Moho Cay Hammer A Revised Opinion Antiquity 57

136-137

Journal ofField ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 61

Table 2 The contexts of copper artifacts from Lamanai BelizeContext

Temporal phase Burial Midden Architecture Cache Suiface TotalEarly Postclassic Buk 16 1 0 1 0 18Middle Postclassic Cib 9 0 0 0 0 9Lateferminal Postclassic-Spanish Colonial Yglesias 18 81 41 2 0 142Unknown 6 0 0 0 12 18Total 49 82 41 3 12 187

oI

f

Figure 2 Plazas 1 and 2 of the NI0 grid blockand Structures NI0-2 and NI0-4 all of theBuk and Cib phase copper artifacts recoveredat Lamanai come from these two structuresStr NI0-2 is shown in a perspective drawingby Stan Loten with Str NI0-9 in the back-ground at left

were recovered in core deposits and collapse debris atopand within floor ballast materials (typically unmodifiedlimestone pieces mixed with soil) and in other contextsclearly linked with architectural features at the site Onlythree copper artifacts were recovered from caches duringinvestigations at Lamanai and 12 copper artifacts werefound on the ground surface of the site (TABLE 2)

The Contexts Forms and Styles of EarlyPostclassic Buk Phase Copper Objects

Copper artifacts from the first centuries of the Postclas-sic period come from a very limited range of contexts at

Lamanai allwere found associated with elite burials exceptfor one object found in a cache and one found in a midden(TABLE 2) All 18 copper objects associated with Buk phaseceramic vessels come from two structures NI0-2 andNI0-4 which lie very close to the New River Lagoon (FIG

2) These structures are believed to be at the heart of an areathat witnessed Maya ceremonial and probably administra-tive activities from the 11th to the 13th centuries (Pender-gast 1981) Copper objects were found in six of the 97burials excavated in these two structures Two of the finelycrafted copper objects are shown in Figures 3 and 4 Datesassigned to the archaeological contexts in which copper ar-tifacts were found at Structures NI0-2 and NI0-4 arebased largely on relative stratigraphy and on the presenceof typologically distinctive Buk phase ceramic vessels (Gra-ham 1987)

All but one of the 18 Buk phase copper artifacts recov-ered from excavations at Structures NI0-2 and NI0-4 arewhat Hosler (1994 208) describes as status display andritual objects These include seven bells seven false wire-work ornaments (FIG 4) and three filigree rings The re-maining object is a non-diagnostic piece of sheet copper

The most common copper artifacts recovered atLamanai (TABLE r) -bells-are represented in the Bulephase by seven examples (88 of the site total of79) Fol-lowing the Pendergast (1962) typological classificationbell Types IAla-i ICla IC4a IC6a and ID la are repre-sented with plain or elongated globular and pyriformtypes (IAla-i ICla and IDla) the most common (FIG 5)Early Postclassic bells with designs on resonator bodies arenot common although several have raised horizontally orvertically oriented wirework bands In addition a few areadorned with false or simulated wirework on resonatorsOnly one bell (Type IC4a) found with Burial NIO4-3 iselaborately ornamented with wirework eyes nose and up-per lip decorations Lothrop terms these head effigy bellsin his discussion of metals recovered from the SacredCenote at Chichen ltza (1952 91) Bell suspension loopsare either single or double wires with very modest to fair-ly prominent sprue projections Bell clappers are almost ex-clusively copper beads a small pebble clapper was identi-fied in only one of the bells from this phase

America (Hosler 1994) They were presumably attached toclothing by their wide cruciform rear straps and it is pos-sible that they functioned either as garment fasteners or aspersonal adornments

62 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai BelizeSimmons et al

Figure 3 Filigree copper finger rings (Type IVA3) from Buk phaseburials lA 11811 (top) from Burial 16 in Str NI0-2 ring has an out-side dialneter of 20 em lA 683 (bottom) false wirework ring fromBurial2B in Str NI0-4 ring has an outside diameter of 19 em

Two rings both of filigree strapwork fonn (Type IVA3)were associated with Buk phase burials one in StructureN10-2 and the other in NIO-4 (Pendergast 1962 5291981 47) They are characterized by intricate and delicateornamental strapwork and with linked and separated S-scroll motifs (FIG 3) Both are edged with bands dividedby a center line which creates a double-band effect One ofthe rings IA 683 is among a number of copper objectsworn by the Maya at Lamanai that Hosler notes representa local southeastern Mesoamerican metalworking tradi-tion (1994 208) Another Buk phase ring a simple un-decorated example of Type 1VAl was found at the base ofthe midden abutting the NE corner of Structure NI0-9 lo-cated immediately west of Str NIO-2 (FIG 2)

Seven oval-shaped ornaments were recovered during ex-cavations of Burial N104-3 (FIG 4) These objects are theonly ones of their kind found at Lamanai and to ourknowledge the form has not been reported from any oth-er sites in the Maya area (Bray 1977 385) The ornamentsare made of interconnected S-scroll wires attached to an el-liptical frame This S-scroll design is fairly common in thelost-wax (eire perdue) casting tradition of lower Central

The Contexts Forms and Styles of MiddlePostclassic Cib Phase Copper Objects

Nine copper artifacts have been recovered from un-equivocal Cib phase contexts (TABLE 2) all from elite buri-als in Structure NI0-4 The relatively small number of cop-per objects is likely to be a reflection of the general under-representation of Middle Postclassic activities in the ar-chaeological record of Lamanai The information we havefrom this critical period comes from excavations that havetaken place at Str N10-4 (FIG 2) Other Middle Postclas-sic residential structures at the site have been tested but noother copper artifacts from definitive Cib contexts were re-covered

One bell two bell-headed pins and six dome-shapedclothing ornaments comprise the copper artifact assem-blage from Str NI0-4 The bell from Burial NI0-446 is asub-pyriform example with shallow false wirework on itsupper body and an undecorated lower resonator The bellis a variant of Type IC2a with what was probably a strapfor suspension but only a small portion remains Its clap-per is a small globular bead The two bell-headed pinsfrom Burial NI0-429 are composed of small plain glob-ular bells of Type IAla-i attached to relatively short pinswith a small cup-like element situated between the bell andthe shaft of the pin The small amount of cloth found ad-hering to these pins suggests that they were used as cloth-ing fasteners (Pendergast 1981 47) To our knowledge noother examples of the form have been recovered in theMaya area (Bray 1977 385)

The six domed copper ornaments with Burial N1 0-428consist of hollow hemispheres with applied beadingaround their edges and applied double straps across theirbacks for attachment These are identical to gold orna-ments found in Tomb 7 at Monte Alban dating to LatePostclassic times (Caso 1969 Plate 22) The functions ofthese clothing ornaments are not entirely clear althoughseveral lines of evidence discussed below suggest howthey may have been used

The Contexts Forms and Styles of LatePostclassic-Spanish Colonial PeriodYglesias Phase Copper Objects

The vast majority of the copper artifacts from Lamanaicome from the contact period community which lies in avaguely defined area around the two Spanish churchesMost are associated with residential structures apparently

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 63

Figure 4 Right elbow area of Burial NlO-4j3 with shell-shaped ornaments and globular bells This juvenilewas buried with the greatest number of copper objects at Lamanai The largest shell-shaped ornament inthe left-center of the image is 29 em in length Note the two globular bells in the right of the image aboveone of the two bone circlets A number of barrel-shaped marcasite beads are also shown in this image

Figure 5 Bell varieties from Lamanai In the top row all bells are pyriform Type lela except the globularbell (Type lala-i) on the right end of the row On the bottom row are mis-cast globular and pyriformbells while the two on the right are laterally mashed The three specimens on the bottom left are partiallycast bell walls

64 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic LamanaiJ BelizeSimmons et al

occupied by elite members of the community A total of142 of 187 (759) of the copper objects found atLamanai are believed to date from sometime shortly beforemid-16th century Spanish contact to the late 17th centuryDating of these metal artifacts is based primarily on theirassociation with stylistically diagnostic ceramic forms Thearchaeological contexts in which copper artifacts werefound in the Spanish Church Zone have yielded distinctiveYglesias phase ceramics which were made during theSpanish colonial period but introduced at an unknowndate prior to that time Their introduction could have tak-en place around 1500 to 1510 when the effects of Euro-pean presence were first felt in the circum-Caribbean re-gion but it is also possible that their manufacture began asearly asAD 1450 (Graham 2004) Alloyed copper artifactsare associated with materials of European origin such asglass beads and Spanish majolica and olive jar sherds inseveral contexts (Simmons 2004 2005a 2005b Pender-gast 1985) but the European materials are not necessarilyindicators of the time of manufacture of the metal objectsAnalyses of late precolumbian Maya ceramic artifacts fromthis critical transitional period are ongoing (Aimers 2007Howie 2007) It is likely that other ceramic phases will bedefined (Elizabeth Graham personal communication2008) further assisting us in refming our understanding ofthe advent of on-site metallurgy at Lamanai

At the time of Spanish contact most of Lamanais in-habitants were settled in the southern third of the site butreduction efforts probably led to further concentration ofthe community in the area that includes the Spanishchurches and a number of other nearby structures The ex-tent of the contact period community the architecturalcharacteristics of its residential and special use structuresand the material culture of its residents are still being ex-plored (Simmons 2005a Wiewall2005) A number of thestructures that have been investigated thus far have yieldedcopper artifacts the most prominent of these is StructureNll-18

More copper artifacts have been recovered at StructureNll-18 than at any other structure or locus at LamanaiOver 379 (71 of 187) of the entire assemblage of cop-per objects from the site comes from various contexts with-in and immediately around this important building andhalf (496) of the copper objects associated with Yglesiasceramic artifacts come from this one structure The build-ing is very likely to have had a variety of functions and mayhave served as a residence for Lamanais colonial period na-tive authority the cacique (Pendergast 1993 128) It alsomay have functioned as a guest house for visiting digni-taries ie a casa comunidad or casa real with attendantstorage and cooking areas (Jones 1989 67)

In addition to the copper artifacts recovered during ex-cavations of several other Late Postclassic to contact periodstructures a cluster of seven copper artifacts was found to-gether in a lagoon-side midden deposit located approxi-mately 60 m east of the second Spanish church Five of theseven are axe fragments that fit together to form two com-plete axes (see below) The remaining two artifacts appearto be casting reservoirs from lost-wax casting (Simmonsand Shugar 2008) We use the term casting reservoir todescribe a portion of a lost-wax cast mold that acts as a fun-nel into which molten copper is poured once the cavity ofthe mold is filled the reservoir acts as a receptacle for ex-cess metal (Long 1964 fig 1) After the metal has cooledsufficiently both the reservoir and the sprue (the tube lead-ing from the reservoir to the cast object) are detached andmay be remelted for later casting

The majority of copper artifacts (45 64 of 142) re-covered from the Spanish Church Zone are bells Smallernumbers of status display objects including fmger ringsand tweezers have been found associated with Yglesiasphase ceramics in the Spanish Church Zone Utilitarianobjects from this period include woodworking tools suchas axes chisels and wedges as well as fish hooks needlesand pins (TABLE 3) The remaining objects from late con-texts include copper pigs pieces of sheet metal prills andother manufacturing materials

With only two exceptions bells from this area of the siteare either plain or elongated globular or pyriform types(lAla-i ICla and IDla) (FIG 5) Two very small bellspossibly functioning as buttons or other kinds of personalornaments also come from late deposits Designs or deco-rative elements of any kind are virtually absent on the bellsfrom the Spanish Church Zone Bells from this period typ-ically have only single suspension loops although ten havedouble suspension loops Sprue projections are present onnearly all of the bells from this period and in only a fewcases does it appear that any effort was made to remove orminimize sprue remnants Almost all sprue remnants arefound on the tops of the suspension loops With only oneexception bell clappers are exclusively small pebbles

Only 11 of the 64 bells recovered from very late depositsat the site are whole or complete (TABLE 3) The remaining53 are either fragments (n = 24) or have been smashed orflattened and distorted (n = 29) At least some of the bellfragments found in Yglesiasphase deposits at the site rep-resent production failures In some cases only portions ofbell walls or suspension loops have been cast whereas inother instances bells are largely complete but have promi-nent holes in their resonating chambers (FIG 5) In a greatmany cases bells are not only mis-cast but also damagedoften severely apparently prior to their deposition in ar-

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 65

Table 3 Copper artifacts from Yglesias phase contexts at Lamanai Belize

Burial Midden Architecture Cache Total

Bells (whole) 2 7 2 0 11Bells(incompletemis-cast) 0 18 6 0 24Bells (flattened distorted) 0 17 12 0 29Axeceltchisel 1 3 6 2 12

Axe fragments 0 9 2 0 11Axe blanks 0 1 0 0 1Rings 2 3 0 0 5Sheet fragments 1 5 5 0 11

Needles 1 6 3 0 10Ingotspigs 0 2 1 0 3Casting reservoirs 0 2 0 0 2Prills 6 2 2 0 10

Fish hooks 0 4 1 0 5Pins 1 0 1 0 2Pin heads 2 0 0 0 2Tweezers 1 1 0 0 2

Figure 6 Axe (Type VB) in three pieces recovered from Span-ish contact period midden deposit located at the edge of theNew River Lagoon approximately 60 m east of Lamanais Span-ish churches These axe fragments along with two others (form-ing a smaller axe) were found together with the remains of twoprobable casting reservoirs All of these objects may have beendestined for melting and recasting by Lamanais metalsmiths

chaeological contexts Almost 45 (n = 29) of the bellsdating to this period show some kind of gross deformity inshape Descriptions in Pendergasts field notes of such bellsinclude crumpled torn laterally flattened distortedwith one part of side ripped away and apparently sacri-ficed torn and smashed

All 24 of the axes axe blanks axe fragments and chiselsrecovered from Lamanai come from LatefTerminal Post-classic and Spanish colonial period contexts They make up169 of the 142 copper objects found in the SpanishChurch Zone Various sizes of axeType VB were the mostcommon (FIG 6) whereas lesser numbers of chisel TypeVA were also found (Pendergast 1962 525) A probableaxe or chisel blank was recovered as an isolated find just be-low the ground surface in the Spanish Church Zone Met-allographic analysis of the probable blank shows a ham-

mered structure that has been annealed to some extent in-dicating that the object has been partially worked this iswhat would be expected of a blank destined to later beworked into a finished form (Shugar 2005a 12)

Many of the axes and chisels from this period show ev-idence of very heavy use with battered polls and dulled bitscommon Others however show only minimal modifica-tions of their working edges (Aaron Shugar personal com-munication 2007) Eight axe fragments have also been re-covered from the Spanish Church Zone Interestingly fiveof the eight fragments (mentioned above) found in a groupfit together to form two Type VB axes one of which isshown in Figure 6

Five rings were recovered from contact period contextsThree of the five are plain narrow bands (Types IVAI andIVA2) One of the two exceptions is a ring with threeraised border bands edging a panel of conjoined circles thatproduce a triangular piercing at its borders (Type IVA3)Like a great number of the bells recovered from late con-texts this ring is smashed flat and the metal is partly tornThe other decorated finger ring has two lines of small del-icate chevrons located very close to the edges with the twolines pointing in opposite directions It appears to be avariant of Type IVAI (Pendergast 1962 529)

All four pairs of tweezers in the assemblage were recov-ered in the Spanish Church Zone three were from burialsThe remaining half pair of tweezers was recovered from asurface context and may date to the final phase of pre-columbian occupation at Lamanai The tweezers varyslightly in size but three of the four are small All have cir-cular blades and can be classified as Type IIIC (Pendergast1962 524) One is somewhat larger in size with a bladediameter of 41 cm and weight of 212 g

The five fish hooks recovered at Lamanai come from

66 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

Figure 7 Copper pigs from Lamanai The ingot on the left measures 63 x 65 cm and weighs 2755 gThe pig in the center measures 48 x 50 cm and weighs 1255 g The pig on the right measures 25 x26 em and weighs 345 g

Figure 8 Copper prill recovered from the south side middenofStr Nll-27 north side midden ofStr Nll-18

Late Postclassic to Spanish colonial period contexts All areclassifiable as Type IXA2 (Pendergast 1962 525) Hookshanks are of varying size but all are looped at their topsfor line attachment Ten needles were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone six from Str Nll-18 Most areType 2a with a small piece of metal looped over to formthe eye (Hosler 1986 377) Several are of Type 1 with aperforation through the shank of the needle serving as theeye (Hosler 1986 369)All of the needles are made of coldhammered rolled sheet metal with either a rounded or anelongated eye Two pins and four pin fragn1ents were alsofound associated with Yglesias phase ceramic material Fi-nally a possible tinlder with a double loop suspensionmade from what may be a cut pyriform bell was found atStr Nll-18

Copper Production at LamanaiCompelling evidence for the production of copper ob-

jects at Lamanai comes from pigs prills mis-cast copper

objects and by-products of lost-wax casting found in thevicinity of the Spanish churches Four pigs of varying sizehave been recovered thus far The smallest pig weighs 58g and the largest weighs just over 275 g All have a slight-ly irregular circular shape and are plano-convex in section(FIG 7) Sprues vary in size and surfaces are typically pit-ted and granular

Other evidence of copper production at Lamanai isdiminutive in size and weight but no less important inhelping us to understand the nature of Maya metallurgy Itconsists of the prills mentioned above which are very smallbeads of metal that are by-products of casting activitiesPrills are formed when molten metal is poured into moldsThey are generally quite round in shape but are sometimesdeformed by the impact produced when liquefied metalsplashes falls and strikes the ground Owing to their mi-nuscule size prills typically go unnoticed during excava-tion One found during excavations in the Spanish ChurchZone is shown in Figure 8 To our knowledge no otherobjects that might definitively be called prills have been re-ported from the Maya area

Fragments of copper sheet of various sizes were alsofound in the Spanish Church Zone Five of the 11 recov-ered are from Structure Nll-18 and three are from an ad-jacent structure Most weigh between 1 and 2 g with thelargest weighing just over 6 g

Two large lumps of copper that appear to be remnantsof the lost-wax casting process were found together withthe group of axe fragments mentioned above (Simmonsand Shugar 2008) These two masses of copper weigh ap-proximately 21 and 86 g and appear to be remnants of cast-

ing reservoirs of the kind described by Long (1964 fig 1)in his experimental study of lost-wax casting techniques

Twelve copper objects from Lamanai came from surfacecontexts and thus cannot be assigned to a temporal phasewith any confidence (TABLE 2) All were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone and most came from the area of StrN 11-18 Their association with this structure makes it like-ly that most if not all of the objects which include onepig one ring one half pair of tweezers two probable pintips and seven bells are very late in date The remaining sixcopper artifacts that cannot be assigned to any temporalphase come from a burial within a small structure locatedin the Spanish Church Zone Excavations revealed a burialof two individuals a middle-aged female seated with herleft arm around the shoulders of a seated middle-agedmale described as The Loving Couple (Pendergast1989 White et alein press) Unfortunately no ceramic orother temporally diagnostic material accompanied the cou-pIe although Pendergast (1989 2) notes that the stairblock under which the couple was interred was probablyrebuilt at some point between rougWy AD 1450 and1500 A pair of disc-bladed copper tweezers of Type IIIC(Pendergast 1962 524) and five plain rings of Type IVAI(Pendergast 1962 529) were recovered in direct associa-tion with the skeletal remains The location of the tweez-ers to which a small amount of cotton cloth still adheredat the time of their discovery suggests the man wore theobject suspended from a cord or thong around his neckThe rings which enclosed a quantity of cotton cloth werefound between the scapulae of the female a position thatsuggests they served as ornaments for her hair braid orqueue

The Functions and Meanings of Copper Objectsat Lamanai

Early and Middle Postclassic Copper Objects asImported Wealth

Commencing around AD 1100 the ceramic traditionsof Early Postclassic times at Lamanai some of which grewout of those of the Late and Terminal Classic (Graham1987 73-81) underwent significant change New formsemerged many of which were radical departures from theapproach to pottery-malcing in preceding centuries Al-most certainly of local origin the shapes and decoration ofthe Buk ceramic phase quicldy supplanted what had gonebefore but at the same time retained certain elements ofthe earlier ceramic canon (Graham 1987 81-87) With thechanges in pottery came the development of limited ce-ramic ties with polities in the northern Yucatan peninsulathat on chronological grounds appear to involve the

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 67

transmission of ideas and perhaps of the ceramic productsof those ideas from Lamanai to recipients in the north(Pendergast 1986 236-245) Possibly in return for ce-ramics and other materials sent northward metal artifactsof non-Maya manufacture began to flow into Lamanai

The results of chemical compositional studies conduct-ed by Hosler (1994 208-213) indicate that the sources ofthe copper objects that began to be imported into Lamanaiduring Early Postclassic times are West Mexico and south-eastern Mesoamerica In addition some of the objects par-ticularly the finely made rings and ornaments are similarin form and style to examples from the West Mexican statesof Michoacan and Guerrero The exotic origin of the met-al objects found at Lamanai combined with the symbolicsignificance of the objects in their areas of manufacture ap-pears to have conferred upon the artifacts a special value asmarkers of rank or status in the Early to Middle PostclassicLamanai community Metal artifacts had an entirely per-sonal association and meaning in Buk and Cib phase timesThe occurrence of metals in interments marked by a con-siderable range of grave goods reinforces the role of the ob-jects as indicators of the owners elevated standing in thecommunity All but one of the 27 Buk and Cib copper ar-tifacts recovered at Lamanai are what Hosler (1994 208)describes as status display or ritual objects These includebells (one of which was a centerpiece in a jade and shellnecldace) elaborately made false wirework and dome-shaped ornaments and finely crafted filigree rings allmade by lost-wax casting (FIG 3) It seems likely that theexotic designs and origins of these and other metal artifactsfrom the period all crafted from an unfamiliar materialwith unique properties helped to make such objects high-ly appealing to elite members of the community The flowof exotic items such as these into Lamanai has been cited asone of the clear indicators of the communitys continuedvitality as reflected in long-distance social and commercialties following the collapse of so many other southern low-land Maya polities in the 9th century AD (Pendergast1991 1993)

The Late Postclassic and Spanish Colonial PeriodsCopper Objects as Items of Local Manufacture

The contexts in which copper artifacts were found dat-ing from the centuries just prior to and during Spanishcontact differ significantly from those in which Early andMiddle Postclassic copper artifacts were recovered Mostcopper objects from very late deposits were recovered frommiddens or from architectural contexts and a considerablenumber appear to have been manufactured at the siteprobably within the Spanish Church Zone Copper oresare not locally available in the Maya lowland area (Bateson

68 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

and Hall 1977 Bray 1971 1977 West 1994) The resultsof Hoslers (1994) chemical compositional studies indicatethat at the time of Spanish contact the Maya at Lamanaiwere crafting their own metal tools and status symbols us-ing material apparently produced by melting copper ob-jects imported in earlier times She notes that by historicaltimes artisans were crafting objects at Lamanai itself andthey seem to have been doing so by using recycled metal(Hosler 1994 214) The majority of copper artifacts pro-duced during this time were made from metal cast intomolds using the lost-wax method most are undecoratedbells Hosler (1994 53) notes that available evidence indi-cates that all bells manufactured in Mesoamerica were castin one piece using the lost-wax method Various aspects ofthis metalworking technique have been described using in-formation obtained from archaeological investigations(Bruhns 1972 Bruhns and Hammond 1982 1983 Pen-dergast 1962) experimental studies (Long 1964) ethno-historical accounts (Motolirua 1950 SahagUn 1959) andmaterial analyses (Hosler 1994 Noble 1975)

We do not know when copper metallurgy began atLamanai but there is evidence that the Maya there were ac-tively engaged in the production of copper objects duringSpanish contact times and probably earlier perhaps by theend of the Cib ceramic phase The strongest evidence forindigenous metallurgy at Lamanai comes from Yglesiasphase contexts and consists of three pigs ten prills an axeblank (or ingot possibly) and two probable lost-wax cast-ing reservoirs all representing production debris (TABLE

3) In addition 24 bell fragments that are production fail-ures were recovered from Yglesias phase deposits in theSpanish Church Zone Along with the pigs and prills thesemis-cast bells add weight to the idea that copper produc-tion was taking place at Lamanai since casting failures arenot likely to have been trade items It is even possible thatthe 29 flattened bells found in Yglesiasphase contexts werecrushed by Lamanais metalsmiths in preparation for re-casting In addition to the crushed bells several othersmashed and torn copper objects were recovered fromthese late deposits Minimizing the surface area of the met-al by crushing or flattening would have facilitated meltingfor reuse in two ways (Aaron Shugar personal communi-cation 2006) Reducing the size of the objects by flatteningwould have allowed a greater number of bells to fit into acrucible for melting Also crushing would have reducedthe length of time required for maintenance of tempera-tures high enough (10830 C) to melt all of the material inthe crucible

In sum two separate but related lines of evidence sug-gest that metalsmiths were experimenting with the pro-duction of copper objects at Lamanai sometime just prior

to or during early Spanish colonial times The evidence in-cludes the presence of mis-cast copper artifacts most no-tably bells along with the pigs blanks and other produc-tion materials mentioned above and the anomalous arti-fact chemistry noted in a number of the copper objects re-covered at the site (Hosler 1994) In some cases Lamanaismetalsmiths were successful in creating whole bells nee-dles axes finger rings fish hooks and pieces of sheet cop-per The recovery of numerous lost-wax production fail-ures however indicates that at other times success eludedthem Noble (1975 369) suggests that mis-cast objectscould be the result of low melting temperatures for thecopper the presence of gas bubbles in residual wax left inmolds or movement of the clay and sand core within lost-wax molds Whatever the causes the production failurespigs prills and blanks are the kinds of metal objects onewould expect to encounter at a site where the occupantswere actively experimenting with metallurgy (Craddock1995 Young et al 1999)

Given the intermittent nature of Spanish mission activ-ity in the region the almost complete absence of Europeancopper objects and the relatively small quantity of metalinvolved overall we believe that metallurgy at Lamanai hadits roots in Late or Terminal Postclassic times and there-fore reflects a Maya technological innovation One of themost notable aspects of the assemblage of copper objectsfrom Lamanai is the absence of Spanish religious itemssuch as devotional medals personal crosses and crucifIXesrosaries copper-alloy stars reliquaries seals stamps andrings These kinds of objects are common at 16th and17th-century Spanish colonial sites throughout Floridaand the Caribbean (Deagan 2002) All but possibly one ofthe copper objects found thus far at Lamanai are distinctlyMesoamerican in form and design and based on prelimi-nary metallurgical analyses (Shugar 2005a) it appears thatmanufacturing technologies were distinctly Mesoamericanas well

Maya Metalsmiths and the Meanings of CopperMaya metalsmiths have been the focus of very little dis-

cussion among scholars (Bray 1971 1977 Hosler 19862003 Pendergast 1962 West 1994) As a result their sta-tus in ancient Mesoamerican social and economic realmsremains unclear Smith (2003 122) notes that the pro-duction of copper and bronze objects required the techni-cal expertise of highly skilled craftspeople it is difficulthowever to determine the extent to which technical skill inmetallurgy might have been correlated with certain levelsof social status in the Postclassic Maya world At Lamanaimis-cast copper objects manufacturing debris pigs andother raw materials have been recovered in domestic mid-

196

Figure 9 Metalsmith depicted in the Florentine Codex Folio 796Note the open mold of an axe into which it appears molten metal isflowing Also note the brazier possibly ceramic into which the metal-smith is forcing oxygen through a hollow tube tipped with a tuyere(blowpipe tip)

dens associated with what appear to be the relnains of bothcommoner and elite households Although the results ofongoing archaeological investigations are encouraging it isstill difficult to assess the roles that Maya elites and com-moners may have had in copper production activities vis-a-vis current models of craft specialization (Brun1fiel and Ear-le 1987 Costin 1991 Earle 1987 2002)

It is clear however that brilliantly colorful copper bellswith their wondrous sounds and sacred connotations wereregarded by Postclassic Mesoamericans as prestige goodsand hence served as powerful symbols of social identity(Hosler 1994 155-156 Smith 2003 119-121) Thecomplex designs of the finely crafted rings ornamentalclothing fasteners and tweezers speak to the highly devel-oped technical abilities of the craft specialists who createdthem Metalsmiths are identified in Maya lexicons of theSpanish colonial period asAh chuuen kaak or artificers offire (Clark and Houston 1998 44-45)Ah chuuen kaak istranslated into Spanish in the Motul Dictionary as fundi-dor de metales or one who founds and casts metals(Clark and Houston 1998 44-45) The Florentine Codexshows a Mesoamerican metalsmith casting a metal axe in amold using a tuyere or blowpipe (FIG 9) the receptacle for

Journal of Field Archaeology(Vol 34) 2009 69

melting the copper is depicted as a brazier apparently ce-ramic (Sal1agun 1959 folio 796) Bray (1977 397) sug-gests that Maya metalsmiths may have been itinerant craftspecialists traveling with their own metalworking toolssuch as tuyeres crucibles and molds It is also possible thatcopper workers were full-time residents of certain commu-nities such as Lamanai and the crucibles mentioned byColumbus may have been destined for use by metalsmitl1swho resided in such communities

To date ve have not identified copper production fea-tures or tools such as furnaces ceramic braziers cruciblesor tuyeres at Lamanai If we were to find such elements indirect association with residential or other architectural re-mains or if copper-working tools were to be recovered inindividual burials we might be able to establish tentativeassociations between the objects and the metalsmiths whoused them In addition the study of households with as-sociated metal objects and production materials and work-shop areas as well as osteological analysis of certain buri-als might provide information regarding the lives of an-cient Maya metalsmiths and the organization of their spe-cialized craft activity At present however the data shed lit-de light on the identities of Maya metalsmiths To ourknowledge copper production features have not yet beenidentified archaeologically in the Maya lowlands and veryfew copper-vorking tools have been found (but see Bruhnsand Hammond 1982 1983 Paris 2008 Shugar 2005b)The presence of a single copper pig at Tipu in the westernCayo District of Belize (FIG I) is indicative of metalwork-ing in that community as well (Graham and Wayman1989) Current archaeometallurgical studies at Lamanaiare aimed at exploring the social and economic positions ofmetalsmiths in late Maya society (Simmons 2005a Sim-mons and Shugar 2008) but until we know more aboutthe features and tools such individuals used how they or-ganized productive activities and where they lived it willbe difficult to understand the roles that Maya metalsmithsplayed in Postclassic period communities

Fortunately we know more about how the objects pro-duced by metalsmiths were regarded by the Maya Lexicaldata from Spanish colonial period dictionaries providesome insights into the various meanings assigned to cop-per objects by the people who used them In the Tzotzildictionary the term used for campana (bell) is tak)in(Laughlin 1988 643) the same term that is used formoney in both the Tzotzil Dictionary (Laughlin 1988631) and the San Francisco Dictionary (Michelon 1976584) In contemporary Chontal Maya the word tak)in istranslated as money metal literally the suns excrement(IZnowles 1984 462)

This last usage of the term suggests an underlying mean-

70 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanaiy BelizeSimmons et al

ing that is related to Maya perceptions of metals and theirproperties The significance of metallic sound and coloramong some Mesoamerican peoples particularly those inWest Mexico has been explored in Hoslers seminal workThe Sounds and Colors of Power (1994) We would argue asHosler (1986 1994 2003) has in the case of West Mexi-can peoples that certain metallic colors and sounds wereconsidered divine by the Maya The association of metalwith the sun a deity known as J(inich Ahau or God G(Miller and Taube 1993) suggests that metal objects wereperceived by the Maya as having animate qualities that theyconsidered to be divine

In the 17th century the Spanish Friar Diego Lopez deCogolludo provided unambiguous information regardinghow copper bells were used and perceived by the Maya atthe time of Spanish contact in Yucatan La moneda de queusabany era campanillas y cascabelesde cobre)que tentan el val-Orj segun la grandeza (The money that they used waslittle bells and bells of copper that had value according totheir size ) (1688 181) The writings of Diego Quija-da a 16th-century alcalde mayor (head of a provincial ad-ministration in the Spanish colonial period) also includereferences to the value ascribed to copper bells during theSpanish colonial period in Yucatan In discussing fmeslevied on Maya convicted of idolatry Quijada notes thatcacao red stones beads and campanillas y cascabelesde co-bre que tentan de tiempo de su infidelidad (small bells andbells of copper that they had from the time of their infi-delity) were to be paid to Spanish authorities (Scholes andAdams 1938 Book 2 214)

Diego de Landas 16th-century work Rclacidn de lasCosas de Yucatan (Tozzer 1941) provides further informa-tion on how the contact period Maya used some copperstatus and utilitarian objects Landa notes They had a cer-tain soft brass and with a slight mixture of gold fromwhich they made their hatchets by casting them and somelittle bells with which they danced (Tozzer 1941 186)Information from the Cordemex Dictionary supports theidea that Maya dancers used bells the terms cheh ok andcheh ok mascab are translated as cascabelesque usan los dan-zantes (bells that the dancers use) (Vasquez 1980 87)Evidently bells were attached to bands possibly of wovencotton that were worn around the lower leg just underthe knee Figure 10 shows a partially reconstructed Post-classic ceramic vessel from Lamanai used to burn incensewith what appear to be bells worn in this manner Thomp-son notes that a censer found at Mayapan believed to rep-resent the deity Xipe Totec has at about knee level bellspainted yellow presumably to represent gold or burnishedcopper (2005 9)

Other metal objects including copper axes also held a

certain value for the Maya In a manuscript written in 1620following his travels through central Guatemala FriarGabriel Salazar notes Once when in charge of searchingvery carefully among the Indians of San Marcos Coban orManche for as many as possible of the small copper axesused in these lands in pagan times I bought them eventhough they were expensive (Feldman 2000 52-53)

ConclusionThe number and variety of copper objects recovered at

Lamanai indicate that as a new commodity with remark-ably unique aural and visual properties metal artifactsplayed an important role for at least some members ofPostclassic and later contact period society Masson notesthat metal was probably the most higWy valued luxurygood in this region of the Postclassic Maya world (2003279) The inclusion of copper bells elaborate rings andbutton -like ornaments in Early and Middle Postclassic eliteburials shows that at least some residents of the site dis-played such items in certain social and ritual settings Cop-per bells worn during performances acted as auditory re-minders of the high social standing of those who displayedthem and the lustrous copper finger rings and elaborateclothing ornaments served as visual indicators of elevatedstatus

The results of chemical analyses indicate that during theBuk and Cib ceramic phases finished copper objects wornas items of personal adornment were imported intoLamanai from West Mexico and southeastern Mesoameri-ca (Hosler 1994 210-213) The sample of Bule and Cibphase copper artifacts is small but the size of the assem-blage is not the product of sampling bias given the exten-sive nature of survey and excavation in the areas occupiedduring these times (Pendergast 1981) It is conceivablethat the sample is not representative of the level of impor-tation of metal artifacts in Buk and Cib times because theartifact quantity was reduced by recycling a portion of theobjects as material for later Yglesiasphase metalworking atthe site The fact that copper artifacts have not been recov-ered from non-elite Buk or Cib phase contexts suggeststhat elite residents at the site during the first few centuriesof the Postclassic period were the beneficiaries of thestrong trade relationships that the community enjoyed be-yond the Maya area

The contexts from which metal artifacts have been re-covered suggest that the view of metals at Lamanaichanged over the course of the last few centuries of thesites existence During the Early and Middle Postclassicperiods copper objects appear to have had a personalmeaning for members of the communitys elite Elaboratecopper ornaments fmger rings and bells originating from

Journal of Field ArchaeologyVol 34) 2009 71

Figure 10 Late Postclassic incensario from Lamanai with apparent copper bells on left leg probablydepicting a Maya dancer

regions located well outside the Maya lowlands adornedelite individuals during their lives and accompanied themto their graves Ethnohistorical accounts indicate that suchobjects were symbols of elevated social rank among theMaya their gleaming visual quality which may have beenseen as reflecting the power of the sun on those who worethem helped to reify that status

The absence of copper objects in Buk and Cib phasemiddens and architecture stands in sharp contrast to thepattern of intrasite distribution just prior to and duringSpanish colonial times During the later Yglesias phaseboth elite and non-elite individuals appear to have had ac-cess to copper objects including statusritual objects im-ported from West Mexico and southeastern MesoamericaElite and non-elite community members also had access toobjects made of recycled copper produced at LamanaiCopper artifacts found in elite residential and burial con-texts include imported and recycled objects in rougWyequal numbers Copper objects produced in Yglesias timeswere both decorative and utilitarian in nature whereasthose imported from outside the Maya area in earlier cen-turies were exclusively for status display purposes

Since the Maya at Lamanai were producing copper ob-

jects from what Hosler describes as stock metal derivedfrom melted-down artifacts (1994 214) we find it puz-zling that such a large proportion of those fronl Yglesiascontexts (57) were discarded along with domestic refusePotentially recyclable bells rings needles and other fin-ished objects have been recovered in substantial numbersduring our excavations in Terminal Postclassic-contact pe-riod middens in the vicinity of the Spanish churches In ad-dition raw materials for production such as the axe frag-ments and lost-wax casting reservoirs mentioned abovealong with all four copper pigs come from rubbish dumpsor locations without apparent structural association Thepresence of these and other copper artifacts including allof the production failures found around Structure N 11-18and in the area of the Spanish churches suggests that thisportion of the site was a center for the production of cop-per objects (Simmons 2004 200Sa Simmons and Shugar2008)

Over thirty years ago Warwick Bray noted that thequantity and diversity of copper objects at Lamanai is bestaccounted for by local manufacture in Belize (1977 397)Although we have made solid strides in the past threedecades toward understanding where and how copper ob-

72 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

jects were produced in the southern Maya lowlands westill have some distance to go It is our hope that further in-vestigations will bring us closer to an understanding of theadvent of copper metallurgy the organizational aspects ofthis specialized craft activity and the roles and status ofmetalsmiths in ancient Maya society

AcknowledgmentsThe 1974-1986 Lamanai excavations were funded by

the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada the Royal Ontario Museum and the Richard IveyFoundation of London Ontario Simmons 1999-2001excavations at Lamanai along with chemical analyses ofthe copper artifacts recovered there were made possible byresearch grants from the H John Heinz III Fund for LatinAmerican Archaeology Technological analyses of the cop-per artifacts from Lamanai were supported in part by aCharles L Cahill Award from the University of North Car-olina Wilmington We appreciate the efforts of DrsDorothy Hosler and Aaron Shugar in conducting theseanalysesThanks to Stan Loten for the perspective drawingof Structure N10-2 We also appreciate the thoughtfulcomments of three anonymous reviewers At Lamanai lo-gistical support was provided by the Gonzalez family theEsquivel family Las Orquedias Womens Group and theLamanai Field Research Center Our sincere thanks go toall of the men and women of San Jose Succotz IndianChurch and San Carlos who have helped us over the yearsto gain a better understanding of Lamanais rich history

Scott E Simmons (phD 1996) University of Colorado) Boul-der) is an Associate Professorat the University of North Car-olina Wilmington and Co-Principal Investigator of theLamanai Archaeological Project His researchfocus isMayaarchaeology and his interests include craft specialization)household and political economies)and archaeometallutgy inthe Postclassicand Spanish colonialperiods in MesoamericaMailing address University of North Carolina Wilmington)601 South College Road) Wilmington) NC 28403 E-mailsimmonssuncwedu

DavidM Pendetgast (phD 1961) University ofCalifor-nia at LosAngeles) is an Honorary Research Fellow at the In-stitute ofArchaeology) University College London He has con-ducted investigations in Belize for the past four and a halfdecades and directed the Royal Ontario Museum)s LamanaiArchaeological Project from 1974 to 1986 Mailing addressInstitute ofArchaeology) University College London) 31-34Gordon Square) London) U IC WC1H opr

Elizabeth Graham (phD 1983) Cambridge University) isa Senior Lecturer at the Institute ofArchaeology) UniversityCollege London and Co-Principal Investigator of the

Lamanai Archaeological Project Her researchfocus isMayaarchaeology in Belize and her interests include the Postclassicand Spanish colonial periods as well as human-environmentalinteraction in the humid tropics and the development of tropi-cal urbanism Mailing address Institute ofArchaeology) Uni-versity College London) 31-34 Gordon Square) London) U ICWC1HOPr

Aimers James J2007 The Curse of the Ware Using Ceramic Systems in Belize

Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 4 101-110Alexander Rani T and Susan Kepecs

2005 The Postclassic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoameri-ca~ in Susan Kepecs and Rani T Alexander eds The Post-classic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoamerica Archaeolog-ical Perspectives Albuquerque University of New MexicoPress 1-12

Andres Christopher R and K Anne Pyburn2004 Out of Sight The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods

at Chau Hiix Belize in Arthur A Demarest Prudence MRice and Don S Rice eds The Terminal Classic in theMaya Lowlands Boulder University Press of Colorado402--423

Andrews Anthony P1990 The Role of Ports in Maya Civilization in Flora S Clan-

cy and Peter D Harrison eds Vision and Revision inMayaStudies Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press159-167

1993 Late Postclassic Maya Archaeology Journal of World Pre-history 7 35-69

Bateson J Howard and Ian H S Hall1977 The Geology of the Maya Mountains) Belize London Her

Majestys Stationary OfficeBerdan Frances F

2003 The Economy of Postclassic Mesoamerica in Michael ESmith and Frances F Berdan eds The PostclassicMesoamer-ican World Salt Lake City University of Utah Press93-95

Blackiston A Hooton1910 Recent Discoveries in Honduras American Anthropologist

12 536-54lBray Warwick

1971 Ancient American Metal-Smiths Proceedings of the RoyalAnthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 197125-43

1977 Maya Metalwork and its External Connections in N or-man Hammond ed Social Process in Maya Prehistory Es-says in Honour of Sir J Eric S Thompson New York Acade-mic Press 365--403

Bruhns Karen O1972 Prehispanic Cire Perdue Casting Moulds from Columbia

Man 7 308-31l

Bruhns Karen 0 and Norman Hammond1982 Maya Metal Workers Tool from Belize Antiquity 56

175-1801983 Moho Cay Hammer A Revised Opinion Antiquity 57

136-137

America (Hosler 1994) They were presumably attached toclothing by their wide cruciform rear straps and it is pos-sible that they functioned either as garment fasteners or aspersonal adornments

62 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai BelizeSimmons et al

Figure 3 Filigree copper finger rings (Type IVA3) from Buk phaseburials lA 11811 (top) from Burial 16 in Str NI0-2 ring has an out-side dialneter of 20 em lA 683 (bottom) false wirework ring fromBurial2B in Str NI0-4 ring has an outside diameter of 19 em

Two rings both of filigree strapwork fonn (Type IVA3)were associated with Buk phase burials one in StructureN10-2 and the other in NIO-4 (Pendergast 1962 5291981 47) They are characterized by intricate and delicateornamental strapwork and with linked and separated S-scroll motifs (FIG 3) Both are edged with bands dividedby a center line which creates a double-band effect One ofthe rings IA 683 is among a number of copper objectsworn by the Maya at Lamanai that Hosler notes representa local southeastern Mesoamerican metalworking tradi-tion (1994 208) Another Buk phase ring a simple un-decorated example of Type 1VAl was found at the base ofthe midden abutting the NE corner of Structure NI0-9 lo-cated immediately west of Str NIO-2 (FIG 2)

Seven oval-shaped ornaments were recovered during ex-cavations of Burial N104-3 (FIG 4) These objects are theonly ones of their kind found at Lamanai and to ourknowledge the form has not been reported from any oth-er sites in the Maya area (Bray 1977 385) The ornamentsare made of interconnected S-scroll wires attached to an el-liptical frame This S-scroll design is fairly common in thelost-wax (eire perdue) casting tradition of lower Central

The Contexts Forms and Styles of MiddlePostclassic Cib Phase Copper Objects

Nine copper artifacts have been recovered from un-equivocal Cib phase contexts (TABLE 2) all from elite buri-als in Structure NI0-4 The relatively small number of cop-per objects is likely to be a reflection of the general under-representation of Middle Postclassic activities in the ar-chaeological record of Lamanai The information we havefrom this critical period comes from excavations that havetaken place at Str N10-4 (FIG 2) Other Middle Postclas-sic residential structures at the site have been tested but noother copper artifacts from definitive Cib contexts were re-covered

One bell two bell-headed pins and six dome-shapedclothing ornaments comprise the copper artifact assem-blage from Str NI0-4 The bell from Burial NI0-446 is asub-pyriform example with shallow false wirework on itsupper body and an undecorated lower resonator The bellis a variant of Type IC2a with what was probably a strapfor suspension but only a small portion remains Its clap-per is a small globular bead The two bell-headed pinsfrom Burial NI0-429 are composed of small plain glob-ular bells of Type IAla-i attached to relatively short pinswith a small cup-like element situated between the bell andthe shaft of the pin The small amount of cloth found ad-hering to these pins suggests that they were used as cloth-ing fasteners (Pendergast 1981 47) To our knowledge noother examples of the form have been recovered in theMaya area (Bray 1977 385)

The six domed copper ornaments with Burial N1 0-428consist of hollow hemispheres with applied beadingaround their edges and applied double straps across theirbacks for attachment These are identical to gold orna-ments found in Tomb 7 at Monte Alban dating to LatePostclassic times (Caso 1969 Plate 22) The functions ofthese clothing ornaments are not entirely clear althoughseveral lines of evidence discussed below suggest howthey may have been used

The Contexts Forms and Styles of LatePostclassic-Spanish Colonial PeriodYglesias Phase Copper Objects

The vast majority of the copper artifacts from Lamanaicome from the contact period community which lies in avaguely defined area around the two Spanish churchesMost are associated with residential structures apparently

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 63

Figure 4 Right elbow area of Burial NlO-4j3 with shell-shaped ornaments and globular bells This juvenilewas buried with the greatest number of copper objects at Lamanai The largest shell-shaped ornament inthe left-center of the image is 29 em in length Note the two globular bells in the right of the image aboveone of the two bone circlets A number of barrel-shaped marcasite beads are also shown in this image

Figure 5 Bell varieties from Lamanai In the top row all bells are pyriform Type lela except the globularbell (Type lala-i) on the right end of the row On the bottom row are mis-cast globular and pyriformbells while the two on the right are laterally mashed The three specimens on the bottom left are partiallycast bell walls

64 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic LamanaiJ BelizeSimmons et al

occupied by elite members of the community A total of142 of 187 (759) of the copper objects found atLamanai are believed to date from sometime shortly beforemid-16th century Spanish contact to the late 17th centuryDating of these metal artifacts is based primarily on theirassociation with stylistically diagnostic ceramic forms Thearchaeological contexts in which copper artifacts werefound in the Spanish Church Zone have yielded distinctiveYglesias phase ceramics which were made during theSpanish colonial period but introduced at an unknowndate prior to that time Their introduction could have tak-en place around 1500 to 1510 when the effects of Euro-pean presence were first felt in the circum-Caribbean re-gion but it is also possible that their manufacture began asearly asAD 1450 (Graham 2004) Alloyed copper artifactsare associated with materials of European origin such asglass beads and Spanish majolica and olive jar sherds inseveral contexts (Simmons 2004 2005a 2005b Pender-gast 1985) but the European materials are not necessarilyindicators of the time of manufacture of the metal objectsAnalyses of late precolumbian Maya ceramic artifacts fromthis critical transitional period are ongoing (Aimers 2007Howie 2007) It is likely that other ceramic phases will bedefined (Elizabeth Graham personal communication2008) further assisting us in refming our understanding ofthe advent of on-site metallurgy at Lamanai

At the time of Spanish contact most of Lamanais in-habitants were settled in the southern third of the site butreduction efforts probably led to further concentration ofthe community in the area that includes the Spanishchurches and a number of other nearby structures The ex-tent of the contact period community the architecturalcharacteristics of its residential and special use structuresand the material culture of its residents are still being ex-plored (Simmons 2005a Wiewall2005) A number of thestructures that have been investigated thus far have yieldedcopper artifacts the most prominent of these is StructureNll-18

More copper artifacts have been recovered at StructureNll-18 than at any other structure or locus at LamanaiOver 379 (71 of 187) of the entire assemblage of cop-per objects from the site comes from various contexts with-in and immediately around this important building andhalf (496) of the copper objects associated with Yglesiasceramic artifacts come from this one structure The build-ing is very likely to have had a variety of functions and mayhave served as a residence for Lamanais colonial period na-tive authority the cacique (Pendergast 1993 128) It alsomay have functioned as a guest house for visiting digni-taries ie a casa comunidad or casa real with attendantstorage and cooking areas (Jones 1989 67)

In addition to the copper artifacts recovered during ex-cavations of several other Late Postclassic to contact periodstructures a cluster of seven copper artifacts was found to-gether in a lagoon-side midden deposit located approxi-mately 60 m east of the second Spanish church Five of theseven are axe fragments that fit together to form two com-plete axes (see below) The remaining two artifacts appearto be casting reservoirs from lost-wax casting (Simmonsand Shugar 2008) We use the term casting reservoir todescribe a portion of a lost-wax cast mold that acts as a fun-nel into which molten copper is poured once the cavity ofthe mold is filled the reservoir acts as a receptacle for ex-cess metal (Long 1964 fig 1) After the metal has cooledsufficiently both the reservoir and the sprue (the tube lead-ing from the reservoir to the cast object) are detached andmay be remelted for later casting

The majority of copper artifacts (45 64 of 142) re-covered from the Spanish Church Zone are bells Smallernumbers of status display objects including fmger ringsand tweezers have been found associated with Yglesiasphase ceramics in the Spanish Church Zone Utilitarianobjects from this period include woodworking tools suchas axes chisels and wedges as well as fish hooks needlesand pins (TABLE 3) The remaining objects from late con-texts include copper pigs pieces of sheet metal prills andother manufacturing materials

With only two exceptions bells from this area of the siteare either plain or elongated globular or pyriform types(lAla-i ICla and IDla) (FIG 5) Two very small bellspossibly functioning as buttons or other kinds of personalornaments also come from late deposits Designs or deco-rative elements of any kind are virtually absent on the bellsfrom the Spanish Church Zone Bells from this period typ-ically have only single suspension loops although ten havedouble suspension loops Sprue projections are present onnearly all of the bells from this period and in only a fewcases does it appear that any effort was made to remove orminimize sprue remnants Almost all sprue remnants arefound on the tops of the suspension loops With only oneexception bell clappers are exclusively small pebbles

Only 11 of the 64 bells recovered from very late depositsat the site are whole or complete (TABLE 3) The remaining53 are either fragments (n = 24) or have been smashed orflattened and distorted (n = 29) At least some of the bellfragments found in Yglesiasphase deposits at the site rep-resent production failures In some cases only portions ofbell walls or suspension loops have been cast whereas inother instances bells are largely complete but have promi-nent holes in their resonating chambers (FIG 5) In a greatmany cases bells are not only mis-cast but also damagedoften severely apparently prior to their deposition in ar-

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 65

Table 3 Copper artifacts from Yglesias phase contexts at Lamanai Belize

Burial Midden Architecture Cache Total

Bells (whole) 2 7 2 0 11Bells(incompletemis-cast) 0 18 6 0 24Bells (flattened distorted) 0 17 12 0 29Axeceltchisel 1 3 6 2 12

Axe fragments 0 9 2 0 11Axe blanks 0 1 0 0 1Rings 2 3 0 0 5Sheet fragments 1 5 5 0 11

Needles 1 6 3 0 10Ingotspigs 0 2 1 0 3Casting reservoirs 0 2 0 0 2Prills 6 2 2 0 10

Fish hooks 0 4 1 0 5Pins 1 0 1 0 2Pin heads 2 0 0 0 2Tweezers 1 1 0 0 2

Figure 6 Axe (Type VB) in three pieces recovered from Span-ish contact period midden deposit located at the edge of theNew River Lagoon approximately 60 m east of Lamanais Span-ish churches These axe fragments along with two others (form-ing a smaller axe) were found together with the remains of twoprobable casting reservoirs All of these objects may have beendestined for melting and recasting by Lamanais metalsmiths

chaeological contexts Almost 45 (n = 29) of the bellsdating to this period show some kind of gross deformity inshape Descriptions in Pendergasts field notes of such bellsinclude crumpled torn laterally flattened distortedwith one part of side ripped away and apparently sacri-ficed torn and smashed

All 24 of the axes axe blanks axe fragments and chiselsrecovered from Lamanai come from LatefTerminal Post-classic and Spanish colonial period contexts They make up169 of the 142 copper objects found in the SpanishChurch Zone Various sizes of axeType VB were the mostcommon (FIG 6) whereas lesser numbers of chisel TypeVA were also found (Pendergast 1962 525) A probableaxe or chisel blank was recovered as an isolated find just be-low the ground surface in the Spanish Church Zone Met-allographic analysis of the probable blank shows a ham-

mered structure that has been annealed to some extent in-dicating that the object has been partially worked this iswhat would be expected of a blank destined to later beworked into a finished form (Shugar 2005a 12)

Many of the axes and chisels from this period show ev-idence of very heavy use with battered polls and dulled bitscommon Others however show only minimal modifica-tions of their working edges (Aaron Shugar personal com-munication 2007) Eight axe fragments have also been re-covered from the Spanish Church Zone Interestingly fiveof the eight fragments (mentioned above) found in a groupfit together to form two Type VB axes one of which isshown in Figure 6

Five rings were recovered from contact period contextsThree of the five are plain narrow bands (Types IVAI andIVA2) One of the two exceptions is a ring with threeraised border bands edging a panel of conjoined circles thatproduce a triangular piercing at its borders (Type IVA3)Like a great number of the bells recovered from late con-texts this ring is smashed flat and the metal is partly tornThe other decorated finger ring has two lines of small del-icate chevrons located very close to the edges with the twolines pointing in opposite directions It appears to be avariant of Type IVAI (Pendergast 1962 529)

All four pairs of tweezers in the assemblage were recov-ered in the Spanish Church Zone three were from burialsThe remaining half pair of tweezers was recovered from asurface context and may date to the final phase of pre-columbian occupation at Lamanai The tweezers varyslightly in size but three of the four are small All have cir-cular blades and can be classified as Type IIIC (Pendergast1962 524) One is somewhat larger in size with a bladediameter of 41 cm and weight of 212 g

The five fish hooks recovered at Lamanai come from

66 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

Figure 7 Copper pigs from Lamanai The ingot on the left measures 63 x 65 cm and weighs 2755 gThe pig in the center measures 48 x 50 cm and weighs 1255 g The pig on the right measures 25 x26 em and weighs 345 g

Figure 8 Copper prill recovered from the south side middenofStr Nll-27 north side midden ofStr Nll-18

Late Postclassic to Spanish colonial period contexts All areclassifiable as Type IXA2 (Pendergast 1962 525) Hookshanks are of varying size but all are looped at their topsfor line attachment Ten needles were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone six from Str Nll-18 Most areType 2a with a small piece of metal looped over to formthe eye (Hosler 1986 377) Several are of Type 1 with aperforation through the shank of the needle serving as theeye (Hosler 1986 369)All of the needles are made of coldhammered rolled sheet metal with either a rounded or anelongated eye Two pins and four pin fragn1ents were alsofound associated with Yglesias phase ceramic material Fi-nally a possible tinlder with a double loop suspensionmade from what may be a cut pyriform bell was found atStr Nll-18

Copper Production at LamanaiCompelling evidence for the production of copper ob-

jects at Lamanai comes from pigs prills mis-cast copper

objects and by-products of lost-wax casting found in thevicinity of the Spanish churches Four pigs of varying sizehave been recovered thus far The smallest pig weighs 58g and the largest weighs just over 275 g All have a slight-ly irregular circular shape and are plano-convex in section(FIG 7) Sprues vary in size and surfaces are typically pit-ted and granular

Other evidence of copper production at Lamanai isdiminutive in size and weight but no less important inhelping us to understand the nature of Maya metallurgy Itconsists of the prills mentioned above which are very smallbeads of metal that are by-products of casting activitiesPrills are formed when molten metal is poured into moldsThey are generally quite round in shape but are sometimesdeformed by the impact produced when liquefied metalsplashes falls and strikes the ground Owing to their mi-nuscule size prills typically go unnoticed during excava-tion One found during excavations in the Spanish ChurchZone is shown in Figure 8 To our knowledge no otherobjects that might definitively be called prills have been re-ported from the Maya area

Fragments of copper sheet of various sizes were alsofound in the Spanish Church Zone Five of the 11 recov-ered are from Structure Nll-18 and three are from an ad-jacent structure Most weigh between 1 and 2 g with thelargest weighing just over 6 g

Two large lumps of copper that appear to be remnantsof the lost-wax casting process were found together withthe group of axe fragments mentioned above (Simmonsand Shugar 2008) These two masses of copper weigh ap-proximately 21 and 86 g and appear to be remnants of cast-

ing reservoirs of the kind described by Long (1964 fig 1)in his experimental study of lost-wax casting techniques

Twelve copper objects from Lamanai came from surfacecontexts and thus cannot be assigned to a temporal phasewith any confidence (TABLE 2) All were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone and most came from the area of StrN 11-18 Their association with this structure makes it like-ly that most if not all of the objects which include onepig one ring one half pair of tweezers two probable pintips and seven bells are very late in date The remaining sixcopper artifacts that cannot be assigned to any temporalphase come from a burial within a small structure locatedin the Spanish Church Zone Excavations revealed a burialof two individuals a middle-aged female seated with herleft arm around the shoulders of a seated middle-agedmale described as The Loving Couple (Pendergast1989 White et alein press) Unfortunately no ceramic orother temporally diagnostic material accompanied the cou-pIe although Pendergast (1989 2) notes that the stairblock under which the couple was interred was probablyrebuilt at some point between rougWy AD 1450 and1500 A pair of disc-bladed copper tweezers of Type IIIC(Pendergast 1962 524) and five plain rings of Type IVAI(Pendergast 1962 529) were recovered in direct associa-tion with the skeletal remains The location of the tweez-ers to which a small amount of cotton cloth still adheredat the time of their discovery suggests the man wore theobject suspended from a cord or thong around his neckThe rings which enclosed a quantity of cotton cloth werefound between the scapulae of the female a position thatsuggests they served as ornaments for her hair braid orqueue

The Functions and Meanings of Copper Objectsat Lamanai

Early and Middle Postclassic Copper Objects asImported Wealth

Commencing around AD 1100 the ceramic traditionsof Early Postclassic times at Lamanai some of which grewout of those of the Late and Terminal Classic (Graham1987 73-81) underwent significant change New formsemerged many of which were radical departures from theapproach to pottery-malcing in preceding centuries Al-most certainly of local origin the shapes and decoration ofthe Buk ceramic phase quicldy supplanted what had gonebefore but at the same time retained certain elements ofthe earlier ceramic canon (Graham 1987 81-87) With thechanges in pottery came the development of limited ce-ramic ties with polities in the northern Yucatan peninsulathat on chronological grounds appear to involve the

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 67

transmission of ideas and perhaps of the ceramic productsof those ideas from Lamanai to recipients in the north(Pendergast 1986 236-245) Possibly in return for ce-ramics and other materials sent northward metal artifactsof non-Maya manufacture began to flow into Lamanai

The results of chemical compositional studies conduct-ed by Hosler (1994 208-213) indicate that the sources ofthe copper objects that began to be imported into Lamanaiduring Early Postclassic times are West Mexico and south-eastern Mesoamerica In addition some of the objects par-ticularly the finely made rings and ornaments are similarin form and style to examples from the West Mexican statesof Michoacan and Guerrero The exotic origin of the met-al objects found at Lamanai combined with the symbolicsignificance of the objects in their areas of manufacture ap-pears to have conferred upon the artifacts a special value asmarkers of rank or status in the Early to Middle PostclassicLamanai community Metal artifacts had an entirely per-sonal association and meaning in Buk and Cib phase timesThe occurrence of metals in interments marked by a con-siderable range of grave goods reinforces the role of the ob-jects as indicators of the owners elevated standing in thecommunity All but one of the 27 Buk and Cib copper ar-tifacts recovered at Lamanai are what Hosler (1994 208)describes as status display or ritual objects These includebells (one of which was a centerpiece in a jade and shellnecldace) elaborately made false wirework and dome-shaped ornaments and finely crafted filigree rings allmade by lost-wax casting (FIG 3) It seems likely that theexotic designs and origins of these and other metal artifactsfrom the period all crafted from an unfamiliar materialwith unique properties helped to make such objects high-ly appealing to elite members of the community The flowof exotic items such as these into Lamanai has been cited asone of the clear indicators of the communitys continuedvitality as reflected in long-distance social and commercialties following the collapse of so many other southern low-land Maya polities in the 9th century AD (Pendergast1991 1993)

The Late Postclassic and Spanish Colonial PeriodsCopper Objects as Items of Local Manufacture

The contexts in which copper artifacts were found dat-ing from the centuries just prior to and during Spanishcontact differ significantly from those in which Early andMiddle Postclassic copper artifacts were recovered Mostcopper objects from very late deposits were recovered frommiddens or from architectural contexts and a considerablenumber appear to have been manufactured at the siteprobably within the Spanish Church Zone Copper oresare not locally available in the Maya lowland area (Bateson

68 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

and Hall 1977 Bray 1971 1977 West 1994) The resultsof Hoslers (1994) chemical compositional studies indicatethat at the time of Spanish contact the Maya at Lamanaiwere crafting their own metal tools and status symbols us-ing material apparently produced by melting copper ob-jects imported in earlier times She notes that by historicaltimes artisans were crafting objects at Lamanai itself andthey seem to have been doing so by using recycled metal(Hosler 1994 214) The majority of copper artifacts pro-duced during this time were made from metal cast intomolds using the lost-wax method most are undecoratedbells Hosler (1994 53) notes that available evidence indi-cates that all bells manufactured in Mesoamerica were castin one piece using the lost-wax method Various aspects ofthis metalworking technique have been described using in-formation obtained from archaeological investigations(Bruhns 1972 Bruhns and Hammond 1982 1983 Pen-dergast 1962) experimental studies (Long 1964) ethno-historical accounts (Motolirua 1950 SahagUn 1959) andmaterial analyses (Hosler 1994 Noble 1975)

We do not know when copper metallurgy began atLamanai but there is evidence that the Maya there were ac-tively engaged in the production of copper objects duringSpanish contact times and probably earlier perhaps by theend of the Cib ceramic phase The strongest evidence forindigenous metallurgy at Lamanai comes from Yglesiasphase contexts and consists of three pigs ten prills an axeblank (or ingot possibly) and two probable lost-wax cast-ing reservoirs all representing production debris (TABLE

3) In addition 24 bell fragments that are production fail-ures were recovered from Yglesias phase deposits in theSpanish Church Zone Along with the pigs and prills thesemis-cast bells add weight to the idea that copper produc-tion was taking place at Lamanai since casting failures arenot likely to have been trade items It is even possible thatthe 29 flattened bells found in Yglesiasphase contexts werecrushed by Lamanais metalsmiths in preparation for re-casting In addition to the crushed bells several othersmashed and torn copper objects were recovered fromthese late deposits Minimizing the surface area of the met-al by crushing or flattening would have facilitated meltingfor reuse in two ways (Aaron Shugar personal communi-cation 2006) Reducing the size of the objects by flatteningwould have allowed a greater number of bells to fit into acrucible for melting Also crushing would have reducedthe length of time required for maintenance of tempera-tures high enough (10830 C) to melt all of the material inthe crucible

In sum two separate but related lines of evidence sug-gest that metalsmiths were experimenting with the pro-duction of copper objects at Lamanai sometime just prior

to or during early Spanish colonial times The evidence in-cludes the presence of mis-cast copper artifacts most no-tably bells along with the pigs blanks and other produc-tion materials mentioned above and the anomalous arti-fact chemistry noted in a number of the copper objects re-covered at the site (Hosler 1994) In some cases Lamanaismetalsmiths were successful in creating whole bells nee-dles axes finger rings fish hooks and pieces of sheet cop-per The recovery of numerous lost-wax production fail-ures however indicates that at other times success eludedthem Noble (1975 369) suggests that mis-cast objectscould be the result of low melting temperatures for thecopper the presence of gas bubbles in residual wax left inmolds or movement of the clay and sand core within lost-wax molds Whatever the causes the production failurespigs prills and blanks are the kinds of metal objects onewould expect to encounter at a site where the occupantswere actively experimenting with metallurgy (Craddock1995 Young et al 1999)

Given the intermittent nature of Spanish mission activ-ity in the region the almost complete absence of Europeancopper objects and the relatively small quantity of metalinvolved overall we believe that metallurgy at Lamanai hadits roots in Late or Terminal Postclassic times and there-fore reflects a Maya technological innovation One of themost notable aspects of the assemblage of copper objectsfrom Lamanai is the absence of Spanish religious itemssuch as devotional medals personal crosses and crucifIXesrosaries copper-alloy stars reliquaries seals stamps andrings These kinds of objects are common at 16th and17th-century Spanish colonial sites throughout Floridaand the Caribbean (Deagan 2002) All but possibly one ofthe copper objects found thus far at Lamanai are distinctlyMesoamerican in form and design and based on prelimi-nary metallurgical analyses (Shugar 2005a) it appears thatmanufacturing technologies were distinctly Mesoamericanas well

Maya Metalsmiths and the Meanings of CopperMaya metalsmiths have been the focus of very little dis-

cussion among scholars (Bray 1971 1977 Hosler 19862003 Pendergast 1962 West 1994) As a result their sta-tus in ancient Mesoamerican social and economic realmsremains unclear Smith (2003 122) notes that the pro-duction of copper and bronze objects required the techni-cal expertise of highly skilled craftspeople it is difficulthowever to determine the extent to which technical skill inmetallurgy might have been correlated with certain levelsof social status in the Postclassic Maya world At Lamanaimis-cast copper objects manufacturing debris pigs andother raw materials have been recovered in domestic mid-

196

Figure 9 Metalsmith depicted in the Florentine Codex Folio 796Note the open mold of an axe into which it appears molten metal isflowing Also note the brazier possibly ceramic into which the metal-smith is forcing oxygen through a hollow tube tipped with a tuyere(blowpipe tip)

dens associated with what appear to be the relnains of bothcommoner and elite households Although the results ofongoing archaeological investigations are encouraging it isstill difficult to assess the roles that Maya elites and com-moners may have had in copper production activities vis-a-vis current models of craft specialization (Brun1fiel and Ear-le 1987 Costin 1991 Earle 1987 2002)

It is clear however that brilliantly colorful copper bellswith their wondrous sounds and sacred connotations wereregarded by Postclassic Mesoamericans as prestige goodsand hence served as powerful symbols of social identity(Hosler 1994 155-156 Smith 2003 119-121) Thecomplex designs of the finely crafted rings ornamentalclothing fasteners and tweezers speak to the highly devel-oped technical abilities of the craft specialists who createdthem Metalsmiths are identified in Maya lexicons of theSpanish colonial period asAh chuuen kaak or artificers offire (Clark and Houston 1998 44-45)Ah chuuen kaak istranslated into Spanish in the Motul Dictionary as fundi-dor de metales or one who founds and casts metals(Clark and Houston 1998 44-45) The Florentine Codexshows a Mesoamerican metalsmith casting a metal axe in amold using a tuyere or blowpipe (FIG 9) the receptacle for

Journal of Field Archaeology(Vol 34) 2009 69

melting the copper is depicted as a brazier apparently ce-ramic (Sal1agun 1959 folio 796) Bray (1977 397) sug-gests that Maya metalsmiths may have been itinerant craftspecialists traveling with their own metalworking toolssuch as tuyeres crucibles and molds It is also possible thatcopper workers were full-time residents of certain commu-nities such as Lamanai and the crucibles mentioned byColumbus may have been destined for use by metalsmitl1swho resided in such communities

To date ve have not identified copper production fea-tures or tools such as furnaces ceramic braziers cruciblesor tuyeres at Lamanai If we were to find such elements indirect association with residential or other architectural re-mains or if copper-working tools were to be recovered inindividual burials we might be able to establish tentativeassociations between the objects and the metalsmiths whoused them In addition the study of households with as-sociated metal objects and production materials and work-shop areas as well as osteological analysis of certain buri-als might provide information regarding the lives of an-cient Maya metalsmiths and the organization of their spe-cialized craft activity At present however the data shed lit-de light on the identities of Maya metalsmiths To ourknowledge copper production features have not yet beenidentified archaeologically in the Maya lowlands and veryfew copper-vorking tools have been found (but see Bruhnsand Hammond 1982 1983 Paris 2008 Shugar 2005b)The presence of a single copper pig at Tipu in the westernCayo District of Belize (FIG I) is indicative of metalwork-ing in that community as well (Graham and Wayman1989) Current archaeometallurgical studies at Lamanaiare aimed at exploring the social and economic positions ofmetalsmiths in late Maya society (Simmons 2005a Sim-mons and Shugar 2008) but until we know more aboutthe features and tools such individuals used how they or-ganized productive activities and where they lived it willbe difficult to understand the roles that Maya metalsmithsplayed in Postclassic period communities

Fortunately we know more about how the objects pro-duced by metalsmiths were regarded by the Maya Lexicaldata from Spanish colonial period dictionaries providesome insights into the various meanings assigned to cop-per objects by the people who used them In the Tzotzildictionary the term used for campana (bell) is tak)in(Laughlin 1988 643) the same term that is used formoney in both the Tzotzil Dictionary (Laughlin 1988631) and the San Francisco Dictionary (Michelon 1976584) In contemporary Chontal Maya the word tak)in istranslated as money metal literally the suns excrement(IZnowles 1984 462)

This last usage of the term suggests an underlying mean-

70 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanaiy BelizeSimmons et al

ing that is related to Maya perceptions of metals and theirproperties The significance of metallic sound and coloramong some Mesoamerican peoples particularly those inWest Mexico has been explored in Hoslers seminal workThe Sounds and Colors of Power (1994) We would argue asHosler (1986 1994 2003) has in the case of West Mexi-can peoples that certain metallic colors and sounds wereconsidered divine by the Maya The association of metalwith the sun a deity known as J(inich Ahau or God G(Miller and Taube 1993) suggests that metal objects wereperceived by the Maya as having animate qualities that theyconsidered to be divine

In the 17th century the Spanish Friar Diego Lopez deCogolludo provided unambiguous information regardinghow copper bells were used and perceived by the Maya atthe time of Spanish contact in Yucatan La moneda de queusabany era campanillas y cascabelesde cobre)que tentan el val-Orj segun la grandeza (The money that they used waslittle bells and bells of copper that had value according totheir size ) (1688 181) The writings of Diego Quija-da a 16th-century alcalde mayor (head of a provincial ad-ministration in the Spanish colonial period) also includereferences to the value ascribed to copper bells during theSpanish colonial period in Yucatan In discussing fmeslevied on Maya convicted of idolatry Quijada notes thatcacao red stones beads and campanillas y cascabelesde co-bre que tentan de tiempo de su infidelidad (small bells andbells of copper that they had from the time of their infi-delity) were to be paid to Spanish authorities (Scholes andAdams 1938 Book 2 214)

Diego de Landas 16th-century work Rclacidn de lasCosas de Yucatan (Tozzer 1941) provides further informa-tion on how the contact period Maya used some copperstatus and utilitarian objects Landa notes They had a cer-tain soft brass and with a slight mixture of gold fromwhich they made their hatchets by casting them and somelittle bells with which they danced (Tozzer 1941 186)Information from the Cordemex Dictionary supports theidea that Maya dancers used bells the terms cheh ok andcheh ok mascab are translated as cascabelesque usan los dan-zantes (bells that the dancers use) (Vasquez 1980 87)Evidently bells were attached to bands possibly of wovencotton that were worn around the lower leg just underthe knee Figure 10 shows a partially reconstructed Post-classic ceramic vessel from Lamanai used to burn incensewith what appear to be bells worn in this manner Thomp-son notes that a censer found at Mayapan believed to rep-resent the deity Xipe Totec has at about knee level bellspainted yellow presumably to represent gold or burnishedcopper (2005 9)

Other metal objects including copper axes also held a

certain value for the Maya In a manuscript written in 1620following his travels through central Guatemala FriarGabriel Salazar notes Once when in charge of searchingvery carefully among the Indians of San Marcos Coban orManche for as many as possible of the small copper axesused in these lands in pagan times I bought them eventhough they were expensive (Feldman 2000 52-53)

ConclusionThe number and variety of copper objects recovered at

Lamanai indicate that as a new commodity with remark-ably unique aural and visual properties metal artifactsplayed an important role for at least some members ofPostclassic and later contact period society Masson notesthat metal was probably the most higWy valued luxurygood in this region of the Postclassic Maya world (2003279) The inclusion of copper bells elaborate rings andbutton -like ornaments in Early and Middle Postclassic eliteburials shows that at least some residents of the site dis-played such items in certain social and ritual settings Cop-per bells worn during performances acted as auditory re-minders of the high social standing of those who displayedthem and the lustrous copper finger rings and elaborateclothing ornaments served as visual indicators of elevatedstatus

The results of chemical analyses indicate that during theBuk and Cib ceramic phases finished copper objects wornas items of personal adornment were imported intoLamanai from West Mexico and southeastern Mesoameri-ca (Hosler 1994 210-213) The sample of Bule and Cibphase copper artifacts is small but the size of the assem-blage is not the product of sampling bias given the exten-sive nature of survey and excavation in the areas occupiedduring these times (Pendergast 1981) It is conceivablethat the sample is not representative of the level of impor-tation of metal artifacts in Buk and Cib times because theartifact quantity was reduced by recycling a portion of theobjects as material for later Yglesiasphase metalworking atthe site The fact that copper artifacts have not been recov-ered from non-elite Buk or Cib phase contexts suggeststhat elite residents at the site during the first few centuriesof the Postclassic period were the beneficiaries of thestrong trade relationships that the community enjoyed be-yond the Maya area

The contexts from which metal artifacts have been re-covered suggest that the view of metals at Lamanaichanged over the course of the last few centuries of thesites existence During the Early and Middle Postclassicperiods copper objects appear to have had a personalmeaning for members of the communitys elite Elaboratecopper ornaments fmger rings and bells originating from

Journal of Field ArchaeologyVol 34) 2009 71

Figure 10 Late Postclassic incensario from Lamanai with apparent copper bells on left leg probablydepicting a Maya dancer

regions located well outside the Maya lowlands adornedelite individuals during their lives and accompanied themto their graves Ethnohistorical accounts indicate that suchobjects were symbols of elevated social rank among theMaya their gleaming visual quality which may have beenseen as reflecting the power of the sun on those who worethem helped to reify that status

The absence of copper objects in Buk and Cib phasemiddens and architecture stands in sharp contrast to thepattern of intrasite distribution just prior to and duringSpanish colonial times During the later Yglesias phaseboth elite and non-elite individuals appear to have had ac-cess to copper objects including statusritual objects im-ported from West Mexico and southeastern MesoamericaElite and non-elite community members also had access toobjects made of recycled copper produced at LamanaiCopper artifacts found in elite residential and burial con-texts include imported and recycled objects in rougWyequal numbers Copper objects produced in Yglesias timeswere both decorative and utilitarian in nature whereasthose imported from outside the Maya area in earlier cen-turies were exclusively for status display purposes

Since the Maya at Lamanai were producing copper ob-

jects from what Hosler describes as stock metal derivedfrom melted-down artifacts (1994 214) we find it puz-zling that such a large proportion of those fronl Yglesiascontexts (57) were discarded along with domestic refusePotentially recyclable bells rings needles and other fin-ished objects have been recovered in substantial numbersduring our excavations in Terminal Postclassic-contact pe-riod middens in the vicinity of the Spanish churches In ad-dition raw materials for production such as the axe frag-ments and lost-wax casting reservoirs mentioned abovealong with all four copper pigs come from rubbish dumpsor locations without apparent structural association Thepresence of these and other copper artifacts including allof the production failures found around Structure N 11-18and in the area of the Spanish churches suggests that thisportion of the site was a center for the production of cop-per objects (Simmons 2004 200Sa Simmons and Shugar2008)

Over thirty years ago Warwick Bray noted that thequantity and diversity of copper objects at Lamanai is bestaccounted for by local manufacture in Belize (1977 397)Although we have made solid strides in the past threedecades toward understanding where and how copper ob-

72 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

jects were produced in the southern Maya lowlands westill have some distance to go It is our hope that further in-vestigations will bring us closer to an understanding of theadvent of copper metallurgy the organizational aspects ofthis specialized craft activity and the roles and status ofmetalsmiths in ancient Maya society

AcknowledgmentsThe 1974-1986 Lamanai excavations were funded by

the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada the Royal Ontario Museum and the Richard IveyFoundation of London Ontario Simmons 1999-2001excavations at Lamanai along with chemical analyses ofthe copper artifacts recovered there were made possible byresearch grants from the H John Heinz III Fund for LatinAmerican Archaeology Technological analyses of the cop-per artifacts from Lamanai were supported in part by aCharles L Cahill Award from the University of North Car-olina Wilmington We appreciate the efforts of DrsDorothy Hosler and Aaron Shugar in conducting theseanalysesThanks to Stan Loten for the perspective drawingof Structure N10-2 We also appreciate the thoughtfulcomments of three anonymous reviewers At Lamanai lo-gistical support was provided by the Gonzalez family theEsquivel family Las Orquedias Womens Group and theLamanai Field Research Center Our sincere thanks go toall of the men and women of San Jose Succotz IndianChurch and San Carlos who have helped us over the yearsto gain a better understanding of Lamanais rich history

Scott E Simmons (phD 1996) University of Colorado) Boul-der) is an Associate Professorat the University of North Car-olina Wilmington and Co-Principal Investigator of theLamanai Archaeological Project His researchfocus isMayaarchaeology and his interests include craft specialization)household and political economies)and archaeometallutgy inthe Postclassicand Spanish colonialperiods in MesoamericaMailing address University of North Carolina Wilmington)601 South College Road) Wilmington) NC 28403 E-mailsimmonssuncwedu

DavidM Pendetgast (phD 1961) University ofCalifor-nia at LosAngeles) is an Honorary Research Fellow at the In-stitute ofArchaeology) University College London He has con-ducted investigations in Belize for the past four and a halfdecades and directed the Royal Ontario Museum)s LamanaiArchaeological Project from 1974 to 1986 Mailing addressInstitute ofArchaeology) University College London) 31-34Gordon Square) London) U IC WC1H opr

Elizabeth Graham (phD 1983) Cambridge University) isa Senior Lecturer at the Institute ofArchaeology) UniversityCollege London and Co-Principal Investigator of the

Lamanai Archaeological Project Her researchfocus isMayaarchaeology in Belize and her interests include the Postclassicand Spanish colonial periods as well as human-environmentalinteraction in the humid tropics and the development of tropi-cal urbanism Mailing address Institute ofArchaeology) Uni-versity College London) 31-34 Gordon Square) London) U ICWC1HOPr

Aimers James J2007 The Curse of the Ware Using Ceramic Systems in Belize

Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 4 101-110Alexander Rani T and Susan Kepecs

2005 The Postclassic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoameri-ca~ in Susan Kepecs and Rani T Alexander eds The Post-classic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoamerica Archaeolog-ical Perspectives Albuquerque University of New MexicoPress 1-12

Andres Christopher R and K Anne Pyburn2004 Out of Sight The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods

at Chau Hiix Belize in Arthur A Demarest Prudence MRice and Don S Rice eds The Terminal Classic in theMaya Lowlands Boulder University Press of Colorado402--423

Andrews Anthony P1990 The Role of Ports in Maya Civilization in Flora S Clan-

cy and Peter D Harrison eds Vision and Revision inMayaStudies Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press159-167

1993 Late Postclassic Maya Archaeology Journal of World Pre-history 7 35-69

Bateson J Howard and Ian H S Hall1977 The Geology of the Maya Mountains) Belize London Her

Majestys Stationary OfficeBerdan Frances F

2003 The Economy of Postclassic Mesoamerica in Michael ESmith and Frances F Berdan eds The PostclassicMesoamer-ican World Salt Lake City University of Utah Press93-95

Blackiston A Hooton1910 Recent Discoveries in Honduras American Anthropologist

12 536-54lBray Warwick

1971 Ancient American Metal-Smiths Proceedings of the RoyalAnthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 197125-43

1977 Maya Metalwork and its External Connections in N or-man Hammond ed Social Process in Maya Prehistory Es-says in Honour of Sir J Eric S Thompson New York Acade-mic Press 365--403

Bruhns Karen O1972 Prehispanic Cire Perdue Casting Moulds from Columbia

Man 7 308-31l

Bruhns Karen 0 and Norman Hammond1982 Maya Metal Workers Tool from Belize Antiquity 56

175-1801983 Moho Cay Hammer A Revised Opinion Antiquity 57

136-137

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 63

Figure 4 Right elbow area of Burial NlO-4j3 with shell-shaped ornaments and globular bells This juvenilewas buried with the greatest number of copper objects at Lamanai The largest shell-shaped ornament inthe left-center of the image is 29 em in length Note the two globular bells in the right of the image aboveone of the two bone circlets A number of barrel-shaped marcasite beads are also shown in this image

Figure 5 Bell varieties from Lamanai In the top row all bells are pyriform Type lela except the globularbell (Type lala-i) on the right end of the row On the bottom row are mis-cast globular and pyriformbells while the two on the right are laterally mashed The three specimens on the bottom left are partiallycast bell walls

64 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic LamanaiJ BelizeSimmons et al

occupied by elite members of the community A total of142 of 187 (759) of the copper objects found atLamanai are believed to date from sometime shortly beforemid-16th century Spanish contact to the late 17th centuryDating of these metal artifacts is based primarily on theirassociation with stylistically diagnostic ceramic forms Thearchaeological contexts in which copper artifacts werefound in the Spanish Church Zone have yielded distinctiveYglesias phase ceramics which were made during theSpanish colonial period but introduced at an unknowndate prior to that time Their introduction could have tak-en place around 1500 to 1510 when the effects of Euro-pean presence were first felt in the circum-Caribbean re-gion but it is also possible that their manufacture began asearly asAD 1450 (Graham 2004) Alloyed copper artifactsare associated with materials of European origin such asglass beads and Spanish majolica and olive jar sherds inseveral contexts (Simmons 2004 2005a 2005b Pender-gast 1985) but the European materials are not necessarilyindicators of the time of manufacture of the metal objectsAnalyses of late precolumbian Maya ceramic artifacts fromthis critical transitional period are ongoing (Aimers 2007Howie 2007) It is likely that other ceramic phases will bedefined (Elizabeth Graham personal communication2008) further assisting us in refming our understanding ofthe advent of on-site metallurgy at Lamanai

At the time of Spanish contact most of Lamanais in-habitants were settled in the southern third of the site butreduction efforts probably led to further concentration ofthe community in the area that includes the Spanishchurches and a number of other nearby structures The ex-tent of the contact period community the architecturalcharacteristics of its residential and special use structuresand the material culture of its residents are still being ex-plored (Simmons 2005a Wiewall2005) A number of thestructures that have been investigated thus far have yieldedcopper artifacts the most prominent of these is StructureNll-18

More copper artifacts have been recovered at StructureNll-18 than at any other structure or locus at LamanaiOver 379 (71 of 187) of the entire assemblage of cop-per objects from the site comes from various contexts with-in and immediately around this important building andhalf (496) of the copper objects associated with Yglesiasceramic artifacts come from this one structure The build-ing is very likely to have had a variety of functions and mayhave served as a residence for Lamanais colonial period na-tive authority the cacique (Pendergast 1993 128) It alsomay have functioned as a guest house for visiting digni-taries ie a casa comunidad or casa real with attendantstorage and cooking areas (Jones 1989 67)

In addition to the copper artifacts recovered during ex-cavations of several other Late Postclassic to contact periodstructures a cluster of seven copper artifacts was found to-gether in a lagoon-side midden deposit located approxi-mately 60 m east of the second Spanish church Five of theseven are axe fragments that fit together to form two com-plete axes (see below) The remaining two artifacts appearto be casting reservoirs from lost-wax casting (Simmonsand Shugar 2008) We use the term casting reservoir todescribe a portion of a lost-wax cast mold that acts as a fun-nel into which molten copper is poured once the cavity ofthe mold is filled the reservoir acts as a receptacle for ex-cess metal (Long 1964 fig 1) After the metal has cooledsufficiently both the reservoir and the sprue (the tube lead-ing from the reservoir to the cast object) are detached andmay be remelted for later casting

The majority of copper artifacts (45 64 of 142) re-covered from the Spanish Church Zone are bells Smallernumbers of status display objects including fmger ringsand tweezers have been found associated with Yglesiasphase ceramics in the Spanish Church Zone Utilitarianobjects from this period include woodworking tools suchas axes chisels and wedges as well as fish hooks needlesand pins (TABLE 3) The remaining objects from late con-texts include copper pigs pieces of sheet metal prills andother manufacturing materials

With only two exceptions bells from this area of the siteare either plain or elongated globular or pyriform types(lAla-i ICla and IDla) (FIG 5) Two very small bellspossibly functioning as buttons or other kinds of personalornaments also come from late deposits Designs or deco-rative elements of any kind are virtually absent on the bellsfrom the Spanish Church Zone Bells from this period typ-ically have only single suspension loops although ten havedouble suspension loops Sprue projections are present onnearly all of the bells from this period and in only a fewcases does it appear that any effort was made to remove orminimize sprue remnants Almost all sprue remnants arefound on the tops of the suspension loops With only oneexception bell clappers are exclusively small pebbles

Only 11 of the 64 bells recovered from very late depositsat the site are whole or complete (TABLE 3) The remaining53 are either fragments (n = 24) or have been smashed orflattened and distorted (n = 29) At least some of the bellfragments found in Yglesiasphase deposits at the site rep-resent production failures In some cases only portions ofbell walls or suspension loops have been cast whereas inother instances bells are largely complete but have promi-nent holes in their resonating chambers (FIG 5) In a greatmany cases bells are not only mis-cast but also damagedoften severely apparently prior to their deposition in ar-

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 65

Table 3 Copper artifacts from Yglesias phase contexts at Lamanai Belize

Burial Midden Architecture Cache Total

Bells (whole) 2 7 2 0 11Bells(incompletemis-cast) 0 18 6 0 24Bells (flattened distorted) 0 17 12 0 29Axeceltchisel 1 3 6 2 12

Axe fragments 0 9 2 0 11Axe blanks 0 1 0 0 1Rings 2 3 0 0 5Sheet fragments 1 5 5 0 11

Needles 1 6 3 0 10Ingotspigs 0 2 1 0 3Casting reservoirs 0 2 0 0 2Prills 6 2 2 0 10

Fish hooks 0 4 1 0 5Pins 1 0 1 0 2Pin heads 2 0 0 0 2Tweezers 1 1 0 0 2

Figure 6 Axe (Type VB) in three pieces recovered from Span-ish contact period midden deposit located at the edge of theNew River Lagoon approximately 60 m east of Lamanais Span-ish churches These axe fragments along with two others (form-ing a smaller axe) were found together with the remains of twoprobable casting reservoirs All of these objects may have beendestined for melting and recasting by Lamanais metalsmiths

chaeological contexts Almost 45 (n = 29) of the bellsdating to this period show some kind of gross deformity inshape Descriptions in Pendergasts field notes of such bellsinclude crumpled torn laterally flattened distortedwith one part of side ripped away and apparently sacri-ficed torn and smashed

All 24 of the axes axe blanks axe fragments and chiselsrecovered from Lamanai come from LatefTerminal Post-classic and Spanish colonial period contexts They make up169 of the 142 copper objects found in the SpanishChurch Zone Various sizes of axeType VB were the mostcommon (FIG 6) whereas lesser numbers of chisel TypeVA were also found (Pendergast 1962 525) A probableaxe or chisel blank was recovered as an isolated find just be-low the ground surface in the Spanish Church Zone Met-allographic analysis of the probable blank shows a ham-

mered structure that has been annealed to some extent in-dicating that the object has been partially worked this iswhat would be expected of a blank destined to later beworked into a finished form (Shugar 2005a 12)

Many of the axes and chisels from this period show ev-idence of very heavy use with battered polls and dulled bitscommon Others however show only minimal modifica-tions of their working edges (Aaron Shugar personal com-munication 2007) Eight axe fragments have also been re-covered from the Spanish Church Zone Interestingly fiveof the eight fragments (mentioned above) found in a groupfit together to form two Type VB axes one of which isshown in Figure 6

Five rings were recovered from contact period contextsThree of the five are plain narrow bands (Types IVAI andIVA2) One of the two exceptions is a ring with threeraised border bands edging a panel of conjoined circles thatproduce a triangular piercing at its borders (Type IVA3)Like a great number of the bells recovered from late con-texts this ring is smashed flat and the metal is partly tornThe other decorated finger ring has two lines of small del-icate chevrons located very close to the edges with the twolines pointing in opposite directions It appears to be avariant of Type IVAI (Pendergast 1962 529)

All four pairs of tweezers in the assemblage were recov-ered in the Spanish Church Zone three were from burialsThe remaining half pair of tweezers was recovered from asurface context and may date to the final phase of pre-columbian occupation at Lamanai The tweezers varyslightly in size but three of the four are small All have cir-cular blades and can be classified as Type IIIC (Pendergast1962 524) One is somewhat larger in size with a bladediameter of 41 cm and weight of 212 g

The five fish hooks recovered at Lamanai come from

66 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

Figure 7 Copper pigs from Lamanai The ingot on the left measures 63 x 65 cm and weighs 2755 gThe pig in the center measures 48 x 50 cm and weighs 1255 g The pig on the right measures 25 x26 em and weighs 345 g

Figure 8 Copper prill recovered from the south side middenofStr Nll-27 north side midden ofStr Nll-18

Late Postclassic to Spanish colonial period contexts All areclassifiable as Type IXA2 (Pendergast 1962 525) Hookshanks are of varying size but all are looped at their topsfor line attachment Ten needles were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone six from Str Nll-18 Most areType 2a with a small piece of metal looped over to formthe eye (Hosler 1986 377) Several are of Type 1 with aperforation through the shank of the needle serving as theeye (Hosler 1986 369)All of the needles are made of coldhammered rolled sheet metal with either a rounded or anelongated eye Two pins and four pin fragn1ents were alsofound associated with Yglesias phase ceramic material Fi-nally a possible tinlder with a double loop suspensionmade from what may be a cut pyriform bell was found atStr Nll-18

Copper Production at LamanaiCompelling evidence for the production of copper ob-

jects at Lamanai comes from pigs prills mis-cast copper

objects and by-products of lost-wax casting found in thevicinity of the Spanish churches Four pigs of varying sizehave been recovered thus far The smallest pig weighs 58g and the largest weighs just over 275 g All have a slight-ly irregular circular shape and are plano-convex in section(FIG 7) Sprues vary in size and surfaces are typically pit-ted and granular

Other evidence of copper production at Lamanai isdiminutive in size and weight but no less important inhelping us to understand the nature of Maya metallurgy Itconsists of the prills mentioned above which are very smallbeads of metal that are by-products of casting activitiesPrills are formed when molten metal is poured into moldsThey are generally quite round in shape but are sometimesdeformed by the impact produced when liquefied metalsplashes falls and strikes the ground Owing to their mi-nuscule size prills typically go unnoticed during excava-tion One found during excavations in the Spanish ChurchZone is shown in Figure 8 To our knowledge no otherobjects that might definitively be called prills have been re-ported from the Maya area

Fragments of copper sheet of various sizes were alsofound in the Spanish Church Zone Five of the 11 recov-ered are from Structure Nll-18 and three are from an ad-jacent structure Most weigh between 1 and 2 g with thelargest weighing just over 6 g

Two large lumps of copper that appear to be remnantsof the lost-wax casting process were found together withthe group of axe fragments mentioned above (Simmonsand Shugar 2008) These two masses of copper weigh ap-proximately 21 and 86 g and appear to be remnants of cast-

ing reservoirs of the kind described by Long (1964 fig 1)in his experimental study of lost-wax casting techniques

Twelve copper objects from Lamanai came from surfacecontexts and thus cannot be assigned to a temporal phasewith any confidence (TABLE 2) All were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone and most came from the area of StrN 11-18 Their association with this structure makes it like-ly that most if not all of the objects which include onepig one ring one half pair of tweezers two probable pintips and seven bells are very late in date The remaining sixcopper artifacts that cannot be assigned to any temporalphase come from a burial within a small structure locatedin the Spanish Church Zone Excavations revealed a burialof two individuals a middle-aged female seated with herleft arm around the shoulders of a seated middle-agedmale described as The Loving Couple (Pendergast1989 White et alein press) Unfortunately no ceramic orother temporally diagnostic material accompanied the cou-pIe although Pendergast (1989 2) notes that the stairblock under which the couple was interred was probablyrebuilt at some point between rougWy AD 1450 and1500 A pair of disc-bladed copper tweezers of Type IIIC(Pendergast 1962 524) and five plain rings of Type IVAI(Pendergast 1962 529) were recovered in direct associa-tion with the skeletal remains The location of the tweez-ers to which a small amount of cotton cloth still adheredat the time of their discovery suggests the man wore theobject suspended from a cord or thong around his neckThe rings which enclosed a quantity of cotton cloth werefound between the scapulae of the female a position thatsuggests they served as ornaments for her hair braid orqueue

The Functions and Meanings of Copper Objectsat Lamanai

Early and Middle Postclassic Copper Objects asImported Wealth

Commencing around AD 1100 the ceramic traditionsof Early Postclassic times at Lamanai some of which grewout of those of the Late and Terminal Classic (Graham1987 73-81) underwent significant change New formsemerged many of which were radical departures from theapproach to pottery-malcing in preceding centuries Al-most certainly of local origin the shapes and decoration ofthe Buk ceramic phase quicldy supplanted what had gonebefore but at the same time retained certain elements ofthe earlier ceramic canon (Graham 1987 81-87) With thechanges in pottery came the development of limited ce-ramic ties with polities in the northern Yucatan peninsulathat on chronological grounds appear to involve the

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 67

transmission of ideas and perhaps of the ceramic productsof those ideas from Lamanai to recipients in the north(Pendergast 1986 236-245) Possibly in return for ce-ramics and other materials sent northward metal artifactsof non-Maya manufacture began to flow into Lamanai

The results of chemical compositional studies conduct-ed by Hosler (1994 208-213) indicate that the sources ofthe copper objects that began to be imported into Lamanaiduring Early Postclassic times are West Mexico and south-eastern Mesoamerica In addition some of the objects par-ticularly the finely made rings and ornaments are similarin form and style to examples from the West Mexican statesof Michoacan and Guerrero The exotic origin of the met-al objects found at Lamanai combined with the symbolicsignificance of the objects in their areas of manufacture ap-pears to have conferred upon the artifacts a special value asmarkers of rank or status in the Early to Middle PostclassicLamanai community Metal artifacts had an entirely per-sonal association and meaning in Buk and Cib phase timesThe occurrence of metals in interments marked by a con-siderable range of grave goods reinforces the role of the ob-jects as indicators of the owners elevated standing in thecommunity All but one of the 27 Buk and Cib copper ar-tifacts recovered at Lamanai are what Hosler (1994 208)describes as status display or ritual objects These includebells (one of which was a centerpiece in a jade and shellnecldace) elaborately made false wirework and dome-shaped ornaments and finely crafted filigree rings allmade by lost-wax casting (FIG 3) It seems likely that theexotic designs and origins of these and other metal artifactsfrom the period all crafted from an unfamiliar materialwith unique properties helped to make such objects high-ly appealing to elite members of the community The flowof exotic items such as these into Lamanai has been cited asone of the clear indicators of the communitys continuedvitality as reflected in long-distance social and commercialties following the collapse of so many other southern low-land Maya polities in the 9th century AD (Pendergast1991 1993)

The Late Postclassic and Spanish Colonial PeriodsCopper Objects as Items of Local Manufacture

The contexts in which copper artifacts were found dat-ing from the centuries just prior to and during Spanishcontact differ significantly from those in which Early andMiddle Postclassic copper artifacts were recovered Mostcopper objects from very late deposits were recovered frommiddens or from architectural contexts and a considerablenumber appear to have been manufactured at the siteprobably within the Spanish Church Zone Copper oresare not locally available in the Maya lowland area (Bateson

68 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

and Hall 1977 Bray 1971 1977 West 1994) The resultsof Hoslers (1994) chemical compositional studies indicatethat at the time of Spanish contact the Maya at Lamanaiwere crafting their own metal tools and status symbols us-ing material apparently produced by melting copper ob-jects imported in earlier times She notes that by historicaltimes artisans were crafting objects at Lamanai itself andthey seem to have been doing so by using recycled metal(Hosler 1994 214) The majority of copper artifacts pro-duced during this time were made from metal cast intomolds using the lost-wax method most are undecoratedbells Hosler (1994 53) notes that available evidence indi-cates that all bells manufactured in Mesoamerica were castin one piece using the lost-wax method Various aspects ofthis metalworking technique have been described using in-formation obtained from archaeological investigations(Bruhns 1972 Bruhns and Hammond 1982 1983 Pen-dergast 1962) experimental studies (Long 1964) ethno-historical accounts (Motolirua 1950 SahagUn 1959) andmaterial analyses (Hosler 1994 Noble 1975)

We do not know when copper metallurgy began atLamanai but there is evidence that the Maya there were ac-tively engaged in the production of copper objects duringSpanish contact times and probably earlier perhaps by theend of the Cib ceramic phase The strongest evidence forindigenous metallurgy at Lamanai comes from Yglesiasphase contexts and consists of three pigs ten prills an axeblank (or ingot possibly) and two probable lost-wax cast-ing reservoirs all representing production debris (TABLE

3) In addition 24 bell fragments that are production fail-ures were recovered from Yglesias phase deposits in theSpanish Church Zone Along with the pigs and prills thesemis-cast bells add weight to the idea that copper produc-tion was taking place at Lamanai since casting failures arenot likely to have been trade items It is even possible thatthe 29 flattened bells found in Yglesiasphase contexts werecrushed by Lamanais metalsmiths in preparation for re-casting In addition to the crushed bells several othersmashed and torn copper objects were recovered fromthese late deposits Minimizing the surface area of the met-al by crushing or flattening would have facilitated meltingfor reuse in two ways (Aaron Shugar personal communi-cation 2006) Reducing the size of the objects by flatteningwould have allowed a greater number of bells to fit into acrucible for melting Also crushing would have reducedthe length of time required for maintenance of tempera-tures high enough (10830 C) to melt all of the material inthe crucible

In sum two separate but related lines of evidence sug-gest that metalsmiths were experimenting with the pro-duction of copper objects at Lamanai sometime just prior

to or during early Spanish colonial times The evidence in-cludes the presence of mis-cast copper artifacts most no-tably bells along with the pigs blanks and other produc-tion materials mentioned above and the anomalous arti-fact chemistry noted in a number of the copper objects re-covered at the site (Hosler 1994) In some cases Lamanaismetalsmiths were successful in creating whole bells nee-dles axes finger rings fish hooks and pieces of sheet cop-per The recovery of numerous lost-wax production fail-ures however indicates that at other times success eludedthem Noble (1975 369) suggests that mis-cast objectscould be the result of low melting temperatures for thecopper the presence of gas bubbles in residual wax left inmolds or movement of the clay and sand core within lost-wax molds Whatever the causes the production failurespigs prills and blanks are the kinds of metal objects onewould expect to encounter at a site where the occupantswere actively experimenting with metallurgy (Craddock1995 Young et al 1999)

Given the intermittent nature of Spanish mission activ-ity in the region the almost complete absence of Europeancopper objects and the relatively small quantity of metalinvolved overall we believe that metallurgy at Lamanai hadits roots in Late or Terminal Postclassic times and there-fore reflects a Maya technological innovation One of themost notable aspects of the assemblage of copper objectsfrom Lamanai is the absence of Spanish religious itemssuch as devotional medals personal crosses and crucifIXesrosaries copper-alloy stars reliquaries seals stamps andrings These kinds of objects are common at 16th and17th-century Spanish colonial sites throughout Floridaand the Caribbean (Deagan 2002) All but possibly one ofthe copper objects found thus far at Lamanai are distinctlyMesoamerican in form and design and based on prelimi-nary metallurgical analyses (Shugar 2005a) it appears thatmanufacturing technologies were distinctly Mesoamericanas well

Maya Metalsmiths and the Meanings of CopperMaya metalsmiths have been the focus of very little dis-

cussion among scholars (Bray 1971 1977 Hosler 19862003 Pendergast 1962 West 1994) As a result their sta-tus in ancient Mesoamerican social and economic realmsremains unclear Smith (2003 122) notes that the pro-duction of copper and bronze objects required the techni-cal expertise of highly skilled craftspeople it is difficulthowever to determine the extent to which technical skill inmetallurgy might have been correlated with certain levelsof social status in the Postclassic Maya world At Lamanaimis-cast copper objects manufacturing debris pigs andother raw materials have been recovered in domestic mid-

196

Figure 9 Metalsmith depicted in the Florentine Codex Folio 796Note the open mold of an axe into which it appears molten metal isflowing Also note the brazier possibly ceramic into which the metal-smith is forcing oxygen through a hollow tube tipped with a tuyere(blowpipe tip)

dens associated with what appear to be the relnains of bothcommoner and elite households Although the results ofongoing archaeological investigations are encouraging it isstill difficult to assess the roles that Maya elites and com-moners may have had in copper production activities vis-a-vis current models of craft specialization (Brun1fiel and Ear-le 1987 Costin 1991 Earle 1987 2002)

It is clear however that brilliantly colorful copper bellswith their wondrous sounds and sacred connotations wereregarded by Postclassic Mesoamericans as prestige goodsand hence served as powerful symbols of social identity(Hosler 1994 155-156 Smith 2003 119-121) Thecomplex designs of the finely crafted rings ornamentalclothing fasteners and tweezers speak to the highly devel-oped technical abilities of the craft specialists who createdthem Metalsmiths are identified in Maya lexicons of theSpanish colonial period asAh chuuen kaak or artificers offire (Clark and Houston 1998 44-45)Ah chuuen kaak istranslated into Spanish in the Motul Dictionary as fundi-dor de metales or one who founds and casts metals(Clark and Houston 1998 44-45) The Florentine Codexshows a Mesoamerican metalsmith casting a metal axe in amold using a tuyere or blowpipe (FIG 9) the receptacle for

Journal of Field Archaeology(Vol 34) 2009 69

melting the copper is depicted as a brazier apparently ce-ramic (Sal1agun 1959 folio 796) Bray (1977 397) sug-gests that Maya metalsmiths may have been itinerant craftspecialists traveling with their own metalworking toolssuch as tuyeres crucibles and molds It is also possible thatcopper workers were full-time residents of certain commu-nities such as Lamanai and the crucibles mentioned byColumbus may have been destined for use by metalsmitl1swho resided in such communities

To date ve have not identified copper production fea-tures or tools such as furnaces ceramic braziers cruciblesor tuyeres at Lamanai If we were to find such elements indirect association with residential or other architectural re-mains or if copper-working tools were to be recovered inindividual burials we might be able to establish tentativeassociations between the objects and the metalsmiths whoused them In addition the study of households with as-sociated metal objects and production materials and work-shop areas as well as osteological analysis of certain buri-als might provide information regarding the lives of an-cient Maya metalsmiths and the organization of their spe-cialized craft activity At present however the data shed lit-de light on the identities of Maya metalsmiths To ourknowledge copper production features have not yet beenidentified archaeologically in the Maya lowlands and veryfew copper-vorking tools have been found (but see Bruhnsand Hammond 1982 1983 Paris 2008 Shugar 2005b)The presence of a single copper pig at Tipu in the westernCayo District of Belize (FIG I) is indicative of metalwork-ing in that community as well (Graham and Wayman1989) Current archaeometallurgical studies at Lamanaiare aimed at exploring the social and economic positions ofmetalsmiths in late Maya society (Simmons 2005a Sim-mons and Shugar 2008) but until we know more aboutthe features and tools such individuals used how they or-ganized productive activities and where they lived it willbe difficult to understand the roles that Maya metalsmithsplayed in Postclassic period communities

Fortunately we know more about how the objects pro-duced by metalsmiths were regarded by the Maya Lexicaldata from Spanish colonial period dictionaries providesome insights into the various meanings assigned to cop-per objects by the people who used them In the Tzotzildictionary the term used for campana (bell) is tak)in(Laughlin 1988 643) the same term that is used formoney in both the Tzotzil Dictionary (Laughlin 1988631) and the San Francisco Dictionary (Michelon 1976584) In contemporary Chontal Maya the word tak)in istranslated as money metal literally the suns excrement(IZnowles 1984 462)

This last usage of the term suggests an underlying mean-

70 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanaiy BelizeSimmons et al

ing that is related to Maya perceptions of metals and theirproperties The significance of metallic sound and coloramong some Mesoamerican peoples particularly those inWest Mexico has been explored in Hoslers seminal workThe Sounds and Colors of Power (1994) We would argue asHosler (1986 1994 2003) has in the case of West Mexi-can peoples that certain metallic colors and sounds wereconsidered divine by the Maya The association of metalwith the sun a deity known as J(inich Ahau or God G(Miller and Taube 1993) suggests that metal objects wereperceived by the Maya as having animate qualities that theyconsidered to be divine

In the 17th century the Spanish Friar Diego Lopez deCogolludo provided unambiguous information regardinghow copper bells were used and perceived by the Maya atthe time of Spanish contact in Yucatan La moneda de queusabany era campanillas y cascabelesde cobre)que tentan el val-Orj segun la grandeza (The money that they used waslittle bells and bells of copper that had value according totheir size ) (1688 181) The writings of Diego Quija-da a 16th-century alcalde mayor (head of a provincial ad-ministration in the Spanish colonial period) also includereferences to the value ascribed to copper bells during theSpanish colonial period in Yucatan In discussing fmeslevied on Maya convicted of idolatry Quijada notes thatcacao red stones beads and campanillas y cascabelesde co-bre que tentan de tiempo de su infidelidad (small bells andbells of copper that they had from the time of their infi-delity) were to be paid to Spanish authorities (Scholes andAdams 1938 Book 2 214)

Diego de Landas 16th-century work Rclacidn de lasCosas de Yucatan (Tozzer 1941) provides further informa-tion on how the contact period Maya used some copperstatus and utilitarian objects Landa notes They had a cer-tain soft brass and with a slight mixture of gold fromwhich they made their hatchets by casting them and somelittle bells with which they danced (Tozzer 1941 186)Information from the Cordemex Dictionary supports theidea that Maya dancers used bells the terms cheh ok andcheh ok mascab are translated as cascabelesque usan los dan-zantes (bells that the dancers use) (Vasquez 1980 87)Evidently bells were attached to bands possibly of wovencotton that were worn around the lower leg just underthe knee Figure 10 shows a partially reconstructed Post-classic ceramic vessel from Lamanai used to burn incensewith what appear to be bells worn in this manner Thomp-son notes that a censer found at Mayapan believed to rep-resent the deity Xipe Totec has at about knee level bellspainted yellow presumably to represent gold or burnishedcopper (2005 9)

Other metal objects including copper axes also held a

certain value for the Maya In a manuscript written in 1620following his travels through central Guatemala FriarGabriel Salazar notes Once when in charge of searchingvery carefully among the Indians of San Marcos Coban orManche for as many as possible of the small copper axesused in these lands in pagan times I bought them eventhough they were expensive (Feldman 2000 52-53)

ConclusionThe number and variety of copper objects recovered at

Lamanai indicate that as a new commodity with remark-ably unique aural and visual properties metal artifactsplayed an important role for at least some members ofPostclassic and later contact period society Masson notesthat metal was probably the most higWy valued luxurygood in this region of the Postclassic Maya world (2003279) The inclusion of copper bells elaborate rings andbutton -like ornaments in Early and Middle Postclassic eliteburials shows that at least some residents of the site dis-played such items in certain social and ritual settings Cop-per bells worn during performances acted as auditory re-minders of the high social standing of those who displayedthem and the lustrous copper finger rings and elaborateclothing ornaments served as visual indicators of elevatedstatus

The results of chemical analyses indicate that during theBuk and Cib ceramic phases finished copper objects wornas items of personal adornment were imported intoLamanai from West Mexico and southeastern Mesoameri-ca (Hosler 1994 210-213) The sample of Bule and Cibphase copper artifacts is small but the size of the assem-blage is not the product of sampling bias given the exten-sive nature of survey and excavation in the areas occupiedduring these times (Pendergast 1981) It is conceivablethat the sample is not representative of the level of impor-tation of metal artifacts in Buk and Cib times because theartifact quantity was reduced by recycling a portion of theobjects as material for later Yglesiasphase metalworking atthe site The fact that copper artifacts have not been recov-ered from non-elite Buk or Cib phase contexts suggeststhat elite residents at the site during the first few centuriesof the Postclassic period were the beneficiaries of thestrong trade relationships that the community enjoyed be-yond the Maya area

The contexts from which metal artifacts have been re-covered suggest that the view of metals at Lamanaichanged over the course of the last few centuries of thesites existence During the Early and Middle Postclassicperiods copper objects appear to have had a personalmeaning for members of the communitys elite Elaboratecopper ornaments fmger rings and bells originating from

Journal of Field ArchaeologyVol 34) 2009 71

Figure 10 Late Postclassic incensario from Lamanai with apparent copper bells on left leg probablydepicting a Maya dancer

regions located well outside the Maya lowlands adornedelite individuals during their lives and accompanied themto their graves Ethnohistorical accounts indicate that suchobjects were symbols of elevated social rank among theMaya their gleaming visual quality which may have beenseen as reflecting the power of the sun on those who worethem helped to reify that status

The absence of copper objects in Buk and Cib phasemiddens and architecture stands in sharp contrast to thepattern of intrasite distribution just prior to and duringSpanish colonial times During the later Yglesias phaseboth elite and non-elite individuals appear to have had ac-cess to copper objects including statusritual objects im-ported from West Mexico and southeastern MesoamericaElite and non-elite community members also had access toobjects made of recycled copper produced at LamanaiCopper artifacts found in elite residential and burial con-texts include imported and recycled objects in rougWyequal numbers Copper objects produced in Yglesias timeswere both decorative and utilitarian in nature whereasthose imported from outside the Maya area in earlier cen-turies were exclusively for status display purposes

Since the Maya at Lamanai were producing copper ob-

jects from what Hosler describes as stock metal derivedfrom melted-down artifacts (1994 214) we find it puz-zling that such a large proportion of those fronl Yglesiascontexts (57) were discarded along with domestic refusePotentially recyclable bells rings needles and other fin-ished objects have been recovered in substantial numbersduring our excavations in Terminal Postclassic-contact pe-riod middens in the vicinity of the Spanish churches In ad-dition raw materials for production such as the axe frag-ments and lost-wax casting reservoirs mentioned abovealong with all four copper pigs come from rubbish dumpsor locations without apparent structural association Thepresence of these and other copper artifacts including allof the production failures found around Structure N 11-18and in the area of the Spanish churches suggests that thisportion of the site was a center for the production of cop-per objects (Simmons 2004 200Sa Simmons and Shugar2008)

Over thirty years ago Warwick Bray noted that thequantity and diversity of copper objects at Lamanai is bestaccounted for by local manufacture in Belize (1977 397)Although we have made solid strides in the past threedecades toward understanding where and how copper ob-

72 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

jects were produced in the southern Maya lowlands westill have some distance to go It is our hope that further in-vestigations will bring us closer to an understanding of theadvent of copper metallurgy the organizational aspects ofthis specialized craft activity and the roles and status ofmetalsmiths in ancient Maya society

AcknowledgmentsThe 1974-1986 Lamanai excavations were funded by

the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada the Royal Ontario Museum and the Richard IveyFoundation of London Ontario Simmons 1999-2001excavations at Lamanai along with chemical analyses ofthe copper artifacts recovered there were made possible byresearch grants from the H John Heinz III Fund for LatinAmerican Archaeology Technological analyses of the cop-per artifacts from Lamanai were supported in part by aCharles L Cahill Award from the University of North Car-olina Wilmington We appreciate the efforts of DrsDorothy Hosler and Aaron Shugar in conducting theseanalysesThanks to Stan Loten for the perspective drawingof Structure N10-2 We also appreciate the thoughtfulcomments of three anonymous reviewers At Lamanai lo-gistical support was provided by the Gonzalez family theEsquivel family Las Orquedias Womens Group and theLamanai Field Research Center Our sincere thanks go toall of the men and women of San Jose Succotz IndianChurch and San Carlos who have helped us over the yearsto gain a better understanding of Lamanais rich history

Scott E Simmons (phD 1996) University of Colorado) Boul-der) is an Associate Professorat the University of North Car-olina Wilmington and Co-Principal Investigator of theLamanai Archaeological Project His researchfocus isMayaarchaeology and his interests include craft specialization)household and political economies)and archaeometallutgy inthe Postclassicand Spanish colonialperiods in MesoamericaMailing address University of North Carolina Wilmington)601 South College Road) Wilmington) NC 28403 E-mailsimmonssuncwedu

DavidM Pendetgast (phD 1961) University ofCalifor-nia at LosAngeles) is an Honorary Research Fellow at the In-stitute ofArchaeology) University College London He has con-ducted investigations in Belize for the past four and a halfdecades and directed the Royal Ontario Museum)s LamanaiArchaeological Project from 1974 to 1986 Mailing addressInstitute ofArchaeology) University College London) 31-34Gordon Square) London) U IC WC1H opr

Elizabeth Graham (phD 1983) Cambridge University) isa Senior Lecturer at the Institute ofArchaeology) UniversityCollege London and Co-Principal Investigator of the

Lamanai Archaeological Project Her researchfocus isMayaarchaeology in Belize and her interests include the Postclassicand Spanish colonial periods as well as human-environmentalinteraction in the humid tropics and the development of tropi-cal urbanism Mailing address Institute ofArchaeology) Uni-versity College London) 31-34 Gordon Square) London) U ICWC1HOPr

Aimers James J2007 The Curse of the Ware Using Ceramic Systems in Belize

Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 4 101-110Alexander Rani T and Susan Kepecs

2005 The Postclassic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoameri-ca~ in Susan Kepecs and Rani T Alexander eds The Post-classic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoamerica Archaeolog-ical Perspectives Albuquerque University of New MexicoPress 1-12

Andres Christopher R and K Anne Pyburn2004 Out of Sight The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods

at Chau Hiix Belize in Arthur A Demarest Prudence MRice and Don S Rice eds The Terminal Classic in theMaya Lowlands Boulder University Press of Colorado402--423

Andrews Anthony P1990 The Role of Ports in Maya Civilization in Flora S Clan-

cy and Peter D Harrison eds Vision and Revision inMayaStudies Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press159-167

1993 Late Postclassic Maya Archaeology Journal of World Pre-history 7 35-69

Bateson J Howard and Ian H S Hall1977 The Geology of the Maya Mountains) Belize London Her

Majestys Stationary OfficeBerdan Frances F

2003 The Economy of Postclassic Mesoamerica in Michael ESmith and Frances F Berdan eds The PostclassicMesoamer-ican World Salt Lake City University of Utah Press93-95

Blackiston A Hooton1910 Recent Discoveries in Honduras American Anthropologist

12 536-54lBray Warwick

1971 Ancient American Metal-Smiths Proceedings of the RoyalAnthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 197125-43

1977 Maya Metalwork and its External Connections in N or-man Hammond ed Social Process in Maya Prehistory Es-says in Honour of Sir J Eric S Thompson New York Acade-mic Press 365--403

Bruhns Karen O1972 Prehispanic Cire Perdue Casting Moulds from Columbia

Man 7 308-31l

Bruhns Karen 0 and Norman Hammond1982 Maya Metal Workers Tool from Belize Antiquity 56

175-1801983 Moho Cay Hammer A Revised Opinion Antiquity 57

136-137

64 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic LamanaiJ BelizeSimmons et al

occupied by elite members of the community A total of142 of 187 (759) of the copper objects found atLamanai are believed to date from sometime shortly beforemid-16th century Spanish contact to the late 17th centuryDating of these metal artifacts is based primarily on theirassociation with stylistically diagnostic ceramic forms Thearchaeological contexts in which copper artifacts werefound in the Spanish Church Zone have yielded distinctiveYglesias phase ceramics which were made during theSpanish colonial period but introduced at an unknowndate prior to that time Their introduction could have tak-en place around 1500 to 1510 when the effects of Euro-pean presence were first felt in the circum-Caribbean re-gion but it is also possible that their manufacture began asearly asAD 1450 (Graham 2004) Alloyed copper artifactsare associated with materials of European origin such asglass beads and Spanish majolica and olive jar sherds inseveral contexts (Simmons 2004 2005a 2005b Pender-gast 1985) but the European materials are not necessarilyindicators of the time of manufacture of the metal objectsAnalyses of late precolumbian Maya ceramic artifacts fromthis critical transitional period are ongoing (Aimers 2007Howie 2007) It is likely that other ceramic phases will bedefined (Elizabeth Graham personal communication2008) further assisting us in refming our understanding ofthe advent of on-site metallurgy at Lamanai

At the time of Spanish contact most of Lamanais in-habitants were settled in the southern third of the site butreduction efforts probably led to further concentration ofthe community in the area that includes the Spanishchurches and a number of other nearby structures The ex-tent of the contact period community the architecturalcharacteristics of its residential and special use structuresand the material culture of its residents are still being ex-plored (Simmons 2005a Wiewall2005) A number of thestructures that have been investigated thus far have yieldedcopper artifacts the most prominent of these is StructureNll-18

More copper artifacts have been recovered at StructureNll-18 than at any other structure or locus at LamanaiOver 379 (71 of 187) of the entire assemblage of cop-per objects from the site comes from various contexts with-in and immediately around this important building andhalf (496) of the copper objects associated with Yglesiasceramic artifacts come from this one structure The build-ing is very likely to have had a variety of functions and mayhave served as a residence for Lamanais colonial period na-tive authority the cacique (Pendergast 1993 128) It alsomay have functioned as a guest house for visiting digni-taries ie a casa comunidad or casa real with attendantstorage and cooking areas (Jones 1989 67)

In addition to the copper artifacts recovered during ex-cavations of several other Late Postclassic to contact periodstructures a cluster of seven copper artifacts was found to-gether in a lagoon-side midden deposit located approxi-mately 60 m east of the second Spanish church Five of theseven are axe fragments that fit together to form two com-plete axes (see below) The remaining two artifacts appearto be casting reservoirs from lost-wax casting (Simmonsand Shugar 2008) We use the term casting reservoir todescribe a portion of a lost-wax cast mold that acts as a fun-nel into which molten copper is poured once the cavity ofthe mold is filled the reservoir acts as a receptacle for ex-cess metal (Long 1964 fig 1) After the metal has cooledsufficiently both the reservoir and the sprue (the tube lead-ing from the reservoir to the cast object) are detached andmay be remelted for later casting

The majority of copper artifacts (45 64 of 142) re-covered from the Spanish Church Zone are bells Smallernumbers of status display objects including fmger ringsand tweezers have been found associated with Yglesiasphase ceramics in the Spanish Church Zone Utilitarianobjects from this period include woodworking tools suchas axes chisels and wedges as well as fish hooks needlesand pins (TABLE 3) The remaining objects from late con-texts include copper pigs pieces of sheet metal prills andother manufacturing materials

With only two exceptions bells from this area of the siteare either plain or elongated globular or pyriform types(lAla-i ICla and IDla) (FIG 5) Two very small bellspossibly functioning as buttons or other kinds of personalornaments also come from late deposits Designs or deco-rative elements of any kind are virtually absent on the bellsfrom the Spanish Church Zone Bells from this period typ-ically have only single suspension loops although ten havedouble suspension loops Sprue projections are present onnearly all of the bells from this period and in only a fewcases does it appear that any effort was made to remove orminimize sprue remnants Almost all sprue remnants arefound on the tops of the suspension loops With only oneexception bell clappers are exclusively small pebbles

Only 11 of the 64 bells recovered from very late depositsat the site are whole or complete (TABLE 3) The remaining53 are either fragments (n = 24) or have been smashed orflattened and distorted (n = 29) At least some of the bellfragments found in Yglesiasphase deposits at the site rep-resent production failures In some cases only portions ofbell walls or suspension loops have been cast whereas inother instances bells are largely complete but have promi-nent holes in their resonating chambers (FIG 5) In a greatmany cases bells are not only mis-cast but also damagedoften severely apparently prior to their deposition in ar-

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 65

Table 3 Copper artifacts from Yglesias phase contexts at Lamanai Belize

Burial Midden Architecture Cache Total

Bells (whole) 2 7 2 0 11Bells(incompletemis-cast) 0 18 6 0 24Bells (flattened distorted) 0 17 12 0 29Axeceltchisel 1 3 6 2 12

Axe fragments 0 9 2 0 11Axe blanks 0 1 0 0 1Rings 2 3 0 0 5Sheet fragments 1 5 5 0 11

Needles 1 6 3 0 10Ingotspigs 0 2 1 0 3Casting reservoirs 0 2 0 0 2Prills 6 2 2 0 10

Fish hooks 0 4 1 0 5Pins 1 0 1 0 2Pin heads 2 0 0 0 2Tweezers 1 1 0 0 2

Figure 6 Axe (Type VB) in three pieces recovered from Span-ish contact period midden deposit located at the edge of theNew River Lagoon approximately 60 m east of Lamanais Span-ish churches These axe fragments along with two others (form-ing a smaller axe) were found together with the remains of twoprobable casting reservoirs All of these objects may have beendestined for melting and recasting by Lamanais metalsmiths

chaeological contexts Almost 45 (n = 29) of the bellsdating to this period show some kind of gross deformity inshape Descriptions in Pendergasts field notes of such bellsinclude crumpled torn laterally flattened distortedwith one part of side ripped away and apparently sacri-ficed torn and smashed

All 24 of the axes axe blanks axe fragments and chiselsrecovered from Lamanai come from LatefTerminal Post-classic and Spanish colonial period contexts They make up169 of the 142 copper objects found in the SpanishChurch Zone Various sizes of axeType VB were the mostcommon (FIG 6) whereas lesser numbers of chisel TypeVA were also found (Pendergast 1962 525) A probableaxe or chisel blank was recovered as an isolated find just be-low the ground surface in the Spanish Church Zone Met-allographic analysis of the probable blank shows a ham-

mered structure that has been annealed to some extent in-dicating that the object has been partially worked this iswhat would be expected of a blank destined to later beworked into a finished form (Shugar 2005a 12)

Many of the axes and chisels from this period show ev-idence of very heavy use with battered polls and dulled bitscommon Others however show only minimal modifica-tions of their working edges (Aaron Shugar personal com-munication 2007) Eight axe fragments have also been re-covered from the Spanish Church Zone Interestingly fiveof the eight fragments (mentioned above) found in a groupfit together to form two Type VB axes one of which isshown in Figure 6

Five rings were recovered from contact period contextsThree of the five are plain narrow bands (Types IVAI andIVA2) One of the two exceptions is a ring with threeraised border bands edging a panel of conjoined circles thatproduce a triangular piercing at its borders (Type IVA3)Like a great number of the bells recovered from late con-texts this ring is smashed flat and the metal is partly tornThe other decorated finger ring has two lines of small del-icate chevrons located very close to the edges with the twolines pointing in opposite directions It appears to be avariant of Type IVAI (Pendergast 1962 529)

All four pairs of tweezers in the assemblage were recov-ered in the Spanish Church Zone three were from burialsThe remaining half pair of tweezers was recovered from asurface context and may date to the final phase of pre-columbian occupation at Lamanai The tweezers varyslightly in size but three of the four are small All have cir-cular blades and can be classified as Type IIIC (Pendergast1962 524) One is somewhat larger in size with a bladediameter of 41 cm and weight of 212 g

The five fish hooks recovered at Lamanai come from

66 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

Figure 7 Copper pigs from Lamanai The ingot on the left measures 63 x 65 cm and weighs 2755 gThe pig in the center measures 48 x 50 cm and weighs 1255 g The pig on the right measures 25 x26 em and weighs 345 g

Figure 8 Copper prill recovered from the south side middenofStr Nll-27 north side midden ofStr Nll-18

Late Postclassic to Spanish colonial period contexts All areclassifiable as Type IXA2 (Pendergast 1962 525) Hookshanks are of varying size but all are looped at their topsfor line attachment Ten needles were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone six from Str Nll-18 Most areType 2a with a small piece of metal looped over to formthe eye (Hosler 1986 377) Several are of Type 1 with aperforation through the shank of the needle serving as theeye (Hosler 1986 369)All of the needles are made of coldhammered rolled sheet metal with either a rounded or anelongated eye Two pins and four pin fragn1ents were alsofound associated with Yglesias phase ceramic material Fi-nally a possible tinlder with a double loop suspensionmade from what may be a cut pyriform bell was found atStr Nll-18

Copper Production at LamanaiCompelling evidence for the production of copper ob-

jects at Lamanai comes from pigs prills mis-cast copper

objects and by-products of lost-wax casting found in thevicinity of the Spanish churches Four pigs of varying sizehave been recovered thus far The smallest pig weighs 58g and the largest weighs just over 275 g All have a slight-ly irregular circular shape and are plano-convex in section(FIG 7) Sprues vary in size and surfaces are typically pit-ted and granular

Other evidence of copper production at Lamanai isdiminutive in size and weight but no less important inhelping us to understand the nature of Maya metallurgy Itconsists of the prills mentioned above which are very smallbeads of metal that are by-products of casting activitiesPrills are formed when molten metal is poured into moldsThey are generally quite round in shape but are sometimesdeformed by the impact produced when liquefied metalsplashes falls and strikes the ground Owing to their mi-nuscule size prills typically go unnoticed during excava-tion One found during excavations in the Spanish ChurchZone is shown in Figure 8 To our knowledge no otherobjects that might definitively be called prills have been re-ported from the Maya area

Fragments of copper sheet of various sizes were alsofound in the Spanish Church Zone Five of the 11 recov-ered are from Structure Nll-18 and three are from an ad-jacent structure Most weigh between 1 and 2 g with thelargest weighing just over 6 g

Two large lumps of copper that appear to be remnantsof the lost-wax casting process were found together withthe group of axe fragments mentioned above (Simmonsand Shugar 2008) These two masses of copper weigh ap-proximately 21 and 86 g and appear to be remnants of cast-

ing reservoirs of the kind described by Long (1964 fig 1)in his experimental study of lost-wax casting techniques

Twelve copper objects from Lamanai came from surfacecontexts and thus cannot be assigned to a temporal phasewith any confidence (TABLE 2) All were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone and most came from the area of StrN 11-18 Their association with this structure makes it like-ly that most if not all of the objects which include onepig one ring one half pair of tweezers two probable pintips and seven bells are very late in date The remaining sixcopper artifacts that cannot be assigned to any temporalphase come from a burial within a small structure locatedin the Spanish Church Zone Excavations revealed a burialof two individuals a middle-aged female seated with herleft arm around the shoulders of a seated middle-agedmale described as The Loving Couple (Pendergast1989 White et alein press) Unfortunately no ceramic orother temporally diagnostic material accompanied the cou-pIe although Pendergast (1989 2) notes that the stairblock under which the couple was interred was probablyrebuilt at some point between rougWy AD 1450 and1500 A pair of disc-bladed copper tweezers of Type IIIC(Pendergast 1962 524) and five plain rings of Type IVAI(Pendergast 1962 529) were recovered in direct associa-tion with the skeletal remains The location of the tweez-ers to which a small amount of cotton cloth still adheredat the time of their discovery suggests the man wore theobject suspended from a cord or thong around his neckThe rings which enclosed a quantity of cotton cloth werefound between the scapulae of the female a position thatsuggests they served as ornaments for her hair braid orqueue

The Functions and Meanings of Copper Objectsat Lamanai

Early and Middle Postclassic Copper Objects asImported Wealth

Commencing around AD 1100 the ceramic traditionsof Early Postclassic times at Lamanai some of which grewout of those of the Late and Terminal Classic (Graham1987 73-81) underwent significant change New formsemerged many of which were radical departures from theapproach to pottery-malcing in preceding centuries Al-most certainly of local origin the shapes and decoration ofthe Buk ceramic phase quicldy supplanted what had gonebefore but at the same time retained certain elements ofthe earlier ceramic canon (Graham 1987 81-87) With thechanges in pottery came the development of limited ce-ramic ties with polities in the northern Yucatan peninsulathat on chronological grounds appear to involve the

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 67

transmission of ideas and perhaps of the ceramic productsof those ideas from Lamanai to recipients in the north(Pendergast 1986 236-245) Possibly in return for ce-ramics and other materials sent northward metal artifactsof non-Maya manufacture began to flow into Lamanai

The results of chemical compositional studies conduct-ed by Hosler (1994 208-213) indicate that the sources ofthe copper objects that began to be imported into Lamanaiduring Early Postclassic times are West Mexico and south-eastern Mesoamerica In addition some of the objects par-ticularly the finely made rings and ornaments are similarin form and style to examples from the West Mexican statesof Michoacan and Guerrero The exotic origin of the met-al objects found at Lamanai combined with the symbolicsignificance of the objects in their areas of manufacture ap-pears to have conferred upon the artifacts a special value asmarkers of rank or status in the Early to Middle PostclassicLamanai community Metal artifacts had an entirely per-sonal association and meaning in Buk and Cib phase timesThe occurrence of metals in interments marked by a con-siderable range of grave goods reinforces the role of the ob-jects as indicators of the owners elevated standing in thecommunity All but one of the 27 Buk and Cib copper ar-tifacts recovered at Lamanai are what Hosler (1994 208)describes as status display or ritual objects These includebells (one of which was a centerpiece in a jade and shellnecldace) elaborately made false wirework and dome-shaped ornaments and finely crafted filigree rings allmade by lost-wax casting (FIG 3) It seems likely that theexotic designs and origins of these and other metal artifactsfrom the period all crafted from an unfamiliar materialwith unique properties helped to make such objects high-ly appealing to elite members of the community The flowof exotic items such as these into Lamanai has been cited asone of the clear indicators of the communitys continuedvitality as reflected in long-distance social and commercialties following the collapse of so many other southern low-land Maya polities in the 9th century AD (Pendergast1991 1993)

The Late Postclassic and Spanish Colonial PeriodsCopper Objects as Items of Local Manufacture

The contexts in which copper artifacts were found dat-ing from the centuries just prior to and during Spanishcontact differ significantly from those in which Early andMiddle Postclassic copper artifacts were recovered Mostcopper objects from very late deposits were recovered frommiddens or from architectural contexts and a considerablenumber appear to have been manufactured at the siteprobably within the Spanish Church Zone Copper oresare not locally available in the Maya lowland area (Bateson

68 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

and Hall 1977 Bray 1971 1977 West 1994) The resultsof Hoslers (1994) chemical compositional studies indicatethat at the time of Spanish contact the Maya at Lamanaiwere crafting their own metal tools and status symbols us-ing material apparently produced by melting copper ob-jects imported in earlier times She notes that by historicaltimes artisans were crafting objects at Lamanai itself andthey seem to have been doing so by using recycled metal(Hosler 1994 214) The majority of copper artifacts pro-duced during this time were made from metal cast intomolds using the lost-wax method most are undecoratedbells Hosler (1994 53) notes that available evidence indi-cates that all bells manufactured in Mesoamerica were castin one piece using the lost-wax method Various aspects ofthis metalworking technique have been described using in-formation obtained from archaeological investigations(Bruhns 1972 Bruhns and Hammond 1982 1983 Pen-dergast 1962) experimental studies (Long 1964) ethno-historical accounts (Motolirua 1950 SahagUn 1959) andmaterial analyses (Hosler 1994 Noble 1975)

We do not know when copper metallurgy began atLamanai but there is evidence that the Maya there were ac-tively engaged in the production of copper objects duringSpanish contact times and probably earlier perhaps by theend of the Cib ceramic phase The strongest evidence forindigenous metallurgy at Lamanai comes from Yglesiasphase contexts and consists of three pigs ten prills an axeblank (or ingot possibly) and two probable lost-wax cast-ing reservoirs all representing production debris (TABLE

3) In addition 24 bell fragments that are production fail-ures were recovered from Yglesias phase deposits in theSpanish Church Zone Along with the pigs and prills thesemis-cast bells add weight to the idea that copper produc-tion was taking place at Lamanai since casting failures arenot likely to have been trade items It is even possible thatthe 29 flattened bells found in Yglesiasphase contexts werecrushed by Lamanais metalsmiths in preparation for re-casting In addition to the crushed bells several othersmashed and torn copper objects were recovered fromthese late deposits Minimizing the surface area of the met-al by crushing or flattening would have facilitated meltingfor reuse in two ways (Aaron Shugar personal communi-cation 2006) Reducing the size of the objects by flatteningwould have allowed a greater number of bells to fit into acrucible for melting Also crushing would have reducedthe length of time required for maintenance of tempera-tures high enough (10830 C) to melt all of the material inthe crucible

In sum two separate but related lines of evidence sug-gest that metalsmiths were experimenting with the pro-duction of copper objects at Lamanai sometime just prior

to or during early Spanish colonial times The evidence in-cludes the presence of mis-cast copper artifacts most no-tably bells along with the pigs blanks and other produc-tion materials mentioned above and the anomalous arti-fact chemistry noted in a number of the copper objects re-covered at the site (Hosler 1994) In some cases Lamanaismetalsmiths were successful in creating whole bells nee-dles axes finger rings fish hooks and pieces of sheet cop-per The recovery of numerous lost-wax production fail-ures however indicates that at other times success eludedthem Noble (1975 369) suggests that mis-cast objectscould be the result of low melting temperatures for thecopper the presence of gas bubbles in residual wax left inmolds or movement of the clay and sand core within lost-wax molds Whatever the causes the production failurespigs prills and blanks are the kinds of metal objects onewould expect to encounter at a site where the occupantswere actively experimenting with metallurgy (Craddock1995 Young et al 1999)

Given the intermittent nature of Spanish mission activ-ity in the region the almost complete absence of Europeancopper objects and the relatively small quantity of metalinvolved overall we believe that metallurgy at Lamanai hadits roots in Late or Terminal Postclassic times and there-fore reflects a Maya technological innovation One of themost notable aspects of the assemblage of copper objectsfrom Lamanai is the absence of Spanish religious itemssuch as devotional medals personal crosses and crucifIXesrosaries copper-alloy stars reliquaries seals stamps andrings These kinds of objects are common at 16th and17th-century Spanish colonial sites throughout Floridaand the Caribbean (Deagan 2002) All but possibly one ofthe copper objects found thus far at Lamanai are distinctlyMesoamerican in form and design and based on prelimi-nary metallurgical analyses (Shugar 2005a) it appears thatmanufacturing technologies were distinctly Mesoamericanas well

Maya Metalsmiths and the Meanings of CopperMaya metalsmiths have been the focus of very little dis-

cussion among scholars (Bray 1971 1977 Hosler 19862003 Pendergast 1962 West 1994) As a result their sta-tus in ancient Mesoamerican social and economic realmsremains unclear Smith (2003 122) notes that the pro-duction of copper and bronze objects required the techni-cal expertise of highly skilled craftspeople it is difficulthowever to determine the extent to which technical skill inmetallurgy might have been correlated with certain levelsof social status in the Postclassic Maya world At Lamanaimis-cast copper objects manufacturing debris pigs andother raw materials have been recovered in domestic mid-

196

Figure 9 Metalsmith depicted in the Florentine Codex Folio 796Note the open mold of an axe into which it appears molten metal isflowing Also note the brazier possibly ceramic into which the metal-smith is forcing oxygen through a hollow tube tipped with a tuyere(blowpipe tip)

dens associated with what appear to be the relnains of bothcommoner and elite households Although the results ofongoing archaeological investigations are encouraging it isstill difficult to assess the roles that Maya elites and com-moners may have had in copper production activities vis-a-vis current models of craft specialization (Brun1fiel and Ear-le 1987 Costin 1991 Earle 1987 2002)

It is clear however that brilliantly colorful copper bellswith their wondrous sounds and sacred connotations wereregarded by Postclassic Mesoamericans as prestige goodsand hence served as powerful symbols of social identity(Hosler 1994 155-156 Smith 2003 119-121) Thecomplex designs of the finely crafted rings ornamentalclothing fasteners and tweezers speak to the highly devel-oped technical abilities of the craft specialists who createdthem Metalsmiths are identified in Maya lexicons of theSpanish colonial period asAh chuuen kaak or artificers offire (Clark and Houston 1998 44-45)Ah chuuen kaak istranslated into Spanish in the Motul Dictionary as fundi-dor de metales or one who founds and casts metals(Clark and Houston 1998 44-45) The Florentine Codexshows a Mesoamerican metalsmith casting a metal axe in amold using a tuyere or blowpipe (FIG 9) the receptacle for

Journal of Field Archaeology(Vol 34) 2009 69

melting the copper is depicted as a brazier apparently ce-ramic (Sal1agun 1959 folio 796) Bray (1977 397) sug-gests that Maya metalsmiths may have been itinerant craftspecialists traveling with their own metalworking toolssuch as tuyeres crucibles and molds It is also possible thatcopper workers were full-time residents of certain commu-nities such as Lamanai and the crucibles mentioned byColumbus may have been destined for use by metalsmitl1swho resided in such communities

To date ve have not identified copper production fea-tures or tools such as furnaces ceramic braziers cruciblesor tuyeres at Lamanai If we were to find such elements indirect association with residential or other architectural re-mains or if copper-working tools were to be recovered inindividual burials we might be able to establish tentativeassociations between the objects and the metalsmiths whoused them In addition the study of households with as-sociated metal objects and production materials and work-shop areas as well as osteological analysis of certain buri-als might provide information regarding the lives of an-cient Maya metalsmiths and the organization of their spe-cialized craft activity At present however the data shed lit-de light on the identities of Maya metalsmiths To ourknowledge copper production features have not yet beenidentified archaeologically in the Maya lowlands and veryfew copper-vorking tools have been found (but see Bruhnsand Hammond 1982 1983 Paris 2008 Shugar 2005b)The presence of a single copper pig at Tipu in the westernCayo District of Belize (FIG I) is indicative of metalwork-ing in that community as well (Graham and Wayman1989) Current archaeometallurgical studies at Lamanaiare aimed at exploring the social and economic positions ofmetalsmiths in late Maya society (Simmons 2005a Sim-mons and Shugar 2008) but until we know more aboutthe features and tools such individuals used how they or-ganized productive activities and where they lived it willbe difficult to understand the roles that Maya metalsmithsplayed in Postclassic period communities

Fortunately we know more about how the objects pro-duced by metalsmiths were regarded by the Maya Lexicaldata from Spanish colonial period dictionaries providesome insights into the various meanings assigned to cop-per objects by the people who used them In the Tzotzildictionary the term used for campana (bell) is tak)in(Laughlin 1988 643) the same term that is used formoney in both the Tzotzil Dictionary (Laughlin 1988631) and the San Francisco Dictionary (Michelon 1976584) In contemporary Chontal Maya the word tak)in istranslated as money metal literally the suns excrement(IZnowles 1984 462)

This last usage of the term suggests an underlying mean-

70 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanaiy BelizeSimmons et al

ing that is related to Maya perceptions of metals and theirproperties The significance of metallic sound and coloramong some Mesoamerican peoples particularly those inWest Mexico has been explored in Hoslers seminal workThe Sounds and Colors of Power (1994) We would argue asHosler (1986 1994 2003) has in the case of West Mexi-can peoples that certain metallic colors and sounds wereconsidered divine by the Maya The association of metalwith the sun a deity known as J(inich Ahau or God G(Miller and Taube 1993) suggests that metal objects wereperceived by the Maya as having animate qualities that theyconsidered to be divine

In the 17th century the Spanish Friar Diego Lopez deCogolludo provided unambiguous information regardinghow copper bells were used and perceived by the Maya atthe time of Spanish contact in Yucatan La moneda de queusabany era campanillas y cascabelesde cobre)que tentan el val-Orj segun la grandeza (The money that they used waslittle bells and bells of copper that had value according totheir size ) (1688 181) The writings of Diego Quija-da a 16th-century alcalde mayor (head of a provincial ad-ministration in the Spanish colonial period) also includereferences to the value ascribed to copper bells during theSpanish colonial period in Yucatan In discussing fmeslevied on Maya convicted of idolatry Quijada notes thatcacao red stones beads and campanillas y cascabelesde co-bre que tentan de tiempo de su infidelidad (small bells andbells of copper that they had from the time of their infi-delity) were to be paid to Spanish authorities (Scholes andAdams 1938 Book 2 214)

Diego de Landas 16th-century work Rclacidn de lasCosas de Yucatan (Tozzer 1941) provides further informa-tion on how the contact period Maya used some copperstatus and utilitarian objects Landa notes They had a cer-tain soft brass and with a slight mixture of gold fromwhich they made their hatchets by casting them and somelittle bells with which they danced (Tozzer 1941 186)Information from the Cordemex Dictionary supports theidea that Maya dancers used bells the terms cheh ok andcheh ok mascab are translated as cascabelesque usan los dan-zantes (bells that the dancers use) (Vasquez 1980 87)Evidently bells were attached to bands possibly of wovencotton that were worn around the lower leg just underthe knee Figure 10 shows a partially reconstructed Post-classic ceramic vessel from Lamanai used to burn incensewith what appear to be bells worn in this manner Thomp-son notes that a censer found at Mayapan believed to rep-resent the deity Xipe Totec has at about knee level bellspainted yellow presumably to represent gold or burnishedcopper (2005 9)

Other metal objects including copper axes also held a

certain value for the Maya In a manuscript written in 1620following his travels through central Guatemala FriarGabriel Salazar notes Once when in charge of searchingvery carefully among the Indians of San Marcos Coban orManche for as many as possible of the small copper axesused in these lands in pagan times I bought them eventhough they were expensive (Feldman 2000 52-53)

ConclusionThe number and variety of copper objects recovered at

Lamanai indicate that as a new commodity with remark-ably unique aural and visual properties metal artifactsplayed an important role for at least some members ofPostclassic and later contact period society Masson notesthat metal was probably the most higWy valued luxurygood in this region of the Postclassic Maya world (2003279) The inclusion of copper bells elaborate rings andbutton -like ornaments in Early and Middle Postclassic eliteburials shows that at least some residents of the site dis-played such items in certain social and ritual settings Cop-per bells worn during performances acted as auditory re-minders of the high social standing of those who displayedthem and the lustrous copper finger rings and elaborateclothing ornaments served as visual indicators of elevatedstatus

The results of chemical analyses indicate that during theBuk and Cib ceramic phases finished copper objects wornas items of personal adornment were imported intoLamanai from West Mexico and southeastern Mesoameri-ca (Hosler 1994 210-213) The sample of Bule and Cibphase copper artifacts is small but the size of the assem-blage is not the product of sampling bias given the exten-sive nature of survey and excavation in the areas occupiedduring these times (Pendergast 1981) It is conceivablethat the sample is not representative of the level of impor-tation of metal artifacts in Buk and Cib times because theartifact quantity was reduced by recycling a portion of theobjects as material for later Yglesiasphase metalworking atthe site The fact that copper artifacts have not been recov-ered from non-elite Buk or Cib phase contexts suggeststhat elite residents at the site during the first few centuriesof the Postclassic period were the beneficiaries of thestrong trade relationships that the community enjoyed be-yond the Maya area

The contexts from which metal artifacts have been re-covered suggest that the view of metals at Lamanaichanged over the course of the last few centuries of thesites existence During the Early and Middle Postclassicperiods copper objects appear to have had a personalmeaning for members of the communitys elite Elaboratecopper ornaments fmger rings and bells originating from

Journal of Field ArchaeologyVol 34) 2009 71

Figure 10 Late Postclassic incensario from Lamanai with apparent copper bells on left leg probablydepicting a Maya dancer

regions located well outside the Maya lowlands adornedelite individuals during their lives and accompanied themto their graves Ethnohistorical accounts indicate that suchobjects were symbols of elevated social rank among theMaya their gleaming visual quality which may have beenseen as reflecting the power of the sun on those who worethem helped to reify that status

The absence of copper objects in Buk and Cib phasemiddens and architecture stands in sharp contrast to thepattern of intrasite distribution just prior to and duringSpanish colonial times During the later Yglesias phaseboth elite and non-elite individuals appear to have had ac-cess to copper objects including statusritual objects im-ported from West Mexico and southeastern MesoamericaElite and non-elite community members also had access toobjects made of recycled copper produced at LamanaiCopper artifacts found in elite residential and burial con-texts include imported and recycled objects in rougWyequal numbers Copper objects produced in Yglesias timeswere both decorative and utilitarian in nature whereasthose imported from outside the Maya area in earlier cen-turies were exclusively for status display purposes

Since the Maya at Lamanai were producing copper ob-

jects from what Hosler describes as stock metal derivedfrom melted-down artifacts (1994 214) we find it puz-zling that such a large proportion of those fronl Yglesiascontexts (57) were discarded along with domestic refusePotentially recyclable bells rings needles and other fin-ished objects have been recovered in substantial numbersduring our excavations in Terminal Postclassic-contact pe-riod middens in the vicinity of the Spanish churches In ad-dition raw materials for production such as the axe frag-ments and lost-wax casting reservoirs mentioned abovealong with all four copper pigs come from rubbish dumpsor locations without apparent structural association Thepresence of these and other copper artifacts including allof the production failures found around Structure N 11-18and in the area of the Spanish churches suggests that thisportion of the site was a center for the production of cop-per objects (Simmons 2004 200Sa Simmons and Shugar2008)

Over thirty years ago Warwick Bray noted that thequantity and diversity of copper objects at Lamanai is bestaccounted for by local manufacture in Belize (1977 397)Although we have made solid strides in the past threedecades toward understanding where and how copper ob-

72 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

jects were produced in the southern Maya lowlands westill have some distance to go It is our hope that further in-vestigations will bring us closer to an understanding of theadvent of copper metallurgy the organizational aspects ofthis specialized craft activity and the roles and status ofmetalsmiths in ancient Maya society

AcknowledgmentsThe 1974-1986 Lamanai excavations were funded by

the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada the Royal Ontario Museum and the Richard IveyFoundation of London Ontario Simmons 1999-2001excavations at Lamanai along with chemical analyses ofthe copper artifacts recovered there were made possible byresearch grants from the H John Heinz III Fund for LatinAmerican Archaeology Technological analyses of the cop-per artifacts from Lamanai were supported in part by aCharles L Cahill Award from the University of North Car-olina Wilmington We appreciate the efforts of DrsDorothy Hosler and Aaron Shugar in conducting theseanalysesThanks to Stan Loten for the perspective drawingof Structure N10-2 We also appreciate the thoughtfulcomments of three anonymous reviewers At Lamanai lo-gistical support was provided by the Gonzalez family theEsquivel family Las Orquedias Womens Group and theLamanai Field Research Center Our sincere thanks go toall of the men and women of San Jose Succotz IndianChurch and San Carlos who have helped us over the yearsto gain a better understanding of Lamanais rich history

Scott E Simmons (phD 1996) University of Colorado) Boul-der) is an Associate Professorat the University of North Car-olina Wilmington and Co-Principal Investigator of theLamanai Archaeological Project His researchfocus isMayaarchaeology and his interests include craft specialization)household and political economies)and archaeometallutgy inthe Postclassicand Spanish colonialperiods in MesoamericaMailing address University of North Carolina Wilmington)601 South College Road) Wilmington) NC 28403 E-mailsimmonssuncwedu

DavidM Pendetgast (phD 1961) University ofCalifor-nia at LosAngeles) is an Honorary Research Fellow at the In-stitute ofArchaeology) University College London He has con-ducted investigations in Belize for the past four and a halfdecades and directed the Royal Ontario Museum)s LamanaiArchaeological Project from 1974 to 1986 Mailing addressInstitute ofArchaeology) University College London) 31-34Gordon Square) London) U IC WC1H opr

Elizabeth Graham (phD 1983) Cambridge University) isa Senior Lecturer at the Institute ofArchaeology) UniversityCollege London and Co-Principal Investigator of the

Lamanai Archaeological Project Her researchfocus isMayaarchaeology in Belize and her interests include the Postclassicand Spanish colonial periods as well as human-environmentalinteraction in the humid tropics and the development of tropi-cal urbanism Mailing address Institute ofArchaeology) Uni-versity College London) 31-34 Gordon Square) London) U ICWC1HOPr

Aimers James J2007 The Curse of the Ware Using Ceramic Systems in Belize

Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 4 101-110Alexander Rani T and Susan Kepecs

2005 The Postclassic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoameri-ca~ in Susan Kepecs and Rani T Alexander eds The Post-classic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoamerica Archaeolog-ical Perspectives Albuquerque University of New MexicoPress 1-12

Andres Christopher R and K Anne Pyburn2004 Out of Sight The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods

at Chau Hiix Belize in Arthur A Demarest Prudence MRice and Don S Rice eds The Terminal Classic in theMaya Lowlands Boulder University Press of Colorado402--423

Andrews Anthony P1990 The Role of Ports in Maya Civilization in Flora S Clan-

cy and Peter D Harrison eds Vision and Revision inMayaStudies Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press159-167

1993 Late Postclassic Maya Archaeology Journal of World Pre-history 7 35-69

Bateson J Howard and Ian H S Hall1977 The Geology of the Maya Mountains) Belize London Her

Majestys Stationary OfficeBerdan Frances F

2003 The Economy of Postclassic Mesoamerica in Michael ESmith and Frances F Berdan eds The PostclassicMesoamer-ican World Salt Lake City University of Utah Press93-95

Blackiston A Hooton1910 Recent Discoveries in Honduras American Anthropologist

12 536-54lBray Warwick

1971 Ancient American Metal-Smiths Proceedings of the RoyalAnthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 197125-43

1977 Maya Metalwork and its External Connections in N or-man Hammond ed Social Process in Maya Prehistory Es-says in Honour of Sir J Eric S Thompson New York Acade-mic Press 365--403

Bruhns Karen O1972 Prehispanic Cire Perdue Casting Moulds from Columbia

Man 7 308-31l

Bruhns Karen 0 and Norman Hammond1982 Maya Metal Workers Tool from Belize Antiquity 56

175-1801983 Moho Cay Hammer A Revised Opinion Antiquity 57

136-137

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 65

Table 3 Copper artifacts from Yglesias phase contexts at Lamanai Belize

Burial Midden Architecture Cache Total

Bells (whole) 2 7 2 0 11Bells(incompletemis-cast) 0 18 6 0 24Bells (flattened distorted) 0 17 12 0 29Axeceltchisel 1 3 6 2 12

Axe fragments 0 9 2 0 11Axe blanks 0 1 0 0 1Rings 2 3 0 0 5Sheet fragments 1 5 5 0 11

Needles 1 6 3 0 10Ingotspigs 0 2 1 0 3Casting reservoirs 0 2 0 0 2Prills 6 2 2 0 10

Fish hooks 0 4 1 0 5Pins 1 0 1 0 2Pin heads 2 0 0 0 2Tweezers 1 1 0 0 2

Figure 6 Axe (Type VB) in three pieces recovered from Span-ish contact period midden deposit located at the edge of theNew River Lagoon approximately 60 m east of Lamanais Span-ish churches These axe fragments along with two others (form-ing a smaller axe) were found together with the remains of twoprobable casting reservoirs All of these objects may have beendestined for melting and recasting by Lamanais metalsmiths

chaeological contexts Almost 45 (n = 29) of the bellsdating to this period show some kind of gross deformity inshape Descriptions in Pendergasts field notes of such bellsinclude crumpled torn laterally flattened distortedwith one part of side ripped away and apparently sacri-ficed torn and smashed

All 24 of the axes axe blanks axe fragments and chiselsrecovered from Lamanai come from LatefTerminal Post-classic and Spanish colonial period contexts They make up169 of the 142 copper objects found in the SpanishChurch Zone Various sizes of axeType VB were the mostcommon (FIG 6) whereas lesser numbers of chisel TypeVA were also found (Pendergast 1962 525) A probableaxe or chisel blank was recovered as an isolated find just be-low the ground surface in the Spanish Church Zone Met-allographic analysis of the probable blank shows a ham-

mered structure that has been annealed to some extent in-dicating that the object has been partially worked this iswhat would be expected of a blank destined to later beworked into a finished form (Shugar 2005a 12)

Many of the axes and chisels from this period show ev-idence of very heavy use with battered polls and dulled bitscommon Others however show only minimal modifica-tions of their working edges (Aaron Shugar personal com-munication 2007) Eight axe fragments have also been re-covered from the Spanish Church Zone Interestingly fiveof the eight fragments (mentioned above) found in a groupfit together to form two Type VB axes one of which isshown in Figure 6

Five rings were recovered from contact period contextsThree of the five are plain narrow bands (Types IVAI andIVA2) One of the two exceptions is a ring with threeraised border bands edging a panel of conjoined circles thatproduce a triangular piercing at its borders (Type IVA3)Like a great number of the bells recovered from late con-texts this ring is smashed flat and the metal is partly tornThe other decorated finger ring has two lines of small del-icate chevrons located very close to the edges with the twolines pointing in opposite directions It appears to be avariant of Type IVAI (Pendergast 1962 529)

All four pairs of tweezers in the assemblage were recov-ered in the Spanish Church Zone three were from burialsThe remaining half pair of tweezers was recovered from asurface context and may date to the final phase of pre-columbian occupation at Lamanai The tweezers varyslightly in size but three of the four are small All have cir-cular blades and can be classified as Type IIIC (Pendergast1962 524) One is somewhat larger in size with a bladediameter of 41 cm and weight of 212 g

The five fish hooks recovered at Lamanai come from

66 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

Figure 7 Copper pigs from Lamanai The ingot on the left measures 63 x 65 cm and weighs 2755 gThe pig in the center measures 48 x 50 cm and weighs 1255 g The pig on the right measures 25 x26 em and weighs 345 g

Figure 8 Copper prill recovered from the south side middenofStr Nll-27 north side midden ofStr Nll-18

Late Postclassic to Spanish colonial period contexts All areclassifiable as Type IXA2 (Pendergast 1962 525) Hookshanks are of varying size but all are looped at their topsfor line attachment Ten needles were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone six from Str Nll-18 Most areType 2a with a small piece of metal looped over to formthe eye (Hosler 1986 377) Several are of Type 1 with aperforation through the shank of the needle serving as theeye (Hosler 1986 369)All of the needles are made of coldhammered rolled sheet metal with either a rounded or anelongated eye Two pins and four pin fragn1ents were alsofound associated with Yglesias phase ceramic material Fi-nally a possible tinlder with a double loop suspensionmade from what may be a cut pyriform bell was found atStr Nll-18

Copper Production at LamanaiCompelling evidence for the production of copper ob-

jects at Lamanai comes from pigs prills mis-cast copper

objects and by-products of lost-wax casting found in thevicinity of the Spanish churches Four pigs of varying sizehave been recovered thus far The smallest pig weighs 58g and the largest weighs just over 275 g All have a slight-ly irregular circular shape and are plano-convex in section(FIG 7) Sprues vary in size and surfaces are typically pit-ted and granular

Other evidence of copper production at Lamanai isdiminutive in size and weight but no less important inhelping us to understand the nature of Maya metallurgy Itconsists of the prills mentioned above which are very smallbeads of metal that are by-products of casting activitiesPrills are formed when molten metal is poured into moldsThey are generally quite round in shape but are sometimesdeformed by the impact produced when liquefied metalsplashes falls and strikes the ground Owing to their mi-nuscule size prills typically go unnoticed during excava-tion One found during excavations in the Spanish ChurchZone is shown in Figure 8 To our knowledge no otherobjects that might definitively be called prills have been re-ported from the Maya area

Fragments of copper sheet of various sizes were alsofound in the Spanish Church Zone Five of the 11 recov-ered are from Structure Nll-18 and three are from an ad-jacent structure Most weigh between 1 and 2 g with thelargest weighing just over 6 g

Two large lumps of copper that appear to be remnantsof the lost-wax casting process were found together withthe group of axe fragments mentioned above (Simmonsand Shugar 2008) These two masses of copper weigh ap-proximately 21 and 86 g and appear to be remnants of cast-

ing reservoirs of the kind described by Long (1964 fig 1)in his experimental study of lost-wax casting techniques

Twelve copper objects from Lamanai came from surfacecontexts and thus cannot be assigned to a temporal phasewith any confidence (TABLE 2) All were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone and most came from the area of StrN 11-18 Their association with this structure makes it like-ly that most if not all of the objects which include onepig one ring one half pair of tweezers two probable pintips and seven bells are very late in date The remaining sixcopper artifacts that cannot be assigned to any temporalphase come from a burial within a small structure locatedin the Spanish Church Zone Excavations revealed a burialof two individuals a middle-aged female seated with herleft arm around the shoulders of a seated middle-agedmale described as The Loving Couple (Pendergast1989 White et alein press) Unfortunately no ceramic orother temporally diagnostic material accompanied the cou-pIe although Pendergast (1989 2) notes that the stairblock under which the couple was interred was probablyrebuilt at some point between rougWy AD 1450 and1500 A pair of disc-bladed copper tweezers of Type IIIC(Pendergast 1962 524) and five plain rings of Type IVAI(Pendergast 1962 529) were recovered in direct associa-tion with the skeletal remains The location of the tweez-ers to which a small amount of cotton cloth still adheredat the time of their discovery suggests the man wore theobject suspended from a cord or thong around his neckThe rings which enclosed a quantity of cotton cloth werefound between the scapulae of the female a position thatsuggests they served as ornaments for her hair braid orqueue

The Functions and Meanings of Copper Objectsat Lamanai

Early and Middle Postclassic Copper Objects asImported Wealth

Commencing around AD 1100 the ceramic traditionsof Early Postclassic times at Lamanai some of which grewout of those of the Late and Terminal Classic (Graham1987 73-81) underwent significant change New formsemerged many of which were radical departures from theapproach to pottery-malcing in preceding centuries Al-most certainly of local origin the shapes and decoration ofthe Buk ceramic phase quicldy supplanted what had gonebefore but at the same time retained certain elements ofthe earlier ceramic canon (Graham 1987 81-87) With thechanges in pottery came the development of limited ce-ramic ties with polities in the northern Yucatan peninsulathat on chronological grounds appear to involve the

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 67

transmission of ideas and perhaps of the ceramic productsof those ideas from Lamanai to recipients in the north(Pendergast 1986 236-245) Possibly in return for ce-ramics and other materials sent northward metal artifactsof non-Maya manufacture began to flow into Lamanai

The results of chemical compositional studies conduct-ed by Hosler (1994 208-213) indicate that the sources ofthe copper objects that began to be imported into Lamanaiduring Early Postclassic times are West Mexico and south-eastern Mesoamerica In addition some of the objects par-ticularly the finely made rings and ornaments are similarin form and style to examples from the West Mexican statesof Michoacan and Guerrero The exotic origin of the met-al objects found at Lamanai combined with the symbolicsignificance of the objects in their areas of manufacture ap-pears to have conferred upon the artifacts a special value asmarkers of rank or status in the Early to Middle PostclassicLamanai community Metal artifacts had an entirely per-sonal association and meaning in Buk and Cib phase timesThe occurrence of metals in interments marked by a con-siderable range of grave goods reinforces the role of the ob-jects as indicators of the owners elevated standing in thecommunity All but one of the 27 Buk and Cib copper ar-tifacts recovered at Lamanai are what Hosler (1994 208)describes as status display or ritual objects These includebells (one of which was a centerpiece in a jade and shellnecldace) elaborately made false wirework and dome-shaped ornaments and finely crafted filigree rings allmade by lost-wax casting (FIG 3) It seems likely that theexotic designs and origins of these and other metal artifactsfrom the period all crafted from an unfamiliar materialwith unique properties helped to make such objects high-ly appealing to elite members of the community The flowof exotic items such as these into Lamanai has been cited asone of the clear indicators of the communitys continuedvitality as reflected in long-distance social and commercialties following the collapse of so many other southern low-land Maya polities in the 9th century AD (Pendergast1991 1993)

The Late Postclassic and Spanish Colonial PeriodsCopper Objects as Items of Local Manufacture

The contexts in which copper artifacts were found dat-ing from the centuries just prior to and during Spanishcontact differ significantly from those in which Early andMiddle Postclassic copper artifacts were recovered Mostcopper objects from very late deposits were recovered frommiddens or from architectural contexts and a considerablenumber appear to have been manufactured at the siteprobably within the Spanish Church Zone Copper oresare not locally available in the Maya lowland area (Bateson

68 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

and Hall 1977 Bray 1971 1977 West 1994) The resultsof Hoslers (1994) chemical compositional studies indicatethat at the time of Spanish contact the Maya at Lamanaiwere crafting their own metal tools and status symbols us-ing material apparently produced by melting copper ob-jects imported in earlier times She notes that by historicaltimes artisans were crafting objects at Lamanai itself andthey seem to have been doing so by using recycled metal(Hosler 1994 214) The majority of copper artifacts pro-duced during this time were made from metal cast intomolds using the lost-wax method most are undecoratedbells Hosler (1994 53) notes that available evidence indi-cates that all bells manufactured in Mesoamerica were castin one piece using the lost-wax method Various aspects ofthis metalworking technique have been described using in-formation obtained from archaeological investigations(Bruhns 1972 Bruhns and Hammond 1982 1983 Pen-dergast 1962) experimental studies (Long 1964) ethno-historical accounts (Motolirua 1950 SahagUn 1959) andmaterial analyses (Hosler 1994 Noble 1975)

We do not know when copper metallurgy began atLamanai but there is evidence that the Maya there were ac-tively engaged in the production of copper objects duringSpanish contact times and probably earlier perhaps by theend of the Cib ceramic phase The strongest evidence forindigenous metallurgy at Lamanai comes from Yglesiasphase contexts and consists of three pigs ten prills an axeblank (or ingot possibly) and two probable lost-wax cast-ing reservoirs all representing production debris (TABLE

3) In addition 24 bell fragments that are production fail-ures were recovered from Yglesias phase deposits in theSpanish Church Zone Along with the pigs and prills thesemis-cast bells add weight to the idea that copper produc-tion was taking place at Lamanai since casting failures arenot likely to have been trade items It is even possible thatthe 29 flattened bells found in Yglesiasphase contexts werecrushed by Lamanais metalsmiths in preparation for re-casting In addition to the crushed bells several othersmashed and torn copper objects were recovered fromthese late deposits Minimizing the surface area of the met-al by crushing or flattening would have facilitated meltingfor reuse in two ways (Aaron Shugar personal communi-cation 2006) Reducing the size of the objects by flatteningwould have allowed a greater number of bells to fit into acrucible for melting Also crushing would have reducedthe length of time required for maintenance of tempera-tures high enough (10830 C) to melt all of the material inthe crucible

In sum two separate but related lines of evidence sug-gest that metalsmiths were experimenting with the pro-duction of copper objects at Lamanai sometime just prior

to or during early Spanish colonial times The evidence in-cludes the presence of mis-cast copper artifacts most no-tably bells along with the pigs blanks and other produc-tion materials mentioned above and the anomalous arti-fact chemistry noted in a number of the copper objects re-covered at the site (Hosler 1994) In some cases Lamanaismetalsmiths were successful in creating whole bells nee-dles axes finger rings fish hooks and pieces of sheet cop-per The recovery of numerous lost-wax production fail-ures however indicates that at other times success eludedthem Noble (1975 369) suggests that mis-cast objectscould be the result of low melting temperatures for thecopper the presence of gas bubbles in residual wax left inmolds or movement of the clay and sand core within lost-wax molds Whatever the causes the production failurespigs prills and blanks are the kinds of metal objects onewould expect to encounter at a site where the occupantswere actively experimenting with metallurgy (Craddock1995 Young et al 1999)

Given the intermittent nature of Spanish mission activ-ity in the region the almost complete absence of Europeancopper objects and the relatively small quantity of metalinvolved overall we believe that metallurgy at Lamanai hadits roots in Late or Terminal Postclassic times and there-fore reflects a Maya technological innovation One of themost notable aspects of the assemblage of copper objectsfrom Lamanai is the absence of Spanish religious itemssuch as devotional medals personal crosses and crucifIXesrosaries copper-alloy stars reliquaries seals stamps andrings These kinds of objects are common at 16th and17th-century Spanish colonial sites throughout Floridaand the Caribbean (Deagan 2002) All but possibly one ofthe copper objects found thus far at Lamanai are distinctlyMesoamerican in form and design and based on prelimi-nary metallurgical analyses (Shugar 2005a) it appears thatmanufacturing technologies were distinctly Mesoamericanas well

Maya Metalsmiths and the Meanings of CopperMaya metalsmiths have been the focus of very little dis-

cussion among scholars (Bray 1971 1977 Hosler 19862003 Pendergast 1962 West 1994) As a result their sta-tus in ancient Mesoamerican social and economic realmsremains unclear Smith (2003 122) notes that the pro-duction of copper and bronze objects required the techni-cal expertise of highly skilled craftspeople it is difficulthowever to determine the extent to which technical skill inmetallurgy might have been correlated with certain levelsof social status in the Postclassic Maya world At Lamanaimis-cast copper objects manufacturing debris pigs andother raw materials have been recovered in domestic mid-

196

Figure 9 Metalsmith depicted in the Florentine Codex Folio 796Note the open mold of an axe into which it appears molten metal isflowing Also note the brazier possibly ceramic into which the metal-smith is forcing oxygen through a hollow tube tipped with a tuyere(blowpipe tip)

dens associated with what appear to be the relnains of bothcommoner and elite households Although the results ofongoing archaeological investigations are encouraging it isstill difficult to assess the roles that Maya elites and com-moners may have had in copper production activities vis-a-vis current models of craft specialization (Brun1fiel and Ear-le 1987 Costin 1991 Earle 1987 2002)

It is clear however that brilliantly colorful copper bellswith their wondrous sounds and sacred connotations wereregarded by Postclassic Mesoamericans as prestige goodsand hence served as powerful symbols of social identity(Hosler 1994 155-156 Smith 2003 119-121) Thecomplex designs of the finely crafted rings ornamentalclothing fasteners and tweezers speak to the highly devel-oped technical abilities of the craft specialists who createdthem Metalsmiths are identified in Maya lexicons of theSpanish colonial period asAh chuuen kaak or artificers offire (Clark and Houston 1998 44-45)Ah chuuen kaak istranslated into Spanish in the Motul Dictionary as fundi-dor de metales or one who founds and casts metals(Clark and Houston 1998 44-45) The Florentine Codexshows a Mesoamerican metalsmith casting a metal axe in amold using a tuyere or blowpipe (FIG 9) the receptacle for

Journal of Field Archaeology(Vol 34) 2009 69

melting the copper is depicted as a brazier apparently ce-ramic (Sal1agun 1959 folio 796) Bray (1977 397) sug-gests that Maya metalsmiths may have been itinerant craftspecialists traveling with their own metalworking toolssuch as tuyeres crucibles and molds It is also possible thatcopper workers were full-time residents of certain commu-nities such as Lamanai and the crucibles mentioned byColumbus may have been destined for use by metalsmitl1swho resided in such communities

To date ve have not identified copper production fea-tures or tools such as furnaces ceramic braziers cruciblesor tuyeres at Lamanai If we were to find such elements indirect association with residential or other architectural re-mains or if copper-working tools were to be recovered inindividual burials we might be able to establish tentativeassociations between the objects and the metalsmiths whoused them In addition the study of households with as-sociated metal objects and production materials and work-shop areas as well as osteological analysis of certain buri-als might provide information regarding the lives of an-cient Maya metalsmiths and the organization of their spe-cialized craft activity At present however the data shed lit-de light on the identities of Maya metalsmiths To ourknowledge copper production features have not yet beenidentified archaeologically in the Maya lowlands and veryfew copper-vorking tools have been found (but see Bruhnsand Hammond 1982 1983 Paris 2008 Shugar 2005b)The presence of a single copper pig at Tipu in the westernCayo District of Belize (FIG I) is indicative of metalwork-ing in that community as well (Graham and Wayman1989) Current archaeometallurgical studies at Lamanaiare aimed at exploring the social and economic positions ofmetalsmiths in late Maya society (Simmons 2005a Sim-mons and Shugar 2008) but until we know more aboutthe features and tools such individuals used how they or-ganized productive activities and where they lived it willbe difficult to understand the roles that Maya metalsmithsplayed in Postclassic period communities

Fortunately we know more about how the objects pro-duced by metalsmiths were regarded by the Maya Lexicaldata from Spanish colonial period dictionaries providesome insights into the various meanings assigned to cop-per objects by the people who used them In the Tzotzildictionary the term used for campana (bell) is tak)in(Laughlin 1988 643) the same term that is used formoney in both the Tzotzil Dictionary (Laughlin 1988631) and the San Francisco Dictionary (Michelon 1976584) In contemporary Chontal Maya the word tak)in istranslated as money metal literally the suns excrement(IZnowles 1984 462)

This last usage of the term suggests an underlying mean-

70 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanaiy BelizeSimmons et al

ing that is related to Maya perceptions of metals and theirproperties The significance of metallic sound and coloramong some Mesoamerican peoples particularly those inWest Mexico has been explored in Hoslers seminal workThe Sounds and Colors of Power (1994) We would argue asHosler (1986 1994 2003) has in the case of West Mexi-can peoples that certain metallic colors and sounds wereconsidered divine by the Maya The association of metalwith the sun a deity known as J(inich Ahau or God G(Miller and Taube 1993) suggests that metal objects wereperceived by the Maya as having animate qualities that theyconsidered to be divine

In the 17th century the Spanish Friar Diego Lopez deCogolludo provided unambiguous information regardinghow copper bells were used and perceived by the Maya atthe time of Spanish contact in Yucatan La moneda de queusabany era campanillas y cascabelesde cobre)que tentan el val-Orj segun la grandeza (The money that they used waslittle bells and bells of copper that had value according totheir size ) (1688 181) The writings of Diego Quija-da a 16th-century alcalde mayor (head of a provincial ad-ministration in the Spanish colonial period) also includereferences to the value ascribed to copper bells during theSpanish colonial period in Yucatan In discussing fmeslevied on Maya convicted of idolatry Quijada notes thatcacao red stones beads and campanillas y cascabelesde co-bre que tentan de tiempo de su infidelidad (small bells andbells of copper that they had from the time of their infi-delity) were to be paid to Spanish authorities (Scholes andAdams 1938 Book 2 214)

Diego de Landas 16th-century work Rclacidn de lasCosas de Yucatan (Tozzer 1941) provides further informa-tion on how the contact period Maya used some copperstatus and utilitarian objects Landa notes They had a cer-tain soft brass and with a slight mixture of gold fromwhich they made their hatchets by casting them and somelittle bells with which they danced (Tozzer 1941 186)Information from the Cordemex Dictionary supports theidea that Maya dancers used bells the terms cheh ok andcheh ok mascab are translated as cascabelesque usan los dan-zantes (bells that the dancers use) (Vasquez 1980 87)Evidently bells were attached to bands possibly of wovencotton that were worn around the lower leg just underthe knee Figure 10 shows a partially reconstructed Post-classic ceramic vessel from Lamanai used to burn incensewith what appear to be bells worn in this manner Thomp-son notes that a censer found at Mayapan believed to rep-resent the deity Xipe Totec has at about knee level bellspainted yellow presumably to represent gold or burnishedcopper (2005 9)

Other metal objects including copper axes also held a

certain value for the Maya In a manuscript written in 1620following his travels through central Guatemala FriarGabriel Salazar notes Once when in charge of searchingvery carefully among the Indians of San Marcos Coban orManche for as many as possible of the small copper axesused in these lands in pagan times I bought them eventhough they were expensive (Feldman 2000 52-53)

ConclusionThe number and variety of copper objects recovered at

Lamanai indicate that as a new commodity with remark-ably unique aural and visual properties metal artifactsplayed an important role for at least some members ofPostclassic and later contact period society Masson notesthat metal was probably the most higWy valued luxurygood in this region of the Postclassic Maya world (2003279) The inclusion of copper bells elaborate rings andbutton -like ornaments in Early and Middle Postclassic eliteburials shows that at least some residents of the site dis-played such items in certain social and ritual settings Cop-per bells worn during performances acted as auditory re-minders of the high social standing of those who displayedthem and the lustrous copper finger rings and elaborateclothing ornaments served as visual indicators of elevatedstatus

The results of chemical analyses indicate that during theBuk and Cib ceramic phases finished copper objects wornas items of personal adornment were imported intoLamanai from West Mexico and southeastern Mesoameri-ca (Hosler 1994 210-213) The sample of Bule and Cibphase copper artifacts is small but the size of the assem-blage is not the product of sampling bias given the exten-sive nature of survey and excavation in the areas occupiedduring these times (Pendergast 1981) It is conceivablethat the sample is not representative of the level of impor-tation of metal artifacts in Buk and Cib times because theartifact quantity was reduced by recycling a portion of theobjects as material for later Yglesiasphase metalworking atthe site The fact that copper artifacts have not been recov-ered from non-elite Buk or Cib phase contexts suggeststhat elite residents at the site during the first few centuriesof the Postclassic period were the beneficiaries of thestrong trade relationships that the community enjoyed be-yond the Maya area

The contexts from which metal artifacts have been re-covered suggest that the view of metals at Lamanaichanged over the course of the last few centuries of thesites existence During the Early and Middle Postclassicperiods copper objects appear to have had a personalmeaning for members of the communitys elite Elaboratecopper ornaments fmger rings and bells originating from

Journal of Field ArchaeologyVol 34) 2009 71

Figure 10 Late Postclassic incensario from Lamanai with apparent copper bells on left leg probablydepicting a Maya dancer

regions located well outside the Maya lowlands adornedelite individuals during their lives and accompanied themto their graves Ethnohistorical accounts indicate that suchobjects were symbols of elevated social rank among theMaya their gleaming visual quality which may have beenseen as reflecting the power of the sun on those who worethem helped to reify that status

The absence of copper objects in Buk and Cib phasemiddens and architecture stands in sharp contrast to thepattern of intrasite distribution just prior to and duringSpanish colonial times During the later Yglesias phaseboth elite and non-elite individuals appear to have had ac-cess to copper objects including statusritual objects im-ported from West Mexico and southeastern MesoamericaElite and non-elite community members also had access toobjects made of recycled copper produced at LamanaiCopper artifacts found in elite residential and burial con-texts include imported and recycled objects in rougWyequal numbers Copper objects produced in Yglesias timeswere both decorative and utilitarian in nature whereasthose imported from outside the Maya area in earlier cen-turies were exclusively for status display purposes

Since the Maya at Lamanai were producing copper ob-

jects from what Hosler describes as stock metal derivedfrom melted-down artifacts (1994 214) we find it puz-zling that such a large proportion of those fronl Yglesiascontexts (57) were discarded along with domestic refusePotentially recyclable bells rings needles and other fin-ished objects have been recovered in substantial numbersduring our excavations in Terminal Postclassic-contact pe-riod middens in the vicinity of the Spanish churches In ad-dition raw materials for production such as the axe frag-ments and lost-wax casting reservoirs mentioned abovealong with all four copper pigs come from rubbish dumpsor locations without apparent structural association Thepresence of these and other copper artifacts including allof the production failures found around Structure N 11-18and in the area of the Spanish churches suggests that thisportion of the site was a center for the production of cop-per objects (Simmons 2004 200Sa Simmons and Shugar2008)

Over thirty years ago Warwick Bray noted that thequantity and diversity of copper objects at Lamanai is bestaccounted for by local manufacture in Belize (1977 397)Although we have made solid strides in the past threedecades toward understanding where and how copper ob-

72 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

jects were produced in the southern Maya lowlands westill have some distance to go It is our hope that further in-vestigations will bring us closer to an understanding of theadvent of copper metallurgy the organizational aspects ofthis specialized craft activity and the roles and status ofmetalsmiths in ancient Maya society

AcknowledgmentsThe 1974-1986 Lamanai excavations were funded by

the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada the Royal Ontario Museum and the Richard IveyFoundation of London Ontario Simmons 1999-2001excavations at Lamanai along with chemical analyses ofthe copper artifacts recovered there were made possible byresearch grants from the H John Heinz III Fund for LatinAmerican Archaeology Technological analyses of the cop-per artifacts from Lamanai were supported in part by aCharles L Cahill Award from the University of North Car-olina Wilmington We appreciate the efforts of DrsDorothy Hosler and Aaron Shugar in conducting theseanalysesThanks to Stan Loten for the perspective drawingof Structure N10-2 We also appreciate the thoughtfulcomments of three anonymous reviewers At Lamanai lo-gistical support was provided by the Gonzalez family theEsquivel family Las Orquedias Womens Group and theLamanai Field Research Center Our sincere thanks go toall of the men and women of San Jose Succotz IndianChurch and San Carlos who have helped us over the yearsto gain a better understanding of Lamanais rich history

Scott E Simmons (phD 1996) University of Colorado) Boul-der) is an Associate Professorat the University of North Car-olina Wilmington and Co-Principal Investigator of theLamanai Archaeological Project His researchfocus isMayaarchaeology and his interests include craft specialization)household and political economies)and archaeometallutgy inthe Postclassicand Spanish colonialperiods in MesoamericaMailing address University of North Carolina Wilmington)601 South College Road) Wilmington) NC 28403 E-mailsimmonssuncwedu

DavidM Pendetgast (phD 1961) University ofCalifor-nia at LosAngeles) is an Honorary Research Fellow at the In-stitute ofArchaeology) University College London He has con-ducted investigations in Belize for the past four and a halfdecades and directed the Royal Ontario Museum)s LamanaiArchaeological Project from 1974 to 1986 Mailing addressInstitute ofArchaeology) University College London) 31-34Gordon Square) London) U IC WC1H opr

Elizabeth Graham (phD 1983) Cambridge University) isa Senior Lecturer at the Institute ofArchaeology) UniversityCollege London and Co-Principal Investigator of the

Lamanai Archaeological Project Her researchfocus isMayaarchaeology in Belize and her interests include the Postclassicand Spanish colonial periods as well as human-environmentalinteraction in the humid tropics and the development of tropi-cal urbanism Mailing address Institute ofArchaeology) Uni-versity College London) 31-34 Gordon Square) London) U ICWC1HOPr

Aimers James J2007 The Curse of the Ware Using Ceramic Systems in Belize

Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 4 101-110Alexander Rani T and Susan Kepecs

2005 The Postclassic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoameri-ca~ in Susan Kepecs and Rani T Alexander eds The Post-classic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoamerica Archaeolog-ical Perspectives Albuquerque University of New MexicoPress 1-12

Andres Christopher R and K Anne Pyburn2004 Out of Sight The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods

at Chau Hiix Belize in Arthur A Demarest Prudence MRice and Don S Rice eds The Terminal Classic in theMaya Lowlands Boulder University Press of Colorado402--423

Andrews Anthony P1990 The Role of Ports in Maya Civilization in Flora S Clan-

cy and Peter D Harrison eds Vision and Revision inMayaStudies Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press159-167

1993 Late Postclassic Maya Archaeology Journal of World Pre-history 7 35-69

Bateson J Howard and Ian H S Hall1977 The Geology of the Maya Mountains) Belize London Her

Majestys Stationary OfficeBerdan Frances F

2003 The Economy of Postclassic Mesoamerica in Michael ESmith and Frances F Berdan eds The PostclassicMesoamer-ican World Salt Lake City University of Utah Press93-95

Blackiston A Hooton1910 Recent Discoveries in Honduras American Anthropologist

12 536-54lBray Warwick

1971 Ancient American Metal-Smiths Proceedings of the RoyalAnthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 197125-43

1977 Maya Metalwork and its External Connections in N or-man Hammond ed Social Process in Maya Prehistory Es-says in Honour of Sir J Eric S Thompson New York Acade-mic Press 365--403

Bruhns Karen O1972 Prehispanic Cire Perdue Casting Moulds from Columbia

Man 7 308-31l

Bruhns Karen 0 and Norman Hammond1982 Maya Metal Workers Tool from Belize Antiquity 56

175-1801983 Moho Cay Hammer A Revised Opinion Antiquity 57

136-137

66 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

Figure 7 Copper pigs from Lamanai The ingot on the left measures 63 x 65 cm and weighs 2755 gThe pig in the center measures 48 x 50 cm and weighs 1255 g The pig on the right measures 25 x26 em and weighs 345 g

Figure 8 Copper prill recovered from the south side middenofStr Nll-27 north side midden ofStr Nll-18

Late Postclassic to Spanish colonial period contexts All areclassifiable as Type IXA2 (Pendergast 1962 525) Hookshanks are of varying size but all are looped at their topsfor line attachment Ten needles were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone six from Str Nll-18 Most areType 2a with a small piece of metal looped over to formthe eye (Hosler 1986 377) Several are of Type 1 with aperforation through the shank of the needle serving as theeye (Hosler 1986 369)All of the needles are made of coldhammered rolled sheet metal with either a rounded or anelongated eye Two pins and four pin fragn1ents were alsofound associated with Yglesias phase ceramic material Fi-nally a possible tinlder with a double loop suspensionmade from what may be a cut pyriform bell was found atStr Nll-18

Copper Production at LamanaiCompelling evidence for the production of copper ob-

jects at Lamanai comes from pigs prills mis-cast copper

objects and by-products of lost-wax casting found in thevicinity of the Spanish churches Four pigs of varying sizehave been recovered thus far The smallest pig weighs 58g and the largest weighs just over 275 g All have a slight-ly irregular circular shape and are plano-convex in section(FIG 7) Sprues vary in size and surfaces are typically pit-ted and granular

Other evidence of copper production at Lamanai isdiminutive in size and weight but no less important inhelping us to understand the nature of Maya metallurgy Itconsists of the prills mentioned above which are very smallbeads of metal that are by-products of casting activitiesPrills are formed when molten metal is poured into moldsThey are generally quite round in shape but are sometimesdeformed by the impact produced when liquefied metalsplashes falls and strikes the ground Owing to their mi-nuscule size prills typically go unnoticed during excava-tion One found during excavations in the Spanish ChurchZone is shown in Figure 8 To our knowledge no otherobjects that might definitively be called prills have been re-ported from the Maya area

Fragments of copper sheet of various sizes were alsofound in the Spanish Church Zone Five of the 11 recov-ered are from Structure Nll-18 and three are from an ad-jacent structure Most weigh between 1 and 2 g with thelargest weighing just over 6 g

Two large lumps of copper that appear to be remnantsof the lost-wax casting process were found together withthe group of axe fragments mentioned above (Simmonsand Shugar 2008) These two masses of copper weigh ap-proximately 21 and 86 g and appear to be remnants of cast-

ing reservoirs of the kind described by Long (1964 fig 1)in his experimental study of lost-wax casting techniques

Twelve copper objects from Lamanai came from surfacecontexts and thus cannot be assigned to a temporal phasewith any confidence (TABLE 2) All were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone and most came from the area of StrN 11-18 Their association with this structure makes it like-ly that most if not all of the objects which include onepig one ring one half pair of tweezers two probable pintips and seven bells are very late in date The remaining sixcopper artifacts that cannot be assigned to any temporalphase come from a burial within a small structure locatedin the Spanish Church Zone Excavations revealed a burialof two individuals a middle-aged female seated with herleft arm around the shoulders of a seated middle-agedmale described as The Loving Couple (Pendergast1989 White et alein press) Unfortunately no ceramic orother temporally diagnostic material accompanied the cou-pIe although Pendergast (1989 2) notes that the stairblock under which the couple was interred was probablyrebuilt at some point between rougWy AD 1450 and1500 A pair of disc-bladed copper tweezers of Type IIIC(Pendergast 1962 524) and five plain rings of Type IVAI(Pendergast 1962 529) were recovered in direct associa-tion with the skeletal remains The location of the tweez-ers to which a small amount of cotton cloth still adheredat the time of their discovery suggests the man wore theobject suspended from a cord or thong around his neckThe rings which enclosed a quantity of cotton cloth werefound between the scapulae of the female a position thatsuggests they served as ornaments for her hair braid orqueue

The Functions and Meanings of Copper Objectsat Lamanai

Early and Middle Postclassic Copper Objects asImported Wealth

Commencing around AD 1100 the ceramic traditionsof Early Postclassic times at Lamanai some of which grewout of those of the Late and Terminal Classic (Graham1987 73-81) underwent significant change New formsemerged many of which were radical departures from theapproach to pottery-malcing in preceding centuries Al-most certainly of local origin the shapes and decoration ofthe Buk ceramic phase quicldy supplanted what had gonebefore but at the same time retained certain elements ofthe earlier ceramic canon (Graham 1987 81-87) With thechanges in pottery came the development of limited ce-ramic ties with polities in the northern Yucatan peninsulathat on chronological grounds appear to involve the

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 67

transmission of ideas and perhaps of the ceramic productsof those ideas from Lamanai to recipients in the north(Pendergast 1986 236-245) Possibly in return for ce-ramics and other materials sent northward metal artifactsof non-Maya manufacture began to flow into Lamanai

The results of chemical compositional studies conduct-ed by Hosler (1994 208-213) indicate that the sources ofthe copper objects that began to be imported into Lamanaiduring Early Postclassic times are West Mexico and south-eastern Mesoamerica In addition some of the objects par-ticularly the finely made rings and ornaments are similarin form and style to examples from the West Mexican statesof Michoacan and Guerrero The exotic origin of the met-al objects found at Lamanai combined with the symbolicsignificance of the objects in their areas of manufacture ap-pears to have conferred upon the artifacts a special value asmarkers of rank or status in the Early to Middle PostclassicLamanai community Metal artifacts had an entirely per-sonal association and meaning in Buk and Cib phase timesThe occurrence of metals in interments marked by a con-siderable range of grave goods reinforces the role of the ob-jects as indicators of the owners elevated standing in thecommunity All but one of the 27 Buk and Cib copper ar-tifacts recovered at Lamanai are what Hosler (1994 208)describes as status display or ritual objects These includebells (one of which was a centerpiece in a jade and shellnecldace) elaborately made false wirework and dome-shaped ornaments and finely crafted filigree rings allmade by lost-wax casting (FIG 3) It seems likely that theexotic designs and origins of these and other metal artifactsfrom the period all crafted from an unfamiliar materialwith unique properties helped to make such objects high-ly appealing to elite members of the community The flowof exotic items such as these into Lamanai has been cited asone of the clear indicators of the communitys continuedvitality as reflected in long-distance social and commercialties following the collapse of so many other southern low-land Maya polities in the 9th century AD (Pendergast1991 1993)

The Late Postclassic and Spanish Colonial PeriodsCopper Objects as Items of Local Manufacture

The contexts in which copper artifacts were found dat-ing from the centuries just prior to and during Spanishcontact differ significantly from those in which Early andMiddle Postclassic copper artifacts were recovered Mostcopper objects from very late deposits were recovered frommiddens or from architectural contexts and a considerablenumber appear to have been manufactured at the siteprobably within the Spanish Church Zone Copper oresare not locally available in the Maya lowland area (Bateson

68 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

and Hall 1977 Bray 1971 1977 West 1994) The resultsof Hoslers (1994) chemical compositional studies indicatethat at the time of Spanish contact the Maya at Lamanaiwere crafting their own metal tools and status symbols us-ing material apparently produced by melting copper ob-jects imported in earlier times She notes that by historicaltimes artisans were crafting objects at Lamanai itself andthey seem to have been doing so by using recycled metal(Hosler 1994 214) The majority of copper artifacts pro-duced during this time were made from metal cast intomolds using the lost-wax method most are undecoratedbells Hosler (1994 53) notes that available evidence indi-cates that all bells manufactured in Mesoamerica were castin one piece using the lost-wax method Various aspects ofthis metalworking technique have been described using in-formation obtained from archaeological investigations(Bruhns 1972 Bruhns and Hammond 1982 1983 Pen-dergast 1962) experimental studies (Long 1964) ethno-historical accounts (Motolirua 1950 SahagUn 1959) andmaterial analyses (Hosler 1994 Noble 1975)

We do not know when copper metallurgy began atLamanai but there is evidence that the Maya there were ac-tively engaged in the production of copper objects duringSpanish contact times and probably earlier perhaps by theend of the Cib ceramic phase The strongest evidence forindigenous metallurgy at Lamanai comes from Yglesiasphase contexts and consists of three pigs ten prills an axeblank (or ingot possibly) and two probable lost-wax cast-ing reservoirs all representing production debris (TABLE

3) In addition 24 bell fragments that are production fail-ures were recovered from Yglesias phase deposits in theSpanish Church Zone Along with the pigs and prills thesemis-cast bells add weight to the idea that copper produc-tion was taking place at Lamanai since casting failures arenot likely to have been trade items It is even possible thatthe 29 flattened bells found in Yglesiasphase contexts werecrushed by Lamanais metalsmiths in preparation for re-casting In addition to the crushed bells several othersmashed and torn copper objects were recovered fromthese late deposits Minimizing the surface area of the met-al by crushing or flattening would have facilitated meltingfor reuse in two ways (Aaron Shugar personal communi-cation 2006) Reducing the size of the objects by flatteningwould have allowed a greater number of bells to fit into acrucible for melting Also crushing would have reducedthe length of time required for maintenance of tempera-tures high enough (10830 C) to melt all of the material inthe crucible

In sum two separate but related lines of evidence sug-gest that metalsmiths were experimenting with the pro-duction of copper objects at Lamanai sometime just prior

to or during early Spanish colonial times The evidence in-cludes the presence of mis-cast copper artifacts most no-tably bells along with the pigs blanks and other produc-tion materials mentioned above and the anomalous arti-fact chemistry noted in a number of the copper objects re-covered at the site (Hosler 1994) In some cases Lamanaismetalsmiths were successful in creating whole bells nee-dles axes finger rings fish hooks and pieces of sheet cop-per The recovery of numerous lost-wax production fail-ures however indicates that at other times success eludedthem Noble (1975 369) suggests that mis-cast objectscould be the result of low melting temperatures for thecopper the presence of gas bubbles in residual wax left inmolds or movement of the clay and sand core within lost-wax molds Whatever the causes the production failurespigs prills and blanks are the kinds of metal objects onewould expect to encounter at a site where the occupantswere actively experimenting with metallurgy (Craddock1995 Young et al 1999)

Given the intermittent nature of Spanish mission activ-ity in the region the almost complete absence of Europeancopper objects and the relatively small quantity of metalinvolved overall we believe that metallurgy at Lamanai hadits roots in Late or Terminal Postclassic times and there-fore reflects a Maya technological innovation One of themost notable aspects of the assemblage of copper objectsfrom Lamanai is the absence of Spanish religious itemssuch as devotional medals personal crosses and crucifIXesrosaries copper-alloy stars reliquaries seals stamps andrings These kinds of objects are common at 16th and17th-century Spanish colonial sites throughout Floridaand the Caribbean (Deagan 2002) All but possibly one ofthe copper objects found thus far at Lamanai are distinctlyMesoamerican in form and design and based on prelimi-nary metallurgical analyses (Shugar 2005a) it appears thatmanufacturing technologies were distinctly Mesoamericanas well

Maya Metalsmiths and the Meanings of CopperMaya metalsmiths have been the focus of very little dis-

cussion among scholars (Bray 1971 1977 Hosler 19862003 Pendergast 1962 West 1994) As a result their sta-tus in ancient Mesoamerican social and economic realmsremains unclear Smith (2003 122) notes that the pro-duction of copper and bronze objects required the techni-cal expertise of highly skilled craftspeople it is difficulthowever to determine the extent to which technical skill inmetallurgy might have been correlated with certain levelsof social status in the Postclassic Maya world At Lamanaimis-cast copper objects manufacturing debris pigs andother raw materials have been recovered in domestic mid-

196

Figure 9 Metalsmith depicted in the Florentine Codex Folio 796Note the open mold of an axe into which it appears molten metal isflowing Also note the brazier possibly ceramic into which the metal-smith is forcing oxygen through a hollow tube tipped with a tuyere(blowpipe tip)

dens associated with what appear to be the relnains of bothcommoner and elite households Although the results ofongoing archaeological investigations are encouraging it isstill difficult to assess the roles that Maya elites and com-moners may have had in copper production activities vis-a-vis current models of craft specialization (Brun1fiel and Ear-le 1987 Costin 1991 Earle 1987 2002)

It is clear however that brilliantly colorful copper bellswith their wondrous sounds and sacred connotations wereregarded by Postclassic Mesoamericans as prestige goodsand hence served as powerful symbols of social identity(Hosler 1994 155-156 Smith 2003 119-121) Thecomplex designs of the finely crafted rings ornamentalclothing fasteners and tweezers speak to the highly devel-oped technical abilities of the craft specialists who createdthem Metalsmiths are identified in Maya lexicons of theSpanish colonial period asAh chuuen kaak or artificers offire (Clark and Houston 1998 44-45)Ah chuuen kaak istranslated into Spanish in the Motul Dictionary as fundi-dor de metales or one who founds and casts metals(Clark and Houston 1998 44-45) The Florentine Codexshows a Mesoamerican metalsmith casting a metal axe in amold using a tuyere or blowpipe (FIG 9) the receptacle for

Journal of Field Archaeology(Vol 34) 2009 69

melting the copper is depicted as a brazier apparently ce-ramic (Sal1agun 1959 folio 796) Bray (1977 397) sug-gests that Maya metalsmiths may have been itinerant craftspecialists traveling with their own metalworking toolssuch as tuyeres crucibles and molds It is also possible thatcopper workers were full-time residents of certain commu-nities such as Lamanai and the crucibles mentioned byColumbus may have been destined for use by metalsmitl1swho resided in such communities

To date ve have not identified copper production fea-tures or tools such as furnaces ceramic braziers cruciblesor tuyeres at Lamanai If we were to find such elements indirect association with residential or other architectural re-mains or if copper-working tools were to be recovered inindividual burials we might be able to establish tentativeassociations between the objects and the metalsmiths whoused them In addition the study of households with as-sociated metal objects and production materials and work-shop areas as well as osteological analysis of certain buri-als might provide information regarding the lives of an-cient Maya metalsmiths and the organization of their spe-cialized craft activity At present however the data shed lit-de light on the identities of Maya metalsmiths To ourknowledge copper production features have not yet beenidentified archaeologically in the Maya lowlands and veryfew copper-vorking tools have been found (but see Bruhnsand Hammond 1982 1983 Paris 2008 Shugar 2005b)The presence of a single copper pig at Tipu in the westernCayo District of Belize (FIG I) is indicative of metalwork-ing in that community as well (Graham and Wayman1989) Current archaeometallurgical studies at Lamanaiare aimed at exploring the social and economic positions ofmetalsmiths in late Maya society (Simmons 2005a Sim-mons and Shugar 2008) but until we know more aboutthe features and tools such individuals used how they or-ganized productive activities and where they lived it willbe difficult to understand the roles that Maya metalsmithsplayed in Postclassic period communities

Fortunately we know more about how the objects pro-duced by metalsmiths were regarded by the Maya Lexicaldata from Spanish colonial period dictionaries providesome insights into the various meanings assigned to cop-per objects by the people who used them In the Tzotzildictionary the term used for campana (bell) is tak)in(Laughlin 1988 643) the same term that is used formoney in both the Tzotzil Dictionary (Laughlin 1988631) and the San Francisco Dictionary (Michelon 1976584) In contemporary Chontal Maya the word tak)in istranslated as money metal literally the suns excrement(IZnowles 1984 462)

This last usage of the term suggests an underlying mean-

70 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanaiy BelizeSimmons et al

ing that is related to Maya perceptions of metals and theirproperties The significance of metallic sound and coloramong some Mesoamerican peoples particularly those inWest Mexico has been explored in Hoslers seminal workThe Sounds and Colors of Power (1994) We would argue asHosler (1986 1994 2003) has in the case of West Mexi-can peoples that certain metallic colors and sounds wereconsidered divine by the Maya The association of metalwith the sun a deity known as J(inich Ahau or God G(Miller and Taube 1993) suggests that metal objects wereperceived by the Maya as having animate qualities that theyconsidered to be divine

In the 17th century the Spanish Friar Diego Lopez deCogolludo provided unambiguous information regardinghow copper bells were used and perceived by the Maya atthe time of Spanish contact in Yucatan La moneda de queusabany era campanillas y cascabelesde cobre)que tentan el val-Orj segun la grandeza (The money that they used waslittle bells and bells of copper that had value according totheir size ) (1688 181) The writings of Diego Quija-da a 16th-century alcalde mayor (head of a provincial ad-ministration in the Spanish colonial period) also includereferences to the value ascribed to copper bells during theSpanish colonial period in Yucatan In discussing fmeslevied on Maya convicted of idolatry Quijada notes thatcacao red stones beads and campanillas y cascabelesde co-bre que tentan de tiempo de su infidelidad (small bells andbells of copper that they had from the time of their infi-delity) were to be paid to Spanish authorities (Scholes andAdams 1938 Book 2 214)

Diego de Landas 16th-century work Rclacidn de lasCosas de Yucatan (Tozzer 1941) provides further informa-tion on how the contact period Maya used some copperstatus and utilitarian objects Landa notes They had a cer-tain soft brass and with a slight mixture of gold fromwhich they made their hatchets by casting them and somelittle bells with which they danced (Tozzer 1941 186)Information from the Cordemex Dictionary supports theidea that Maya dancers used bells the terms cheh ok andcheh ok mascab are translated as cascabelesque usan los dan-zantes (bells that the dancers use) (Vasquez 1980 87)Evidently bells were attached to bands possibly of wovencotton that were worn around the lower leg just underthe knee Figure 10 shows a partially reconstructed Post-classic ceramic vessel from Lamanai used to burn incensewith what appear to be bells worn in this manner Thomp-son notes that a censer found at Mayapan believed to rep-resent the deity Xipe Totec has at about knee level bellspainted yellow presumably to represent gold or burnishedcopper (2005 9)

Other metal objects including copper axes also held a

certain value for the Maya In a manuscript written in 1620following his travels through central Guatemala FriarGabriel Salazar notes Once when in charge of searchingvery carefully among the Indians of San Marcos Coban orManche for as many as possible of the small copper axesused in these lands in pagan times I bought them eventhough they were expensive (Feldman 2000 52-53)

ConclusionThe number and variety of copper objects recovered at

Lamanai indicate that as a new commodity with remark-ably unique aural and visual properties metal artifactsplayed an important role for at least some members ofPostclassic and later contact period society Masson notesthat metal was probably the most higWy valued luxurygood in this region of the Postclassic Maya world (2003279) The inclusion of copper bells elaborate rings andbutton -like ornaments in Early and Middle Postclassic eliteburials shows that at least some residents of the site dis-played such items in certain social and ritual settings Cop-per bells worn during performances acted as auditory re-minders of the high social standing of those who displayedthem and the lustrous copper finger rings and elaborateclothing ornaments served as visual indicators of elevatedstatus

The results of chemical analyses indicate that during theBuk and Cib ceramic phases finished copper objects wornas items of personal adornment were imported intoLamanai from West Mexico and southeastern Mesoameri-ca (Hosler 1994 210-213) The sample of Bule and Cibphase copper artifacts is small but the size of the assem-blage is not the product of sampling bias given the exten-sive nature of survey and excavation in the areas occupiedduring these times (Pendergast 1981) It is conceivablethat the sample is not representative of the level of impor-tation of metal artifacts in Buk and Cib times because theartifact quantity was reduced by recycling a portion of theobjects as material for later Yglesiasphase metalworking atthe site The fact that copper artifacts have not been recov-ered from non-elite Buk or Cib phase contexts suggeststhat elite residents at the site during the first few centuriesof the Postclassic period were the beneficiaries of thestrong trade relationships that the community enjoyed be-yond the Maya area

The contexts from which metal artifacts have been re-covered suggest that the view of metals at Lamanaichanged over the course of the last few centuries of thesites existence During the Early and Middle Postclassicperiods copper objects appear to have had a personalmeaning for members of the communitys elite Elaboratecopper ornaments fmger rings and bells originating from

Journal of Field ArchaeologyVol 34) 2009 71

Figure 10 Late Postclassic incensario from Lamanai with apparent copper bells on left leg probablydepicting a Maya dancer

regions located well outside the Maya lowlands adornedelite individuals during their lives and accompanied themto their graves Ethnohistorical accounts indicate that suchobjects were symbols of elevated social rank among theMaya their gleaming visual quality which may have beenseen as reflecting the power of the sun on those who worethem helped to reify that status

The absence of copper objects in Buk and Cib phasemiddens and architecture stands in sharp contrast to thepattern of intrasite distribution just prior to and duringSpanish colonial times During the later Yglesias phaseboth elite and non-elite individuals appear to have had ac-cess to copper objects including statusritual objects im-ported from West Mexico and southeastern MesoamericaElite and non-elite community members also had access toobjects made of recycled copper produced at LamanaiCopper artifacts found in elite residential and burial con-texts include imported and recycled objects in rougWyequal numbers Copper objects produced in Yglesias timeswere both decorative and utilitarian in nature whereasthose imported from outside the Maya area in earlier cen-turies were exclusively for status display purposes

Since the Maya at Lamanai were producing copper ob-

jects from what Hosler describes as stock metal derivedfrom melted-down artifacts (1994 214) we find it puz-zling that such a large proportion of those fronl Yglesiascontexts (57) were discarded along with domestic refusePotentially recyclable bells rings needles and other fin-ished objects have been recovered in substantial numbersduring our excavations in Terminal Postclassic-contact pe-riod middens in the vicinity of the Spanish churches In ad-dition raw materials for production such as the axe frag-ments and lost-wax casting reservoirs mentioned abovealong with all four copper pigs come from rubbish dumpsor locations without apparent structural association Thepresence of these and other copper artifacts including allof the production failures found around Structure N 11-18and in the area of the Spanish churches suggests that thisportion of the site was a center for the production of cop-per objects (Simmons 2004 200Sa Simmons and Shugar2008)

Over thirty years ago Warwick Bray noted that thequantity and diversity of copper objects at Lamanai is bestaccounted for by local manufacture in Belize (1977 397)Although we have made solid strides in the past threedecades toward understanding where and how copper ob-

72 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

jects were produced in the southern Maya lowlands westill have some distance to go It is our hope that further in-vestigations will bring us closer to an understanding of theadvent of copper metallurgy the organizational aspects ofthis specialized craft activity and the roles and status ofmetalsmiths in ancient Maya society

AcknowledgmentsThe 1974-1986 Lamanai excavations were funded by

the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada the Royal Ontario Museum and the Richard IveyFoundation of London Ontario Simmons 1999-2001excavations at Lamanai along with chemical analyses ofthe copper artifacts recovered there were made possible byresearch grants from the H John Heinz III Fund for LatinAmerican Archaeology Technological analyses of the cop-per artifacts from Lamanai were supported in part by aCharles L Cahill Award from the University of North Car-olina Wilmington We appreciate the efforts of DrsDorothy Hosler and Aaron Shugar in conducting theseanalysesThanks to Stan Loten for the perspective drawingof Structure N10-2 We also appreciate the thoughtfulcomments of three anonymous reviewers At Lamanai lo-gistical support was provided by the Gonzalez family theEsquivel family Las Orquedias Womens Group and theLamanai Field Research Center Our sincere thanks go toall of the men and women of San Jose Succotz IndianChurch and San Carlos who have helped us over the yearsto gain a better understanding of Lamanais rich history

Scott E Simmons (phD 1996) University of Colorado) Boul-der) is an Associate Professorat the University of North Car-olina Wilmington and Co-Principal Investigator of theLamanai Archaeological Project His researchfocus isMayaarchaeology and his interests include craft specialization)household and political economies)and archaeometallutgy inthe Postclassicand Spanish colonialperiods in MesoamericaMailing address University of North Carolina Wilmington)601 South College Road) Wilmington) NC 28403 E-mailsimmonssuncwedu

DavidM Pendetgast (phD 1961) University ofCalifor-nia at LosAngeles) is an Honorary Research Fellow at the In-stitute ofArchaeology) University College London He has con-ducted investigations in Belize for the past four and a halfdecades and directed the Royal Ontario Museum)s LamanaiArchaeological Project from 1974 to 1986 Mailing addressInstitute ofArchaeology) University College London) 31-34Gordon Square) London) U IC WC1H opr

Elizabeth Graham (phD 1983) Cambridge University) isa Senior Lecturer at the Institute ofArchaeology) UniversityCollege London and Co-Principal Investigator of the

Lamanai Archaeological Project Her researchfocus isMayaarchaeology in Belize and her interests include the Postclassicand Spanish colonial periods as well as human-environmentalinteraction in the humid tropics and the development of tropi-cal urbanism Mailing address Institute ofArchaeology) Uni-versity College London) 31-34 Gordon Square) London) U ICWC1HOPr

Aimers James J2007 The Curse of the Ware Using Ceramic Systems in Belize

Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 4 101-110Alexander Rani T and Susan Kepecs

2005 The Postclassic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoameri-ca~ in Susan Kepecs and Rani T Alexander eds The Post-classic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoamerica Archaeolog-ical Perspectives Albuquerque University of New MexicoPress 1-12

Andres Christopher R and K Anne Pyburn2004 Out of Sight The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods

at Chau Hiix Belize in Arthur A Demarest Prudence MRice and Don S Rice eds The Terminal Classic in theMaya Lowlands Boulder University Press of Colorado402--423

Andrews Anthony P1990 The Role of Ports in Maya Civilization in Flora S Clan-

cy and Peter D Harrison eds Vision and Revision inMayaStudies Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press159-167

1993 Late Postclassic Maya Archaeology Journal of World Pre-history 7 35-69

Bateson J Howard and Ian H S Hall1977 The Geology of the Maya Mountains) Belize London Her

Majestys Stationary OfficeBerdan Frances F

2003 The Economy of Postclassic Mesoamerica in Michael ESmith and Frances F Berdan eds The PostclassicMesoamer-ican World Salt Lake City University of Utah Press93-95

Blackiston A Hooton1910 Recent Discoveries in Honduras American Anthropologist

12 536-54lBray Warwick

1971 Ancient American Metal-Smiths Proceedings of the RoyalAnthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 197125-43

1977 Maya Metalwork and its External Connections in N or-man Hammond ed Social Process in Maya Prehistory Es-says in Honour of Sir J Eric S Thompson New York Acade-mic Press 365--403

Bruhns Karen O1972 Prehispanic Cire Perdue Casting Moulds from Columbia

Man 7 308-31l

Bruhns Karen 0 and Norman Hammond1982 Maya Metal Workers Tool from Belize Antiquity 56

175-1801983 Moho Cay Hammer A Revised Opinion Antiquity 57

136-137

ing reservoirs of the kind described by Long (1964 fig 1)in his experimental study of lost-wax casting techniques

Twelve copper objects from Lamanai came from surfacecontexts and thus cannot be assigned to a temporal phasewith any confidence (TABLE 2) All were recovered in theSpanish Church Zone and most came from the area of StrN 11-18 Their association with this structure makes it like-ly that most if not all of the objects which include onepig one ring one half pair of tweezers two probable pintips and seven bells are very late in date The remaining sixcopper artifacts that cannot be assigned to any temporalphase come from a burial within a small structure locatedin the Spanish Church Zone Excavations revealed a burialof two individuals a middle-aged female seated with herleft arm around the shoulders of a seated middle-agedmale described as The Loving Couple (Pendergast1989 White et alein press) Unfortunately no ceramic orother temporally diagnostic material accompanied the cou-pIe although Pendergast (1989 2) notes that the stairblock under which the couple was interred was probablyrebuilt at some point between rougWy AD 1450 and1500 A pair of disc-bladed copper tweezers of Type IIIC(Pendergast 1962 524) and five plain rings of Type IVAI(Pendergast 1962 529) were recovered in direct associa-tion with the skeletal remains The location of the tweez-ers to which a small amount of cotton cloth still adheredat the time of their discovery suggests the man wore theobject suspended from a cord or thong around his neckThe rings which enclosed a quantity of cotton cloth werefound between the scapulae of the female a position thatsuggests they served as ornaments for her hair braid orqueue

The Functions and Meanings of Copper Objectsat Lamanai

Early and Middle Postclassic Copper Objects asImported Wealth

Commencing around AD 1100 the ceramic traditionsof Early Postclassic times at Lamanai some of which grewout of those of the Late and Terminal Classic (Graham1987 73-81) underwent significant change New formsemerged many of which were radical departures from theapproach to pottery-malcing in preceding centuries Al-most certainly of local origin the shapes and decoration ofthe Buk ceramic phase quicldy supplanted what had gonebefore but at the same time retained certain elements ofthe earlier ceramic canon (Graham 1987 81-87) With thechanges in pottery came the development of limited ce-ramic ties with polities in the northern Yucatan peninsulathat on chronological grounds appear to involve the

Journal of Field ArchaeologyjVol 34) 2009 67

transmission of ideas and perhaps of the ceramic productsof those ideas from Lamanai to recipients in the north(Pendergast 1986 236-245) Possibly in return for ce-ramics and other materials sent northward metal artifactsof non-Maya manufacture began to flow into Lamanai

The results of chemical compositional studies conduct-ed by Hosler (1994 208-213) indicate that the sources ofthe copper objects that began to be imported into Lamanaiduring Early Postclassic times are West Mexico and south-eastern Mesoamerica In addition some of the objects par-ticularly the finely made rings and ornaments are similarin form and style to examples from the West Mexican statesof Michoacan and Guerrero The exotic origin of the met-al objects found at Lamanai combined with the symbolicsignificance of the objects in their areas of manufacture ap-pears to have conferred upon the artifacts a special value asmarkers of rank or status in the Early to Middle PostclassicLamanai community Metal artifacts had an entirely per-sonal association and meaning in Buk and Cib phase timesThe occurrence of metals in interments marked by a con-siderable range of grave goods reinforces the role of the ob-jects as indicators of the owners elevated standing in thecommunity All but one of the 27 Buk and Cib copper ar-tifacts recovered at Lamanai are what Hosler (1994 208)describes as status display or ritual objects These includebells (one of which was a centerpiece in a jade and shellnecldace) elaborately made false wirework and dome-shaped ornaments and finely crafted filigree rings allmade by lost-wax casting (FIG 3) It seems likely that theexotic designs and origins of these and other metal artifactsfrom the period all crafted from an unfamiliar materialwith unique properties helped to make such objects high-ly appealing to elite members of the community The flowof exotic items such as these into Lamanai has been cited asone of the clear indicators of the communitys continuedvitality as reflected in long-distance social and commercialties following the collapse of so many other southern low-land Maya polities in the 9th century AD (Pendergast1991 1993)

The Late Postclassic and Spanish Colonial PeriodsCopper Objects as Items of Local Manufacture

The contexts in which copper artifacts were found dat-ing from the centuries just prior to and during Spanishcontact differ significantly from those in which Early andMiddle Postclassic copper artifacts were recovered Mostcopper objects from very late deposits were recovered frommiddens or from architectural contexts and a considerablenumber appear to have been manufactured at the siteprobably within the Spanish Church Zone Copper oresare not locally available in the Maya lowland area (Bateson

68 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

and Hall 1977 Bray 1971 1977 West 1994) The resultsof Hoslers (1994) chemical compositional studies indicatethat at the time of Spanish contact the Maya at Lamanaiwere crafting their own metal tools and status symbols us-ing material apparently produced by melting copper ob-jects imported in earlier times She notes that by historicaltimes artisans were crafting objects at Lamanai itself andthey seem to have been doing so by using recycled metal(Hosler 1994 214) The majority of copper artifacts pro-duced during this time were made from metal cast intomolds using the lost-wax method most are undecoratedbells Hosler (1994 53) notes that available evidence indi-cates that all bells manufactured in Mesoamerica were castin one piece using the lost-wax method Various aspects ofthis metalworking technique have been described using in-formation obtained from archaeological investigations(Bruhns 1972 Bruhns and Hammond 1982 1983 Pen-dergast 1962) experimental studies (Long 1964) ethno-historical accounts (Motolirua 1950 SahagUn 1959) andmaterial analyses (Hosler 1994 Noble 1975)

We do not know when copper metallurgy began atLamanai but there is evidence that the Maya there were ac-tively engaged in the production of copper objects duringSpanish contact times and probably earlier perhaps by theend of the Cib ceramic phase The strongest evidence forindigenous metallurgy at Lamanai comes from Yglesiasphase contexts and consists of three pigs ten prills an axeblank (or ingot possibly) and two probable lost-wax cast-ing reservoirs all representing production debris (TABLE

3) In addition 24 bell fragments that are production fail-ures were recovered from Yglesias phase deposits in theSpanish Church Zone Along with the pigs and prills thesemis-cast bells add weight to the idea that copper produc-tion was taking place at Lamanai since casting failures arenot likely to have been trade items It is even possible thatthe 29 flattened bells found in Yglesiasphase contexts werecrushed by Lamanais metalsmiths in preparation for re-casting In addition to the crushed bells several othersmashed and torn copper objects were recovered fromthese late deposits Minimizing the surface area of the met-al by crushing or flattening would have facilitated meltingfor reuse in two ways (Aaron Shugar personal communi-cation 2006) Reducing the size of the objects by flatteningwould have allowed a greater number of bells to fit into acrucible for melting Also crushing would have reducedthe length of time required for maintenance of tempera-tures high enough (10830 C) to melt all of the material inthe crucible

In sum two separate but related lines of evidence sug-gest that metalsmiths were experimenting with the pro-duction of copper objects at Lamanai sometime just prior

to or during early Spanish colonial times The evidence in-cludes the presence of mis-cast copper artifacts most no-tably bells along with the pigs blanks and other produc-tion materials mentioned above and the anomalous arti-fact chemistry noted in a number of the copper objects re-covered at the site (Hosler 1994) In some cases Lamanaismetalsmiths were successful in creating whole bells nee-dles axes finger rings fish hooks and pieces of sheet cop-per The recovery of numerous lost-wax production fail-ures however indicates that at other times success eludedthem Noble (1975 369) suggests that mis-cast objectscould be the result of low melting temperatures for thecopper the presence of gas bubbles in residual wax left inmolds or movement of the clay and sand core within lost-wax molds Whatever the causes the production failurespigs prills and blanks are the kinds of metal objects onewould expect to encounter at a site where the occupantswere actively experimenting with metallurgy (Craddock1995 Young et al 1999)

Given the intermittent nature of Spanish mission activ-ity in the region the almost complete absence of Europeancopper objects and the relatively small quantity of metalinvolved overall we believe that metallurgy at Lamanai hadits roots in Late or Terminal Postclassic times and there-fore reflects a Maya technological innovation One of themost notable aspects of the assemblage of copper objectsfrom Lamanai is the absence of Spanish religious itemssuch as devotional medals personal crosses and crucifIXesrosaries copper-alloy stars reliquaries seals stamps andrings These kinds of objects are common at 16th and17th-century Spanish colonial sites throughout Floridaand the Caribbean (Deagan 2002) All but possibly one ofthe copper objects found thus far at Lamanai are distinctlyMesoamerican in form and design and based on prelimi-nary metallurgical analyses (Shugar 2005a) it appears thatmanufacturing technologies were distinctly Mesoamericanas well

Maya Metalsmiths and the Meanings of CopperMaya metalsmiths have been the focus of very little dis-

cussion among scholars (Bray 1971 1977 Hosler 19862003 Pendergast 1962 West 1994) As a result their sta-tus in ancient Mesoamerican social and economic realmsremains unclear Smith (2003 122) notes that the pro-duction of copper and bronze objects required the techni-cal expertise of highly skilled craftspeople it is difficulthowever to determine the extent to which technical skill inmetallurgy might have been correlated with certain levelsof social status in the Postclassic Maya world At Lamanaimis-cast copper objects manufacturing debris pigs andother raw materials have been recovered in domestic mid-

196

Figure 9 Metalsmith depicted in the Florentine Codex Folio 796Note the open mold of an axe into which it appears molten metal isflowing Also note the brazier possibly ceramic into which the metal-smith is forcing oxygen through a hollow tube tipped with a tuyere(blowpipe tip)

dens associated with what appear to be the relnains of bothcommoner and elite households Although the results ofongoing archaeological investigations are encouraging it isstill difficult to assess the roles that Maya elites and com-moners may have had in copper production activities vis-a-vis current models of craft specialization (Brun1fiel and Ear-le 1987 Costin 1991 Earle 1987 2002)

It is clear however that brilliantly colorful copper bellswith their wondrous sounds and sacred connotations wereregarded by Postclassic Mesoamericans as prestige goodsand hence served as powerful symbols of social identity(Hosler 1994 155-156 Smith 2003 119-121) Thecomplex designs of the finely crafted rings ornamentalclothing fasteners and tweezers speak to the highly devel-oped technical abilities of the craft specialists who createdthem Metalsmiths are identified in Maya lexicons of theSpanish colonial period asAh chuuen kaak or artificers offire (Clark and Houston 1998 44-45)Ah chuuen kaak istranslated into Spanish in the Motul Dictionary as fundi-dor de metales or one who founds and casts metals(Clark and Houston 1998 44-45) The Florentine Codexshows a Mesoamerican metalsmith casting a metal axe in amold using a tuyere or blowpipe (FIG 9) the receptacle for

Journal of Field Archaeology(Vol 34) 2009 69

melting the copper is depicted as a brazier apparently ce-ramic (Sal1agun 1959 folio 796) Bray (1977 397) sug-gests that Maya metalsmiths may have been itinerant craftspecialists traveling with their own metalworking toolssuch as tuyeres crucibles and molds It is also possible thatcopper workers were full-time residents of certain commu-nities such as Lamanai and the crucibles mentioned byColumbus may have been destined for use by metalsmitl1swho resided in such communities

To date ve have not identified copper production fea-tures or tools such as furnaces ceramic braziers cruciblesor tuyeres at Lamanai If we were to find such elements indirect association with residential or other architectural re-mains or if copper-working tools were to be recovered inindividual burials we might be able to establish tentativeassociations between the objects and the metalsmiths whoused them In addition the study of households with as-sociated metal objects and production materials and work-shop areas as well as osteological analysis of certain buri-als might provide information regarding the lives of an-cient Maya metalsmiths and the organization of their spe-cialized craft activity At present however the data shed lit-de light on the identities of Maya metalsmiths To ourknowledge copper production features have not yet beenidentified archaeologically in the Maya lowlands and veryfew copper-vorking tools have been found (but see Bruhnsand Hammond 1982 1983 Paris 2008 Shugar 2005b)The presence of a single copper pig at Tipu in the westernCayo District of Belize (FIG I) is indicative of metalwork-ing in that community as well (Graham and Wayman1989) Current archaeometallurgical studies at Lamanaiare aimed at exploring the social and economic positions ofmetalsmiths in late Maya society (Simmons 2005a Sim-mons and Shugar 2008) but until we know more aboutthe features and tools such individuals used how they or-ganized productive activities and where they lived it willbe difficult to understand the roles that Maya metalsmithsplayed in Postclassic period communities

Fortunately we know more about how the objects pro-duced by metalsmiths were regarded by the Maya Lexicaldata from Spanish colonial period dictionaries providesome insights into the various meanings assigned to cop-per objects by the people who used them In the Tzotzildictionary the term used for campana (bell) is tak)in(Laughlin 1988 643) the same term that is used formoney in both the Tzotzil Dictionary (Laughlin 1988631) and the San Francisco Dictionary (Michelon 1976584) In contemporary Chontal Maya the word tak)in istranslated as money metal literally the suns excrement(IZnowles 1984 462)

This last usage of the term suggests an underlying mean-

70 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanaiy BelizeSimmons et al

ing that is related to Maya perceptions of metals and theirproperties The significance of metallic sound and coloramong some Mesoamerican peoples particularly those inWest Mexico has been explored in Hoslers seminal workThe Sounds and Colors of Power (1994) We would argue asHosler (1986 1994 2003) has in the case of West Mexi-can peoples that certain metallic colors and sounds wereconsidered divine by the Maya The association of metalwith the sun a deity known as J(inich Ahau or God G(Miller and Taube 1993) suggests that metal objects wereperceived by the Maya as having animate qualities that theyconsidered to be divine

In the 17th century the Spanish Friar Diego Lopez deCogolludo provided unambiguous information regardinghow copper bells were used and perceived by the Maya atthe time of Spanish contact in Yucatan La moneda de queusabany era campanillas y cascabelesde cobre)que tentan el val-Orj segun la grandeza (The money that they used waslittle bells and bells of copper that had value according totheir size ) (1688 181) The writings of Diego Quija-da a 16th-century alcalde mayor (head of a provincial ad-ministration in the Spanish colonial period) also includereferences to the value ascribed to copper bells during theSpanish colonial period in Yucatan In discussing fmeslevied on Maya convicted of idolatry Quijada notes thatcacao red stones beads and campanillas y cascabelesde co-bre que tentan de tiempo de su infidelidad (small bells andbells of copper that they had from the time of their infi-delity) were to be paid to Spanish authorities (Scholes andAdams 1938 Book 2 214)

Diego de Landas 16th-century work Rclacidn de lasCosas de Yucatan (Tozzer 1941) provides further informa-tion on how the contact period Maya used some copperstatus and utilitarian objects Landa notes They had a cer-tain soft brass and with a slight mixture of gold fromwhich they made their hatchets by casting them and somelittle bells with which they danced (Tozzer 1941 186)Information from the Cordemex Dictionary supports theidea that Maya dancers used bells the terms cheh ok andcheh ok mascab are translated as cascabelesque usan los dan-zantes (bells that the dancers use) (Vasquez 1980 87)Evidently bells were attached to bands possibly of wovencotton that were worn around the lower leg just underthe knee Figure 10 shows a partially reconstructed Post-classic ceramic vessel from Lamanai used to burn incensewith what appear to be bells worn in this manner Thomp-son notes that a censer found at Mayapan believed to rep-resent the deity Xipe Totec has at about knee level bellspainted yellow presumably to represent gold or burnishedcopper (2005 9)

Other metal objects including copper axes also held a

certain value for the Maya In a manuscript written in 1620following his travels through central Guatemala FriarGabriel Salazar notes Once when in charge of searchingvery carefully among the Indians of San Marcos Coban orManche for as many as possible of the small copper axesused in these lands in pagan times I bought them eventhough they were expensive (Feldman 2000 52-53)

ConclusionThe number and variety of copper objects recovered at

Lamanai indicate that as a new commodity with remark-ably unique aural and visual properties metal artifactsplayed an important role for at least some members ofPostclassic and later contact period society Masson notesthat metal was probably the most higWy valued luxurygood in this region of the Postclassic Maya world (2003279) The inclusion of copper bells elaborate rings andbutton -like ornaments in Early and Middle Postclassic eliteburials shows that at least some residents of the site dis-played such items in certain social and ritual settings Cop-per bells worn during performances acted as auditory re-minders of the high social standing of those who displayedthem and the lustrous copper finger rings and elaborateclothing ornaments served as visual indicators of elevatedstatus

The results of chemical analyses indicate that during theBuk and Cib ceramic phases finished copper objects wornas items of personal adornment were imported intoLamanai from West Mexico and southeastern Mesoameri-ca (Hosler 1994 210-213) The sample of Bule and Cibphase copper artifacts is small but the size of the assem-blage is not the product of sampling bias given the exten-sive nature of survey and excavation in the areas occupiedduring these times (Pendergast 1981) It is conceivablethat the sample is not representative of the level of impor-tation of metal artifacts in Buk and Cib times because theartifact quantity was reduced by recycling a portion of theobjects as material for later Yglesiasphase metalworking atthe site The fact that copper artifacts have not been recov-ered from non-elite Buk or Cib phase contexts suggeststhat elite residents at the site during the first few centuriesof the Postclassic period were the beneficiaries of thestrong trade relationships that the community enjoyed be-yond the Maya area

The contexts from which metal artifacts have been re-covered suggest that the view of metals at Lamanaichanged over the course of the last few centuries of thesites existence During the Early and Middle Postclassicperiods copper objects appear to have had a personalmeaning for members of the communitys elite Elaboratecopper ornaments fmger rings and bells originating from

Journal of Field ArchaeologyVol 34) 2009 71

Figure 10 Late Postclassic incensario from Lamanai with apparent copper bells on left leg probablydepicting a Maya dancer

regions located well outside the Maya lowlands adornedelite individuals during their lives and accompanied themto their graves Ethnohistorical accounts indicate that suchobjects were symbols of elevated social rank among theMaya their gleaming visual quality which may have beenseen as reflecting the power of the sun on those who worethem helped to reify that status

The absence of copper objects in Buk and Cib phasemiddens and architecture stands in sharp contrast to thepattern of intrasite distribution just prior to and duringSpanish colonial times During the later Yglesias phaseboth elite and non-elite individuals appear to have had ac-cess to copper objects including statusritual objects im-ported from West Mexico and southeastern MesoamericaElite and non-elite community members also had access toobjects made of recycled copper produced at LamanaiCopper artifacts found in elite residential and burial con-texts include imported and recycled objects in rougWyequal numbers Copper objects produced in Yglesias timeswere both decorative and utilitarian in nature whereasthose imported from outside the Maya area in earlier cen-turies were exclusively for status display purposes

Since the Maya at Lamanai were producing copper ob-

jects from what Hosler describes as stock metal derivedfrom melted-down artifacts (1994 214) we find it puz-zling that such a large proportion of those fronl Yglesiascontexts (57) were discarded along with domestic refusePotentially recyclable bells rings needles and other fin-ished objects have been recovered in substantial numbersduring our excavations in Terminal Postclassic-contact pe-riod middens in the vicinity of the Spanish churches In ad-dition raw materials for production such as the axe frag-ments and lost-wax casting reservoirs mentioned abovealong with all four copper pigs come from rubbish dumpsor locations without apparent structural association Thepresence of these and other copper artifacts including allof the production failures found around Structure N 11-18and in the area of the Spanish churches suggests that thisportion of the site was a center for the production of cop-per objects (Simmons 2004 200Sa Simmons and Shugar2008)

Over thirty years ago Warwick Bray noted that thequantity and diversity of copper objects at Lamanai is bestaccounted for by local manufacture in Belize (1977 397)Although we have made solid strides in the past threedecades toward understanding where and how copper ob-

72 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

jects were produced in the southern Maya lowlands westill have some distance to go It is our hope that further in-vestigations will bring us closer to an understanding of theadvent of copper metallurgy the organizational aspects ofthis specialized craft activity and the roles and status ofmetalsmiths in ancient Maya society

AcknowledgmentsThe 1974-1986 Lamanai excavations were funded by

the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada the Royal Ontario Museum and the Richard IveyFoundation of London Ontario Simmons 1999-2001excavations at Lamanai along with chemical analyses ofthe copper artifacts recovered there were made possible byresearch grants from the H John Heinz III Fund for LatinAmerican Archaeology Technological analyses of the cop-per artifacts from Lamanai were supported in part by aCharles L Cahill Award from the University of North Car-olina Wilmington We appreciate the efforts of DrsDorothy Hosler and Aaron Shugar in conducting theseanalysesThanks to Stan Loten for the perspective drawingof Structure N10-2 We also appreciate the thoughtfulcomments of three anonymous reviewers At Lamanai lo-gistical support was provided by the Gonzalez family theEsquivel family Las Orquedias Womens Group and theLamanai Field Research Center Our sincere thanks go toall of the men and women of San Jose Succotz IndianChurch and San Carlos who have helped us over the yearsto gain a better understanding of Lamanais rich history

Scott E Simmons (phD 1996) University of Colorado) Boul-der) is an Associate Professorat the University of North Car-olina Wilmington and Co-Principal Investigator of theLamanai Archaeological Project His researchfocus isMayaarchaeology and his interests include craft specialization)household and political economies)and archaeometallutgy inthe Postclassicand Spanish colonialperiods in MesoamericaMailing address University of North Carolina Wilmington)601 South College Road) Wilmington) NC 28403 E-mailsimmonssuncwedu

DavidM Pendetgast (phD 1961) University ofCalifor-nia at LosAngeles) is an Honorary Research Fellow at the In-stitute ofArchaeology) University College London He has con-ducted investigations in Belize for the past four and a halfdecades and directed the Royal Ontario Museum)s LamanaiArchaeological Project from 1974 to 1986 Mailing addressInstitute ofArchaeology) University College London) 31-34Gordon Square) London) U IC WC1H opr

Elizabeth Graham (phD 1983) Cambridge University) isa Senior Lecturer at the Institute ofArchaeology) UniversityCollege London and Co-Principal Investigator of the

Lamanai Archaeological Project Her researchfocus isMayaarchaeology in Belize and her interests include the Postclassicand Spanish colonial periods as well as human-environmentalinteraction in the humid tropics and the development of tropi-cal urbanism Mailing address Institute ofArchaeology) Uni-versity College London) 31-34 Gordon Square) London) U ICWC1HOPr

Aimers James J2007 The Curse of the Ware Using Ceramic Systems in Belize

Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 4 101-110Alexander Rani T and Susan Kepecs

2005 The Postclassic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoameri-ca~ in Susan Kepecs and Rani T Alexander eds The Post-classic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoamerica Archaeolog-ical Perspectives Albuquerque University of New MexicoPress 1-12

Andres Christopher R and K Anne Pyburn2004 Out of Sight The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods

at Chau Hiix Belize in Arthur A Demarest Prudence MRice and Don S Rice eds The Terminal Classic in theMaya Lowlands Boulder University Press of Colorado402--423

Andrews Anthony P1990 The Role of Ports in Maya Civilization in Flora S Clan-

cy and Peter D Harrison eds Vision and Revision inMayaStudies Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press159-167

1993 Late Postclassic Maya Archaeology Journal of World Pre-history 7 35-69

Bateson J Howard and Ian H S Hall1977 The Geology of the Maya Mountains) Belize London Her

Majestys Stationary OfficeBerdan Frances F

2003 The Economy of Postclassic Mesoamerica in Michael ESmith and Frances F Berdan eds The PostclassicMesoamer-ican World Salt Lake City University of Utah Press93-95

Blackiston A Hooton1910 Recent Discoveries in Honduras American Anthropologist

12 536-54lBray Warwick

1971 Ancient American Metal-Smiths Proceedings of the RoyalAnthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 197125-43

1977 Maya Metalwork and its External Connections in N or-man Hammond ed Social Process in Maya Prehistory Es-says in Honour of Sir J Eric S Thompson New York Acade-mic Press 365--403

Bruhns Karen O1972 Prehispanic Cire Perdue Casting Moulds from Columbia

Man 7 308-31l

Bruhns Karen 0 and Norman Hammond1982 Maya Metal Workers Tool from Belize Antiquity 56

175-1801983 Moho Cay Hammer A Revised Opinion Antiquity 57

136-137

68 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

and Hall 1977 Bray 1971 1977 West 1994) The resultsof Hoslers (1994) chemical compositional studies indicatethat at the time of Spanish contact the Maya at Lamanaiwere crafting their own metal tools and status symbols us-ing material apparently produced by melting copper ob-jects imported in earlier times She notes that by historicaltimes artisans were crafting objects at Lamanai itself andthey seem to have been doing so by using recycled metal(Hosler 1994 214) The majority of copper artifacts pro-duced during this time were made from metal cast intomolds using the lost-wax method most are undecoratedbells Hosler (1994 53) notes that available evidence indi-cates that all bells manufactured in Mesoamerica were castin one piece using the lost-wax method Various aspects ofthis metalworking technique have been described using in-formation obtained from archaeological investigations(Bruhns 1972 Bruhns and Hammond 1982 1983 Pen-dergast 1962) experimental studies (Long 1964) ethno-historical accounts (Motolirua 1950 SahagUn 1959) andmaterial analyses (Hosler 1994 Noble 1975)

We do not know when copper metallurgy began atLamanai but there is evidence that the Maya there were ac-tively engaged in the production of copper objects duringSpanish contact times and probably earlier perhaps by theend of the Cib ceramic phase The strongest evidence forindigenous metallurgy at Lamanai comes from Yglesiasphase contexts and consists of three pigs ten prills an axeblank (or ingot possibly) and two probable lost-wax cast-ing reservoirs all representing production debris (TABLE

3) In addition 24 bell fragments that are production fail-ures were recovered from Yglesias phase deposits in theSpanish Church Zone Along with the pigs and prills thesemis-cast bells add weight to the idea that copper produc-tion was taking place at Lamanai since casting failures arenot likely to have been trade items It is even possible thatthe 29 flattened bells found in Yglesiasphase contexts werecrushed by Lamanais metalsmiths in preparation for re-casting In addition to the crushed bells several othersmashed and torn copper objects were recovered fromthese late deposits Minimizing the surface area of the met-al by crushing or flattening would have facilitated meltingfor reuse in two ways (Aaron Shugar personal communi-cation 2006) Reducing the size of the objects by flatteningwould have allowed a greater number of bells to fit into acrucible for melting Also crushing would have reducedthe length of time required for maintenance of tempera-tures high enough (10830 C) to melt all of the material inthe crucible

In sum two separate but related lines of evidence sug-gest that metalsmiths were experimenting with the pro-duction of copper objects at Lamanai sometime just prior

to or during early Spanish colonial times The evidence in-cludes the presence of mis-cast copper artifacts most no-tably bells along with the pigs blanks and other produc-tion materials mentioned above and the anomalous arti-fact chemistry noted in a number of the copper objects re-covered at the site (Hosler 1994) In some cases Lamanaismetalsmiths were successful in creating whole bells nee-dles axes finger rings fish hooks and pieces of sheet cop-per The recovery of numerous lost-wax production fail-ures however indicates that at other times success eludedthem Noble (1975 369) suggests that mis-cast objectscould be the result of low melting temperatures for thecopper the presence of gas bubbles in residual wax left inmolds or movement of the clay and sand core within lost-wax molds Whatever the causes the production failurespigs prills and blanks are the kinds of metal objects onewould expect to encounter at a site where the occupantswere actively experimenting with metallurgy (Craddock1995 Young et al 1999)

Given the intermittent nature of Spanish mission activ-ity in the region the almost complete absence of Europeancopper objects and the relatively small quantity of metalinvolved overall we believe that metallurgy at Lamanai hadits roots in Late or Terminal Postclassic times and there-fore reflects a Maya technological innovation One of themost notable aspects of the assemblage of copper objectsfrom Lamanai is the absence of Spanish religious itemssuch as devotional medals personal crosses and crucifIXesrosaries copper-alloy stars reliquaries seals stamps andrings These kinds of objects are common at 16th and17th-century Spanish colonial sites throughout Floridaand the Caribbean (Deagan 2002) All but possibly one ofthe copper objects found thus far at Lamanai are distinctlyMesoamerican in form and design and based on prelimi-nary metallurgical analyses (Shugar 2005a) it appears thatmanufacturing technologies were distinctly Mesoamericanas well

Maya Metalsmiths and the Meanings of CopperMaya metalsmiths have been the focus of very little dis-

cussion among scholars (Bray 1971 1977 Hosler 19862003 Pendergast 1962 West 1994) As a result their sta-tus in ancient Mesoamerican social and economic realmsremains unclear Smith (2003 122) notes that the pro-duction of copper and bronze objects required the techni-cal expertise of highly skilled craftspeople it is difficulthowever to determine the extent to which technical skill inmetallurgy might have been correlated with certain levelsof social status in the Postclassic Maya world At Lamanaimis-cast copper objects manufacturing debris pigs andother raw materials have been recovered in domestic mid-

196

Figure 9 Metalsmith depicted in the Florentine Codex Folio 796Note the open mold of an axe into which it appears molten metal isflowing Also note the brazier possibly ceramic into which the metal-smith is forcing oxygen through a hollow tube tipped with a tuyere(blowpipe tip)

dens associated with what appear to be the relnains of bothcommoner and elite households Although the results ofongoing archaeological investigations are encouraging it isstill difficult to assess the roles that Maya elites and com-moners may have had in copper production activities vis-a-vis current models of craft specialization (Brun1fiel and Ear-le 1987 Costin 1991 Earle 1987 2002)

It is clear however that brilliantly colorful copper bellswith their wondrous sounds and sacred connotations wereregarded by Postclassic Mesoamericans as prestige goodsand hence served as powerful symbols of social identity(Hosler 1994 155-156 Smith 2003 119-121) Thecomplex designs of the finely crafted rings ornamentalclothing fasteners and tweezers speak to the highly devel-oped technical abilities of the craft specialists who createdthem Metalsmiths are identified in Maya lexicons of theSpanish colonial period asAh chuuen kaak or artificers offire (Clark and Houston 1998 44-45)Ah chuuen kaak istranslated into Spanish in the Motul Dictionary as fundi-dor de metales or one who founds and casts metals(Clark and Houston 1998 44-45) The Florentine Codexshows a Mesoamerican metalsmith casting a metal axe in amold using a tuyere or blowpipe (FIG 9) the receptacle for

Journal of Field Archaeology(Vol 34) 2009 69

melting the copper is depicted as a brazier apparently ce-ramic (Sal1agun 1959 folio 796) Bray (1977 397) sug-gests that Maya metalsmiths may have been itinerant craftspecialists traveling with their own metalworking toolssuch as tuyeres crucibles and molds It is also possible thatcopper workers were full-time residents of certain commu-nities such as Lamanai and the crucibles mentioned byColumbus may have been destined for use by metalsmitl1swho resided in such communities

To date ve have not identified copper production fea-tures or tools such as furnaces ceramic braziers cruciblesor tuyeres at Lamanai If we were to find such elements indirect association with residential or other architectural re-mains or if copper-working tools were to be recovered inindividual burials we might be able to establish tentativeassociations between the objects and the metalsmiths whoused them In addition the study of households with as-sociated metal objects and production materials and work-shop areas as well as osteological analysis of certain buri-als might provide information regarding the lives of an-cient Maya metalsmiths and the organization of their spe-cialized craft activity At present however the data shed lit-de light on the identities of Maya metalsmiths To ourknowledge copper production features have not yet beenidentified archaeologically in the Maya lowlands and veryfew copper-vorking tools have been found (but see Bruhnsand Hammond 1982 1983 Paris 2008 Shugar 2005b)The presence of a single copper pig at Tipu in the westernCayo District of Belize (FIG I) is indicative of metalwork-ing in that community as well (Graham and Wayman1989) Current archaeometallurgical studies at Lamanaiare aimed at exploring the social and economic positions ofmetalsmiths in late Maya society (Simmons 2005a Sim-mons and Shugar 2008) but until we know more aboutthe features and tools such individuals used how they or-ganized productive activities and where they lived it willbe difficult to understand the roles that Maya metalsmithsplayed in Postclassic period communities

Fortunately we know more about how the objects pro-duced by metalsmiths were regarded by the Maya Lexicaldata from Spanish colonial period dictionaries providesome insights into the various meanings assigned to cop-per objects by the people who used them In the Tzotzildictionary the term used for campana (bell) is tak)in(Laughlin 1988 643) the same term that is used formoney in both the Tzotzil Dictionary (Laughlin 1988631) and the San Francisco Dictionary (Michelon 1976584) In contemporary Chontal Maya the word tak)in istranslated as money metal literally the suns excrement(IZnowles 1984 462)

This last usage of the term suggests an underlying mean-

70 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanaiy BelizeSimmons et al

ing that is related to Maya perceptions of metals and theirproperties The significance of metallic sound and coloramong some Mesoamerican peoples particularly those inWest Mexico has been explored in Hoslers seminal workThe Sounds and Colors of Power (1994) We would argue asHosler (1986 1994 2003) has in the case of West Mexi-can peoples that certain metallic colors and sounds wereconsidered divine by the Maya The association of metalwith the sun a deity known as J(inich Ahau or God G(Miller and Taube 1993) suggests that metal objects wereperceived by the Maya as having animate qualities that theyconsidered to be divine

In the 17th century the Spanish Friar Diego Lopez deCogolludo provided unambiguous information regardinghow copper bells were used and perceived by the Maya atthe time of Spanish contact in Yucatan La moneda de queusabany era campanillas y cascabelesde cobre)que tentan el val-Orj segun la grandeza (The money that they used waslittle bells and bells of copper that had value according totheir size ) (1688 181) The writings of Diego Quija-da a 16th-century alcalde mayor (head of a provincial ad-ministration in the Spanish colonial period) also includereferences to the value ascribed to copper bells during theSpanish colonial period in Yucatan In discussing fmeslevied on Maya convicted of idolatry Quijada notes thatcacao red stones beads and campanillas y cascabelesde co-bre que tentan de tiempo de su infidelidad (small bells andbells of copper that they had from the time of their infi-delity) were to be paid to Spanish authorities (Scholes andAdams 1938 Book 2 214)

Diego de Landas 16th-century work Rclacidn de lasCosas de Yucatan (Tozzer 1941) provides further informa-tion on how the contact period Maya used some copperstatus and utilitarian objects Landa notes They had a cer-tain soft brass and with a slight mixture of gold fromwhich they made their hatchets by casting them and somelittle bells with which they danced (Tozzer 1941 186)Information from the Cordemex Dictionary supports theidea that Maya dancers used bells the terms cheh ok andcheh ok mascab are translated as cascabelesque usan los dan-zantes (bells that the dancers use) (Vasquez 1980 87)Evidently bells were attached to bands possibly of wovencotton that were worn around the lower leg just underthe knee Figure 10 shows a partially reconstructed Post-classic ceramic vessel from Lamanai used to burn incensewith what appear to be bells worn in this manner Thomp-son notes that a censer found at Mayapan believed to rep-resent the deity Xipe Totec has at about knee level bellspainted yellow presumably to represent gold or burnishedcopper (2005 9)

Other metal objects including copper axes also held a

certain value for the Maya In a manuscript written in 1620following his travels through central Guatemala FriarGabriel Salazar notes Once when in charge of searchingvery carefully among the Indians of San Marcos Coban orManche for as many as possible of the small copper axesused in these lands in pagan times I bought them eventhough they were expensive (Feldman 2000 52-53)

ConclusionThe number and variety of copper objects recovered at

Lamanai indicate that as a new commodity with remark-ably unique aural and visual properties metal artifactsplayed an important role for at least some members ofPostclassic and later contact period society Masson notesthat metal was probably the most higWy valued luxurygood in this region of the Postclassic Maya world (2003279) The inclusion of copper bells elaborate rings andbutton -like ornaments in Early and Middle Postclassic eliteburials shows that at least some residents of the site dis-played such items in certain social and ritual settings Cop-per bells worn during performances acted as auditory re-minders of the high social standing of those who displayedthem and the lustrous copper finger rings and elaborateclothing ornaments served as visual indicators of elevatedstatus

The results of chemical analyses indicate that during theBuk and Cib ceramic phases finished copper objects wornas items of personal adornment were imported intoLamanai from West Mexico and southeastern Mesoameri-ca (Hosler 1994 210-213) The sample of Bule and Cibphase copper artifacts is small but the size of the assem-blage is not the product of sampling bias given the exten-sive nature of survey and excavation in the areas occupiedduring these times (Pendergast 1981) It is conceivablethat the sample is not representative of the level of impor-tation of metal artifacts in Buk and Cib times because theartifact quantity was reduced by recycling a portion of theobjects as material for later Yglesiasphase metalworking atthe site The fact that copper artifacts have not been recov-ered from non-elite Buk or Cib phase contexts suggeststhat elite residents at the site during the first few centuriesof the Postclassic period were the beneficiaries of thestrong trade relationships that the community enjoyed be-yond the Maya area

The contexts from which metal artifacts have been re-covered suggest that the view of metals at Lamanaichanged over the course of the last few centuries of thesites existence During the Early and Middle Postclassicperiods copper objects appear to have had a personalmeaning for members of the communitys elite Elaboratecopper ornaments fmger rings and bells originating from

Journal of Field ArchaeologyVol 34) 2009 71

Figure 10 Late Postclassic incensario from Lamanai with apparent copper bells on left leg probablydepicting a Maya dancer

regions located well outside the Maya lowlands adornedelite individuals during their lives and accompanied themto their graves Ethnohistorical accounts indicate that suchobjects were symbols of elevated social rank among theMaya their gleaming visual quality which may have beenseen as reflecting the power of the sun on those who worethem helped to reify that status

The absence of copper objects in Buk and Cib phasemiddens and architecture stands in sharp contrast to thepattern of intrasite distribution just prior to and duringSpanish colonial times During the later Yglesias phaseboth elite and non-elite individuals appear to have had ac-cess to copper objects including statusritual objects im-ported from West Mexico and southeastern MesoamericaElite and non-elite community members also had access toobjects made of recycled copper produced at LamanaiCopper artifacts found in elite residential and burial con-texts include imported and recycled objects in rougWyequal numbers Copper objects produced in Yglesias timeswere both decorative and utilitarian in nature whereasthose imported from outside the Maya area in earlier cen-turies were exclusively for status display purposes

Since the Maya at Lamanai were producing copper ob-

jects from what Hosler describes as stock metal derivedfrom melted-down artifacts (1994 214) we find it puz-zling that such a large proportion of those fronl Yglesiascontexts (57) were discarded along with domestic refusePotentially recyclable bells rings needles and other fin-ished objects have been recovered in substantial numbersduring our excavations in Terminal Postclassic-contact pe-riod middens in the vicinity of the Spanish churches In ad-dition raw materials for production such as the axe frag-ments and lost-wax casting reservoirs mentioned abovealong with all four copper pigs come from rubbish dumpsor locations without apparent structural association Thepresence of these and other copper artifacts including allof the production failures found around Structure N 11-18and in the area of the Spanish churches suggests that thisportion of the site was a center for the production of cop-per objects (Simmons 2004 200Sa Simmons and Shugar2008)

Over thirty years ago Warwick Bray noted that thequantity and diversity of copper objects at Lamanai is bestaccounted for by local manufacture in Belize (1977 397)Although we have made solid strides in the past threedecades toward understanding where and how copper ob-

72 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

jects were produced in the southern Maya lowlands westill have some distance to go It is our hope that further in-vestigations will bring us closer to an understanding of theadvent of copper metallurgy the organizational aspects ofthis specialized craft activity and the roles and status ofmetalsmiths in ancient Maya society

AcknowledgmentsThe 1974-1986 Lamanai excavations were funded by

the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada the Royal Ontario Museum and the Richard IveyFoundation of London Ontario Simmons 1999-2001excavations at Lamanai along with chemical analyses ofthe copper artifacts recovered there were made possible byresearch grants from the H John Heinz III Fund for LatinAmerican Archaeology Technological analyses of the cop-per artifacts from Lamanai were supported in part by aCharles L Cahill Award from the University of North Car-olina Wilmington We appreciate the efforts of DrsDorothy Hosler and Aaron Shugar in conducting theseanalysesThanks to Stan Loten for the perspective drawingof Structure N10-2 We also appreciate the thoughtfulcomments of three anonymous reviewers At Lamanai lo-gistical support was provided by the Gonzalez family theEsquivel family Las Orquedias Womens Group and theLamanai Field Research Center Our sincere thanks go toall of the men and women of San Jose Succotz IndianChurch and San Carlos who have helped us over the yearsto gain a better understanding of Lamanais rich history

Scott E Simmons (phD 1996) University of Colorado) Boul-der) is an Associate Professorat the University of North Car-olina Wilmington and Co-Principal Investigator of theLamanai Archaeological Project His researchfocus isMayaarchaeology and his interests include craft specialization)household and political economies)and archaeometallutgy inthe Postclassicand Spanish colonialperiods in MesoamericaMailing address University of North Carolina Wilmington)601 South College Road) Wilmington) NC 28403 E-mailsimmonssuncwedu

DavidM Pendetgast (phD 1961) University ofCalifor-nia at LosAngeles) is an Honorary Research Fellow at the In-stitute ofArchaeology) University College London He has con-ducted investigations in Belize for the past four and a halfdecades and directed the Royal Ontario Museum)s LamanaiArchaeological Project from 1974 to 1986 Mailing addressInstitute ofArchaeology) University College London) 31-34Gordon Square) London) U IC WC1H opr

Elizabeth Graham (phD 1983) Cambridge University) isa Senior Lecturer at the Institute ofArchaeology) UniversityCollege London and Co-Principal Investigator of the

Lamanai Archaeological Project Her researchfocus isMayaarchaeology in Belize and her interests include the Postclassicand Spanish colonial periods as well as human-environmentalinteraction in the humid tropics and the development of tropi-cal urbanism Mailing address Institute ofArchaeology) Uni-versity College London) 31-34 Gordon Square) London) U ICWC1HOPr

Aimers James J2007 The Curse of the Ware Using Ceramic Systems in Belize

Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 4 101-110Alexander Rani T and Susan Kepecs

2005 The Postclassic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoameri-ca~ in Susan Kepecs and Rani T Alexander eds The Post-classic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoamerica Archaeolog-ical Perspectives Albuquerque University of New MexicoPress 1-12

Andres Christopher R and K Anne Pyburn2004 Out of Sight The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods

at Chau Hiix Belize in Arthur A Demarest Prudence MRice and Don S Rice eds The Terminal Classic in theMaya Lowlands Boulder University Press of Colorado402--423

Andrews Anthony P1990 The Role of Ports in Maya Civilization in Flora S Clan-

cy and Peter D Harrison eds Vision and Revision inMayaStudies Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press159-167

1993 Late Postclassic Maya Archaeology Journal of World Pre-history 7 35-69

Bateson J Howard and Ian H S Hall1977 The Geology of the Maya Mountains) Belize London Her

Majestys Stationary OfficeBerdan Frances F

2003 The Economy of Postclassic Mesoamerica in Michael ESmith and Frances F Berdan eds The PostclassicMesoamer-ican World Salt Lake City University of Utah Press93-95

Blackiston A Hooton1910 Recent Discoveries in Honduras American Anthropologist

12 536-54lBray Warwick

1971 Ancient American Metal-Smiths Proceedings of the RoyalAnthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 197125-43

1977 Maya Metalwork and its External Connections in N or-man Hammond ed Social Process in Maya Prehistory Es-says in Honour of Sir J Eric S Thompson New York Acade-mic Press 365--403

Bruhns Karen O1972 Prehispanic Cire Perdue Casting Moulds from Columbia

Man 7 308-31l

Bruhns Karen 0 and Norman Hammond1982 Maya Metal Workers Tool from Belize Antiquity 56

175-1801983 Moho Cay Hammer A Revised Opinion Antiquity 57

136-137

196

Figure 9 Metalsmith depicted in the Florentine Codex Folio 796Note the open mold of an axe into which it appears molten metal isflowing Also note the brazier possibly ceramic into which the metal-smith is forcing oxygen through a hollow tube tipped with a tuyere(blowpipe tip)

dens associated with what appear to be the relnains of bothcommoner and elite households Although the results ofongoing archaeological investigations are encouraging it isstill difficult to assess the roles that Maya elites and com-moners may have had in copper production activities vis-a-vis current models of craft specialization (Brun1fiel and Ear-le 1987 Costin 1991 Earle 1987 2002)

It is clear however that brilliantly colorful copper bellswith their wondrous sounds and sacred connotations wereregarded by Postclassic Mesoamericans as prestige goodsand hence served as powerful symbols of social identity(Hosler 1994 155-156 Smith 2003 119-121) Thecomplex designs of the finely crafted rings ornamentalclothing fasteners and tweezers speak to the highly devel-oped technical abilities of the craft specialists who createdthem Metalsmiths are identified in Maya lexicons of theSpanish colonial period asAh chuuen kaak or artificers offire (Clark and Houston 1998 44-45)Ah chuuen kaak istranslated into Spanish in the Motul Dictionary as fundi-dor de metales or one who founds and casts metals(Clark and Houston 1998 44-45) The Florentine Codexshows a Mesoamerican metalsmith casting a metal axe in amold using a tuyere or blowpipe (FIG 9) the receptacle for

Journal of Field Archaeology(Vol 34) 2009 69

melting the copper is depicted as a brazier apparently ce-ramic (Sal1agun 1959 folio 796) Bray (1977 397) sug-gests that Maya metalsmiths may have been itinerant craftspecialists traveling with their own metalworking toolssuch as tuyeres crucibles and molds It is also possible thatcopper workers were full-time residents of certain commu-nities such as Lamanai and the crucibles mentioned byColumbus may have been destined for use by metalsmitl1swho resided in such communities

To date ve have not identified copper production fea-tures or tools such as furnaces ceramic braziers cruciblesor tuyeres at Lamanai If we were to find such elements indirect association with residential or other architectural re-mains or if copper-working tools were to be recovered inindividual burials we might be able to establish tentativeassociations between the objects and the metalsmiths whoused them In addition the study of households with as-sociated metal objects and production materials and work-shop areas as well as osteological analysis of certain buri-als might provide information regarding the lives of an-cient Maya metalsmiths and the organization of their spe-cialized craft activity At present however the data shed lit-de light on the identities of Maya metalsmiths To ourknowledge copper production features have not yet beenidentified archaeologically in the Maya lowlands and veryfew copper-vorking tools have been found (but see Bruhnsand Hammond 1982 1983 Paris 2008 Shugar 2005b)The presence of a single copper pig at Tipu in the westernCayo District of Belize (FIG I) is indicative of metalwork-ing in that community as well (Graham and Wayman1989) Current archaeometallurgical studies at Lamanaiare aimed at exploring the social and economic positions ofmetalsmiths in late Maya society (Simmons 2005a Sim-mons and Shugar 2008) but until we know more aboutthe features and tools such individuals used how they or-ganized productive activities and where they lived it willbe difficult to understand the roles that Maya metalsmithsplayed in Postclassic period communities

Fortunately we know more about how the objects pro-duced by metalsmiths were regarded by the Maya Lexicaldata from Spanish colonial period dictionaries providesome insights into the various meanings assigned to cop-per objects by the people who used them In the Tzotzildictionary the term used for campana (bell) is tak)in(Laughlin 1988 643) the same term that is used formoney in both the Tzotzil Dictionary (Laughlin 1988631) and the San Francisco Dictionary (Michelon 1976584) In contemporary Chontal Maya the word tak)in istranslated as money metal literally the suns excrement(IZnowles 1984 462)

This last usage of the term suggests an underlying mean-

70 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanaiy BelizeSimmons et al

ing that is related to Maya perceptions of metals and theirproperties The significance of metallic sound and coloramong some Mesoamerican peoples particularly those inWest Mexico has been explored in Hoslers seminal workThe Sounds and Colors of Power (1994) We would argue asHosler (1986 1994 2003) has in the case of West Mexi-can peoples that certain metallic colors and sounds wereconsidered divine by the Maya The association of metalwith the sun a deity known as J(inich Ahau or God G(Miller and Taube 1993) suggests that metal objects wereperceived by the Maya as having animate qualities that theyconsidered to be divine

In the 17th century the Spanish Friar Diego Lopez deCogolludo provided unambiguous information regardinghow copper bells were used and perceived by the Maya atthe time of Spanish contact in Yucatan La moneda de queusabany era campanillas y cascabelesde cobre)que tentan el val-Orj segun la grandeza (The money that they used waslittle bells and bells of copper that had value according totheir size ) (1688 181) The writings of Diego Quija-da a 16th-century alcalde mayor (head of a provincial ad-ministration in the Spanish colonial period) also includereferences to the value ascribed to copper bells during theSpanish colonial period in Yucatan In discussing fmeslevied on Maya convicted of idolatry Quijada notes thatcacao red stones beads and campanillas y cascabelesde co-bre que tentan de tiempo de su infidelidad (small bells andbells of copper that they had from the time of their infi-delity) were to be paid to Spanish authorities (Scholes andAdams 1938 Book 2 214)

Diego de Landas 16th-century work Rclacidn de lasCosas de Yucatan (Tozzer 1941) provides further informa-tion on how the contact period Maya used some copperstatus and utilitarian objects Landa notes They had a cer-tain soft brass and with a slight mixture of gold fromwhich they made their hatchets by casting them and somelittle bells with which they danced (Tozzer 1941 186)Information from the Cordemex Dictionary supports theidea that Maya dancers used bells the terms cheh ok andcheh ok mascab are translated as cascabelesque usan los dan-zantes (bells that the dancers use) (Vasquez 1980 87)Evidently bells were attached to bands possibly of wovencotton that were worn around the lower leg just underthe knee Figure 10 shows a partially reconstructed Post-classic ceramic vessel from Lamanai used to burn incensewith what appear to be bells worn in this manner Thomp-son notes that a censer found at Mayapan believed to rep-resent the deity Xipe Totec has at about knee level bellspainted yellow presumably to represent gold or burnishedcopper (2005 9)

Other metal objects including copper axes also held a

certain value for the Maya In a manuscript written in 1620following his travels through central Guatemala FriarGabriel Salazar notes Once when in charge of searchingvery carefully among the Indians of San Marcos Coban orManche for as many as possible of the small copper axesused in these lands in pagan times I bought them eventhough they were expensive (Feldman 2000 52-53)

ConclusionThe number and variety of copper objects recovered at

Lamanai indicate that as a new commodity with remark-ably unique aural and visual properties metal artifactsplayed an important role for at least some members ofPostclassic and later contact period society Masson notesthat metal was probably the most higWy valued luxurygood in this region of the Postclassic Maya world (2003279) The inclusion of copper bells elaborate rings andbutton -like ornaments in Early and Middle Postclassic eliteburials shows that at least some residents of the site dis-played such items in certain social and ritual settings Cop-per bells worn during performances acted as auditory re-minders of the high social standing of those who displayedthem and the lustrous copper finger rings and elaborateclothing ornaments served as visual indicators of elevatedstatus

The results of chemical analyses indicate that during theBuk and Cib ceramic phases finished copper objects wornas items of personal adornment were imported intoLamanai from West Mexico and southeastern Mesoameri-ca (Hosler 1994 210-213) The sample of Bule and Cibphase copper artifacts is small but the size of the assem-blage is not the product of sampling bias given the exten-sive nature of survey and excavation in the areas occupiedduring these times (Pendergast 1981) It is conceivablethat the sample is not representative of the level of impor-tation of metal artifacts in Buk and Cib times because theartifact quantity was reduced by recycling a portion of theobjects as material for later Yglesiasphase metalworking atthe site The fact that copper artifacts have not been recov-ered from non-elite Buk or Cib phase contexts suggeststhat elite residents at the site during the first few centuriesof the Postclassic period were the beneficiaries of thestrong trade relationships that the community enjoyed be-yond the Maya area

The contexts from which metal artifacts have been re-covered suggest that the view of metals at Lamanaichanged over the course of the last few centuries of thesites existence During the Early and Middle Postclassicperiods copper objects appear to have had a personalmeaning for members of the communitys elite Elaboratecopper ornaments fmger rings and bells originating from

Journal of Field ArchaeologyVol 34) 2009 71

Figure 10 Late Postclassic incensario from Lamanai with apparent copper bells on left leg probablydepicting a Maya dancer

regions located well outside the Maya lowlands adornedelite individuals during their lives and accompanied themto their graves Ethnohistorical accounts indicate that suchobjects were symbols of elevated social rank among theMaya their gleaming visual quality which may have beenseen as reflecting the power of the sun on those who worethem helped to reify that status

The absence of copper objects in Buk and Cib phasemiddens and architecture stands in sharp contrast to thepattern of intrasite distribution just prior to and duringSpanish colonial times During the later Yglesias phaseboth elite and non-elite individuals appear to have had ac-cess to copper objects including statusritual objects im-ported from West Mexico and southeastern MesoamericaElite and non-elite community members also had access toobjects made of recycled copper produced at LamanaiCopper artifacts found in elite residential and burial con-texts include imported and recycled objects in rougWyequal numbers Copper objects produced in Yglesias timeswere both decorative and utilitarian in nature whereasthose imported from outside the Maya area in earlier cen-turies were exclusively for status display purposes

Since the Maya at Lamanai were producing copper ob-

jects from what Hosler describes as stock metal derivedfrom melted-down artifacts (1994 214) we find it puz-zling that such a large proportion of those fronl Yglesiascontexts (57) were discarded along with domestic refusePotentially recyclable bells rings needles and other fin-ished objects have been recovered in substantial numbersduring our excavations in Terminal Postclassic-contact pe-riod middens in the vicinity of the Spanish churches In ad-dition raw materials for production such as the axe frag-ments and lost-wax casting reservoirs mentioned abovealong with all four copper pigs come from rubbish dumpsor locations without apparent structural association Thepresence of these and other copper artifacts including allof the production failures found around Structure N 11-18and in the area of the Spanish churches suggests that thisportion of the site was a center for the production of cop-per objects (Simmons 2004 200Sa Simmons and Shugar2008)

Over thirty years ago Warwick Bray noted that thequantity and diversity of copper objects at Lamanai is bestaccounted for by local manufacture in Belize (1977 397)Although we have made solid strides in the past threedecades toward understanding where and how copper ob-

72 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

jects were produced in the southern Maya lowlands westill have some distance to go It is our hope that further in-vestigations will bring us closer to an understanding of theadvent of copper metallurgy the organizational aspects ofthis specialized craft activity and the roles and status ofmetalsmiths in ancient Maya society

AcknowledgmentsThe 1974-1986 Lamanai excavations were funded by

the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada the Royal Ontario Museum and the Richard IveyFoundation of London Ontario Simmons 1999-2001excavations at Lamanai along with chemical analyses ofthe copper artifacts recovered there were made possible byresearch grants from the H John Heinz III Fund for LatinAmerican Archaeology Technological analyses of the cop-per artifacts from Lamanai were supported in part by aCharles L Cahill Award from the University of North Car-olina Wilmington We appreciate the efforts of DrsDorothy Hosler and Aaron Shugar in conducting theseanalysesThanks to Stan Loten for the perspective drawingof Structure N10-2 We also appreciate the thoughtfulcomments of three anonymous reviewers At Lamanai lo-gistical support was provided by the Gonzalez family theEsquivel family Las Orquedias Womens Group and theLamanai Field Research Center Our sincere thanks go toall of the men and women of San Jose Succotz IndianChurch and San Carlos who have helped us over the yearsto gain a better understanding of Lamanais rich history

Scott E Simmons (phD 1996) University of Colorado) Boul-der) is an Associate Professorat the University of North Car-olina Wilmington and Co-Principal Investigator of theLamanai Archaeological Project His researchfocus isMayaarchaeology and his interests include craft specialization)household and political economies)and archaeometallutgy inthe Postclassicand Spanish colonialperiods in MesoamericaMailing address University of North Carolina Wilmington)601 South College Road) Wilmington) NC 28403 E-mailsimmonssuncwedu

DavidM Pendetgast (phD 1961) University ofCalifor-nia at LosAngeles) is an Honorary Research Fellow at the In-stitute ofArchaeology) University College London He has con-ducted investigations in Belize for the past four and a halfdecades and directed the Royal Ontario Museum)s LamanaiArchaeological Project from 1974 to 1986 Mailing addressInstitute ofArchaeology) University College London) 31-34Gordon Square) London) U IC WC1H opr

Elizabeth Graham (phD 1983) Cambridge University) isa Senior Lecturer at the Institute ofArchaeology) UniversityCollege London and Co-Principal Investigator of the

Lamanai Archaeological Project Her researchfocus isMayaarchaeology in Belize and her interests include the Postclassicand Spanish colonial periods as well as human-environmentalinteraction in the humid tropics and the development of tropi-cal urbanism Mailing address Institute ofArchaeology) Uni-versity College London) 31-34 Gordon Square) London) U ICWC1HOPr

Aimers James J2007 The Curse of the Ware Using Ceramic Systems in Belize

Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 4 101-110Alexander Rani T and Susan Kepecs

2005 The Postclassic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoameri-ca~ in Susan Kepecs and Rani T Alexander eds The Post-classic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoamerica Archaeolog-ical Perspectives Albuquerque University of New MexicoPress 1-12

Andres Christopher R and K Anne Pyburn2004 Out of Sight The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods

at Chau Hiix Belize in Arthur A Demarest Prudence MRice and Don S Rice eds The Terminal Classic in theMaya Lowlands Boulder University Press of Colorado402--423

Andrews Anthony P1990 The Role of Ports in Maya Civilization in Flora S Clan-

cy and Peter D Harrison eds Vision and Revision inMayaStudies Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press159-167

1993 Late Postclassic Maya Archaeology Journal of World Pre-history 7 35-69

Bateson J Howard and Ian H S Hall1977 The Geology of the Maya Mountains) Belize London Her

Majestys Stationary OfficeBerdan Frances F

2003 The Economy of Postclassic Mesoamerica in Michael ESmith and Frances F Berdan eds The PostclassicMesoamer-ican World Salt Lake City University of Utah Press93-95

Blackiston A Hooton1910 Recent Discoveries in Honduras American Anthropologist

12 536-54lBray Warwick

1971 Ancient American Metal-Smiths Proceedings of the RoyalAnthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 197125-43

1977 Maya Metalwork and its External Connections in N or-man Hammond ed Social Process in Maya Prehistory Es-says in Honour of Sir J Eric S Thompson New York Acade-mic Press 365--403

Bruhns Karen O1972 Prehispanic Cire Perdue Casting Moulds from Columbia

Man 7 308-31l

Bruhns Karen 0 and Norman Hammond1982 Maya Metal Workers Tool from Belize Antiquity 56

175-1801983 Moho Cay Hammer A Revised Opinion Antiquity 57

136-137

70 CopperArtifaas in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanaiy BelizeSimmons et al

ing that is related to Maya perceptions of metals and theirproperties The significance of metallic sound and coloramong some Mesoamerican peoples particularly those inWest Mexico has been explored in Hoslers seminal workThe Sounds and Colors of Power (1994) We would argue asHosler (1986 1994 2003) has in the case of West Mexi-can peoples that certain metallic colors and sounds wereconsidered divine by the Maya The association of metalwith the sun a deity known as J(inich Ahau or God G(Miller and Taube 1993) suggests that metal objects wereperceived by the Maya as having animate qualities that theyconsidered to be divine

In the 17th century the Spanish Friar Diego Lopez deCogolludo provided unambiguous information regardinghow copper bells were used and perceived by the Maya atthe time of Spanish contact in Yucatan La moneda de queusabany era campanillas y cascabelesde cobre)que tentan el val-Orj segun la grandeza (The money that they used waslittle bells and bells of copper that had value according totheir size ) (1688 181) The writings of Diego Quija-da a 16th-century alcalde mayor (head of a provincial ad-ministration in the Spanish colonial period) also includereferences to the value ascribed to copper bells during theSpanish colonial period in Yucatan In discussing fmeslevied on Maya convicted of idolatry Quijada notes thatcacao red stones beads and campanillas y cascabelesde co-bre que tentan de tiempo de su infidelidad (small bells andbells of copper that they had from the time of their infi-delity) were to be paid to Spanish authorities (Scholes andAdams 1938 Book 2 214)

Diego de Landas 16th-century work Rclacidn de lasCosas de Yucatan (Tozzer 1941) provides further informa-tion on how the contact period Maya used some copperstatus and utilitarian objects Landa notes They had a cer-tain soft brass and with a slight mixture of gold fromwhich they made their hatchets by casting them and somelittle bells with which they danced (Tozzer 1941 186)Information from the Cordemex Dictionary supports theidea that Maya dancers used bells the terms cheh ok andcheh ok mascab are translated as cascabelesque usan los dan-zantes (bells that the dancers use) (Vasquez 1980 87)Evidently bells were attached to bands possibly of wovencotton that were worn around the lower leg just underthe knee Figure 10 shows a partially reconstructed Post-classic ceramic vessel from Lamanai used to burn incensewith what appear to be bells worn in this manner Thomp-son notes that a censer found at Mayapan believed to rep-resent the deity Xipe Totec has at about knee level bellspainted yellow presumably to represent gold or burnishedcopper (2005 9)

Other metal objects including copper axes also held a

certain value for the Maya In a manuscript written in 1620following his travels through central Guatemala FriarGabriel Salazar notes Once when in charge of searchingvery carefully among the Indians of San Marcos Coban orManche for as many as possible of the small copper axesused in these lands in pagan times I bought them eventhough they were expensive (Feldman 2000 52-53)

ConclusionThe number and variety of copper objects recovered at

Lamanai indicate that as a new commodity with remark-ably unique aural and visual properties metal artifactsplayed an important role for at least some members ofPostclassic and later contact period society Masson notesthat metal was probably the most higWy valued luxurygood in this region of the Postclassic Maya world (2003279) The inclusion of copper bells elaborate rings andbutton -like ornaments in Early and Middle Postclassic eliteburials shows that at least some residents of the site dis-played such items in certain social and ritual settings Cop-per bells worn during performances acted as auditory re-minders of the high social standing of those who displayedthem and the lustrous copper finger rings and elaborateclothing ornaments served as visual indicators of elevatedstatus

The results of chemical analyses indicate that during theBuk and Cib ceramic phases finished copper objects wornas items of personal adornment were imported intoLamanai from West Mexico and southeastern Mesoameri-ca (Hosler 1994 210-213) The sample of Bule and Cibphase copper artifacts is small but the size of the assem-blage is not the product of sampling bias given the exten-sive nature of survey and excavation in the areas occupiedduring these times (Pendergast 1981) It is conceivablethat the sample is not representative of the level of impor-tation of metal artifacts in Buk and Cib times because theartifact quantity was reduced by recycling a portion of theobjects as material for later Yglesiasphase metalworking atthe site The fact that copper artifacts have not been recov-ered from non-elite Buk or Cib phase contexts suggeststhat elite residents at the site during the first few centuriesof the Postclassic period were the beneficiaries of thestrong trade relationships that the community enjoyed be-yond the Maya area

The contexts from which metal artifacts have been re-covered suggest that the view of metals at Lamanaichanged over the course of the last few centuries of thesites existence During the Early and Middle Postclassicperiods copper objects appear to have had a personalmeaning for members of the communitys elite Elaboratecopper ornaments fmger rings and bells originating from

Journal of Field ArchaeologyVol 34) 2009 71

Figure 10 Late Postclassic incensario from Lamanai with apparent copper bells on left leg probablydepicting a Maya dancer

regions located well outside the Maya lowlands adornedelite individuals during their lives and accompanied themto their graves Ethnohistorical accounts indicate that suchobjects were symbols of elevated social rank among theMaya their gleaming visual quality which may have beenseen as reflecting the power of the sun on those who worethem helped to reify that status

The absence of copper objects in Buk and Cib phasemiddens and architecture stands in sharp contrast to thepattern of intrasite distribution just prior to and duringSpanish colonial times During the later Yglesias phaseboth elite and non-elite individuals appear to have had ac-cess to copper objects including statusritual objects im-ported from West Mexico and southeastern MesoamericaElite and non-elite community members also had access toobjects made of recycled copper produced at LamanaiCopper artifacts found in elite residential and burial con-texts include imported and recycled objects in rougWyequal numbers Copper objects produced in Yglesias timeswere both decorative and utilitarian in nature whereasthose imported from outside the Maya area in earlier cen-turies were exclusively for status display purposes

Since the Maya at Lamanai were producing copper ob-

jects from what Hosler describes as stock metal derivedfrom melted-down artifacts (1994 214) we find it puz-zling that such a large proportion of those fronl Yglesiascontexts (57) were discarded along with domestic refusePotentially recyclable bells rings needles and other fin-ished objects have been recovered in substantial numbersduring our excavations in Terminal Postclassic-contact pe-riod middens in the vicinity of the Spanish churches In ad-dition raw materials for production such as the axe frag-ments and lost-wax casting reservoirs mentioned abovealong with all four copper pigs come from rubbish dumpsor locations without apparent structural association Thepresence of these and other copper artifacts including allof the production failures found around Structure N 11-18and in the area of the Spanish churches suggests that thisportion of the site was a center for the production of cop-per objects (Simmons 2004 200Sa Simmons and Shugar2008)

Over thirty years ago Warwick Bray noted that thequantity and diversity of copper objects at Lamanai is bestaccounted for by local manufacture in Belize (1977 397)Although we have made solid strides in the past threedecades toward understanding where and how copper ob-

72 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

jects were produced in the southern Maya lowlands westill have some distance to go It is our hope that further in-vestigations will bring us closer to an understanding of theadvent of copper metallurgy the organizational aspects ofthis specialized craft activity and the roles and status ofmetalsmiths in ancient Maya society

AcknowledgmentsThe 1974-1986 Lamanai excavations were funded by

the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada the Royal Ontario Museum and the Richard IveyFoundation of London Ontario Simmons 1999-2001excavations at Lamanai along with chemical analyses ofthe copper artifacts recovered there were made possible byresearch grants from the H John Heinz III Fund for LatinAmerican Archaeology Technological analyses of the cop-per artifacts from Lamanai were supported in part by aCharles L Cahill Award from the University of North Car-olina Wilmington We appreciate the efforts of DrsDorothy Hosler and Aaron Shugar in conducting theseanalysesThanks to Stan Loten for the perspective drawingof Structure N10-2 We also appreciate the thoughtfulcomments of three anonymous reviewers At Lamanai lo-gistical support was provided by the Gonzalez family theEsquivel family Las Orquedias Womens Group and theLamanai Field Research Center Our sincere thanks go toall of the men and women of San Jose Succotz IndianChurch and San Carlos who have helped us over the yearsto gain a better understanding of Lamanais rich history

Scott E Simmons (phD 1996) University of Colorado) Boul-der) is an Associate Professorat the University of North Car-olina Wilmington and Co-Principal Investigator of theLamanai Archaeological Project His researchfocus isMayaarchaeology and his interests include craft specialization)household and political economies)and archaeometallutgy inthe Postclassicand Spanish colonialperiods in MesoamericaMailing address University of North Carolina Wilmington)601 South College Road) Wilmington) NC 28403 E-mailsimmonssuncwedu

DavidM Pendetgast (phD 1961) University ofCalifor-nia at LosAngeles) is an Honorary Research Fellow at the In-stitute ofArchaeology) University College London He has con-ducted investigations in Belize for the past four and a halfdecades and directed the Royal Ontario Museum)s LamanaiArchaeological Project from 1974 to 1986 Mailing addressInstitute ofArchaeology) University College London) 31-34Gordon Square) London) U IC WC1H opr

Elizabeth Graham (phD 1983) Cambridge University) isa Senior Lecturer at the Institute ofArchaeology) UniversityCollege London and Co-Principal Investigator of the

Lamanai Archaeological Project Her researchfocus isMayaarchaeology in Belize and her interests include the Postclassicand Spanish colonial periods as well as human-environmentalinteraction in the humid tropics and the development of tropi-cal urbanism Mailing address Institute ofArchaeology) Uni-versity College London) 31-34 Gordon Square) London) U ICWC1HOPr

Aimers James J2007 The Curse of the Ware Using Ceramic Systems in Belize

Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 4 101-110Alexander Rani T and Susan Kepecs

2005 The Postclassic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoameri-ca~ in Susan Kepecs and Rani T Alexander eds The Post-classic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoamerica Archaeolog-ical Perspectives Albuquerque University of New MexicoPress 1-12

Andres Christopher R and K Anne Pyburn2004 Out of Sight The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods

at Chau Hiix Belize in Arthur A Demarest Prudence MRice and Don S Rice eds The Terminal Classic in theMaya Lowlands Boulder University Press of Colorado402--423

Andrews Anthony P1990 The Role of Ports in Maya Civilization in Flora S Clan-

cy and Peter D Harrison eds Vision and Revision inMayaStudies Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press159-167

1993 Late Postclassic Maya Archaeology Journal of World Pre-history 7 35-69

Bateson J Howard and Ian H S Hall1977 The Geology of the Maya Mountains) Belize London Her

Majestys Stationary OfficeBerdan Frances F

2003 The Economy of Postclassic Mesoamerica in Michael ESmith and Frances F Berdan eds The PostclassicMesoamer-ican World Salt Lake City University of Utah Press93-95

Blackiston A Hooton1910 Recent Discoveries in Honduras American Anthropologist

12 536-54lBray Warwick

1971 Ancient American Metal-Smiths Proceedings of the RoyalAnthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 197125-43

1977 Maya Metalwork and its External Connections in N or-man Hammond ed Social Process in Maya Prehistory Es-says in Honour of Sir J Eric S Thompson New York Acade-mic Press 365--403

Bruhns Karen O1972 Prehispanic Cire Perdue Casting Moulds from Columbia

Man 7 308-31l

Bruhns Karen 0 and Norman Hammond1982 Maya Metal Workers Tool from Belize Antiquity 56

175-1801983 Moho Cay Hammer A Revised Opinion Antiquity 57

136-137

Journal of Field ArchaeologyVol 34) 2009 71

Figure 10 Late Postclassic incensario from Lamanai with apparent copper bells on left leg probablydepicting a Maya dancer

regions located well outside the Maya lowlands adornedelite individuals during their lives and accompanied themto their graves Ethnohistorical accounts indicate that suchobjects were symbols of elevated social rank among theMaya their gleaming visual quality which may have beenseen as reflecting the power of the sun on those who worethem helped to reify that status

The absence of copper objects in Buk and Cib phasemiddens and architecture stands in sharp contrast to thepattern of intrasite distribution just prior to and duringSpanish colonial times During the later Yglesias phaseboth elite and non-elite individuals appear to have had ac-cess to copper objects including statusritual objects im-ported from West Mexico and southeastern MesoamericaElite and non-elite community members also had access toobjects made of recycled copper produced at LamanaiCopper artifacts found in elite residential and burial con-texts include imported and recycled objects in rougWyequal numbers Copper objects produced in Yglesias timeswere both decorative and utilitarian in nature whereasthose imported from outside the Maya area in earlier cen-turies were exclusively for status display purposes

Since the Maya at Lamanai were producing copper ob-

jects from what Hosler describes as stock metal derivedfrom melted-down artifacts (1994 214) we find it puz-zling that such a large proportion of those fronl Yglesiascontexts (57) were discarded along with domestic refusePotentially recyclable bells rings needles and other fin-ished objects have been recovered in substantial numbersduring our excavations in Terminal Postclassic-contact pe-riod middens in the vicinity of the Spanish churches In ad-dition raw materials for production such as the axe frag-ments and lost-wax casting reservoirs mentioned abovealong with all four copper pigs come from rubbish dumpsor locations without apparent structural association Thepresence of these and other copper artifacts including allof the production failures found around Structure N 11-18and in the area of the Spanish churches suggests that thisportion of the site was a center for the production of cop-per objects (Simmons 2004 200Sa Simmons and Shugar2008)

Over thirty years ago Warwick Bray noted that thequantity and diversity of copper objects at Lamanai is bestaccounted for by local manufacture in Belize (1977 397)Although we have made solid strides in the past threedecades toward understanding where and how copper ob-

72 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

jects were produced in the southern Maya lowlands westill have some distance to go It is our hope that further in-vestigations will bring us closer to an understanding of theadvent of copper metallurgy the organizational aspects ofthis specialized craft activity and the roles and status ofmetalsmiths in ancient Maya society

AcknowledgmentsThe 1974-1986 Lamanai excavations were funded by

the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada the Royal Ontario Museum and the Richard IveyFoundation of London Ontario Simmons 1999-2001excavations at Lamanai along with chemical analyses ofthe copper artifacts recovered there were made possible byresearch grants from the H John Heinz III Fund for LatinAmerican Archaeology Technological analyses of the cop-per artifacts from Lamanai were supported in part by aCharles L Cahill Award from the University of North Car-olina Wilmington We appreciate the efforts of DrsDorothy Hosler and Aaron Shugar in conducting theseanalysesThanks to Stan Loten for the perspective drawingof Structure N10-2 We also appreciate the thoughtfulcomments of three anonymous reviewers At Lamanai lo-gistical support was provided by the Gonzalez family theEsquivel family Las Orquedias Womens Group and theLamanai Field Research Center Our sincere thanks go toall of the men and women of San Jose Succotz IndianChurch and San Carlos who have helped us over the yearsto gain a better understanding of Lamanais rich history

Scott E Simmons (phD 1996) University of Colorado) Boul-der) is an Associate Professorat the University of North Car-olina Wilmington and Co-Principal Investigator of theLamanai Archaeological Project His researchfocus isMayaarchaeology and his interests include craft specialization)household and political economies)and archaeometallutgy inthe Postclassicand Spanish colonialperiods in MesoamericaMailing address University of North Carolina Wilmington)601 South College Road) Wilmington) NC 28403 E-mailsimmonssuncwedu

DavidM Pendetgast (phD 1961) University ofCalifor-nia at LosAngeles) is an Honorary Research Fellow at the In-stitute ofArchaeology) University College London He has con-ducted investigations in Belize for the past four and a halfdecades and directed the Royal Ontario Museum)s LamanaiArchaeological Project from 1974 to 1986 Mailing addressInstitute ofArchaeology) University College London) 31-34Gordon Square) London) U IC WC1H opr

Elizabeth Graham (phD 1983) Cambridge University) isa Senior Lecturer at the Institute ofArchaeology) UniversityCollege London and Co-Principal Investigator of the

Lamanai Archaeological Project Her researchfocus isMayaarchaeology in Belize and her interests include the Postclassicand Spanish colonial periods as well as human-environmentalinteraction in the humid tropics and the development of tropi-cal urbanism Mailing address Institute ofArchaeology) Uni-versity College London) 31-34 Gordon Square) London) U ICWC1HOPr

Aimers James J2007 The Curse of the Ware Using Ceramic Systems in Belize

Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 4 101-110Alexander Rani T and Susan Kepecs

2005 The Postclassic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoameri-ca~ in Susan Kepecs and Rani T Alexander eds The Post-classic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoamerica Archaeolog-ical Perspectives Albuquerque University of New MexicoPress 1-12

Andres Christopher R and K Anne Pyburn2004 Out of Sight The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods

at Chau Hiix Belize in Arthur A Demarest Prudence MRice and Don S Rice eds The Terminal Classic in theMaya Lowlands Boulder University Press of Colorado402--423

Andrews Anthony P1990 The Role of Ports in Maya Civilization in Flora S Clan-

cy and Peter D Harrison eds Vision and Revision inMayaStudies Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press159-167

1993 Late Postclassic Maya Archaeology Journal of World Pre-history 7 35-69

Bateson J Howard and Ian H S Hall1977 The Geology of the Maya Mountains) Belize London Her

Majestys Stationary OfficeBerdan Frances F

2003 The Economy of Postclassic Mesoamerica in Michael ESmith and Frances F Berdan eds The PostclassicMesoamer-ican World Salt Lake City University of Utah Press93-95

Blackiston A Hooton1910 Recent Discoveries in Honduras American Anthropologist

12 536-54lBray Warwick

1971 Ancient American Metal-Smiths Proceedings of the RoyalAnthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 197125-43

1977 Maya Metalwork and its External Connections in N or-man Hammond ed Social Process in Maya Prehistory Es-says in Honour of Sir J Eric S Thompson New York Acade-mic Press 365--403

Bruhns Karen O1972 Prehispanic Cire Perdue Casting Moulds from Columbia

Man 7 308-31l

Bruhns Karen 0 and Norman Hammond1982 Maya Metal Workers Tool from Belize Antiquity 56

175-1801983 Moho Cay Hammer A Revised Opinion Antiquity 57

136-137

72 CopperArtifacts in Postclassicand Early Historic Lamanai) BelizeSimmons et al

jects were produced in the southern Maya lowlands westill have some distance to go It is our hope that further in-vestigations will bring us closer to an understanding of theadvent of copper metallurgy the organizational aspects ofthis specialized craft activity and the roles and status ofmetalsmiths in ancient Maya society

AcknowledgmentsThe 1974-1986 Lamanai excavations were funded by

the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada the Royal Ontario Museum and the Richard IveyFoundation of London Ontario Simmons 1999-2001excavations at Lamanai along with chemical analyses ofthe copper artifacts recovered there were made possible byresearch grants from the H John Heinz III Fund for LatinAmerican Archaeology Technological analyses of the cop-per artifacts from Lamanai were supported in part by aCharles L Cahill Award from the University of North Car-olina Wilmington We appreciate the efforts of DrsDorothy Hosler and Aaron Shugar in conducting theseanalysesThanks to Stan Loten for the perspective drawingof Structure N10-2 We also appreciate the thoughtfulcomments of three anonymous reviewers At Lamanai lo-gistical support was provided by the Gonzalez family theEsquivel family Las Orquedias Womens Group and theLamanai Field Research Center Our sincere thanks go toall of the men and women of San Jose Succotz IndianChurch and San Carlos who have helped us over the yearsto gain a better understanding of Lamanais rich history

Scott E Simmons (phD 1996) University of Colorado) Boul-der) is an Associate Professorat the University of North Car-olina Wilmington and Co-Principal Investigator of theLamanai Archaeological Project His researchfocus isMayaarchaeology and his interests include craft specialization)household and political economies)and archaeometallutgy inthe Postclassicand Spanish colonialperiods in MesoamericaMailing address University of North Carolina Wilmington)601 South College Road) Wilmington) NC 28403 E-mailsimmonssuncwedu

DavidM Pendetgast (phD 1961) University ofCalifor-nia at LosAngeles) is an Honorary Research Fellow at the In-stitute ofArchaeology) University College London He has con-ducted investigations in Belize for the past four and a halfdecades and directed the Royal Ontario Museum)s LamanaiArchaeological Project from 1974 to 1986 Mailing addressInstitute ofArchaeology) University College London) 31-34Gordon Square) London) U IC WC1H opr

Elizabeth Graham (phD 1983) Cambridge University) isa Senior Lecturer at the Institute ofArchaeology) UniversityCollege London and Co-Principal Investigator of the

Lamanai Archaeological Project Her researchfocus isMayaarchaeology in Belize and her interests include the Postclassicand Spanish colonial periods as well as human-environmentalinteraction in the humid tropics and the development of tropi-cal urbanism Mailing address Institute ofArchaeology) Uni-versity College London) 31-34 Gordon Square) London) U ICWC1HOPr

Aimers James J2007 The Curse of the Ware Using Ceramic Systems in Belize

Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 4 101-110Alexander Rani T and Susan Kepecs

2005 The Postclassic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoameri-ca~ in Susan Kepecs and Rani T Alexander eds The Post-classic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoamerica Archaeolog-ical Perspectives Albuquerque University of New MexicoPress 1-12

Andres Christopher R and K Anne Pyburn2004 Out of Sight The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods

at Chau Hiix Belize in Arthur A Demarest Prudence MRice and Don S Rice eds The Terminal Classic in theMaya Lowlands Boulder University Press of Colorado402--423

Andrews Anthony P1990 The Role of Ports in Maya Civilization in Flora S Clan-

cy and Peter D Harrison eds Vision and Revision inMayaStudies Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press159-167

1993 Late Postclassic Maya Archaeology Journal of World Pre-history 7 35-69

Bateson J Howard and Ian H S Hall1977 The Geology of the Maya Mountains) Belize London Her

Majestys Stationary OfficeBerdan Frances F

2003 The Economy of Postclassic Mesoamerica in Michael ESmith and Frances F Berdan eds The PostclassicMesoamer-ican World Salt Lake City University of Utah Press93-95

Blackiston A Hooton1910 Recent Discoveries in Honduras American Anthropologist

12 536-54lBray Warwick

1971 Ancient American Metal-Smiths Proceedings of the RoyalAnthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 197125-43

1977 Maya Metalwork and its External Connections in N or-man Hammond ed Social Process in Maya Prehistory Es-says in Honour of Sir J Eric S Thompson New York Acade-mic Press 365--403

Bruhns Karen O1972 Prehispanic Cire Perdue Casting Moulds from Columbia

Man 7 308-31l

Bruhns Karen 0 and Norman Hammond1982 Maya Metal Workers Tool from Belize Antiquity 56

175-1801983 Moho Cay Hammer A Revised Opinion Antiquity 57

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