Animate Stone: Maya Chert ‘Debitage’ and Ontological Perspectives

Ethnographic and ethnohistoric research concerning Maya conceptions of stone illustrate that the Maya consider stone animate. In archaeology, discussions of animate stone focus on ritual contexts. ‘Utilitarian’ objects, like debitage, are recognized as symbolic when deposited in ritual spaces but not in quotidian ones. However, the animate nature of stone suggests that its significance should be discussed in quotidian contexts. We compare chert debitage from ritual and production areas in the Maya lowlands utilizing ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and epigraphic information about the agency of stone, specifically chert. These discussions highlight the integration of Indigenous perceptions of non-human objects in archaeology interpretation.