Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, Vol. 5, 2008, pp. 191-208. Copyright © 2008 by the Institute of Archaeology, NICH, Belize. 17 THE CHIPPED CHERT AND CHALCEDONY LITHIC ASSEMBLAGE FROM POOK’S HILL, CAYO DISTRICT, BELIZE: THE ORGANIZATION OF TOOL PRODUCTION AND USE W. James Stemp and Christophe G.B. Helmke This paper is a summary of the chipped stone tools recovered from Pook’s Hill excavations for the 2001-2005 field seasons. The majority of the lithic artefacts were manufactured from local chert and chalcedony primarily acquired within the local vicinity of the sit Both the tool types and associated reduction debitage reveal that formal tool production of large and small bifaces occurred at Pook’s Hill, in addition to the reduction of cores to produce informal flakes and minimally designed flake tools. The wide range of tool types and debitage recovered throughout the site suggests a generalized assemblage with little evidence of concentrated areas for spatially segregated, specialized tool production. Relatively small percentages of various kinds of formal and informal tools in the sub- assemblages of different structures appear to represent subsistence-related and other domestic ‘tool kits’ with some evidence for minor craft-production. These craft activities included bead production, stone-work, and some wood- work, but few of these activities were obviously spatially restricted. Introduction Excavations undertaken between 2001 and 2005 by the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project at the ancient Maya site of Pook’s Hill, located in the Cayo District of Belize, Central America, yielded 2800 non-obsidian chipped stone tools. The primarily chert and chalcedony lithics were recovered from the plazuela group of Pook’s Hill. The plazuela platform itself, as well as Structures 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, 2B, 4A and 4B were excavated by the junior author and his team. A small quantity of additional lithic artefacts were recovered as surface finds, some originally found in 1992, and from digging in Structure PKH-M1, a small house mound located to the southeast of the main plazuela. Pook’s Hill Site Description The site of Pook’s Hill is located in the Belize River Valley of western Belize (Helmke 2001, 2003, 2006a, 2006b; Helmke et al. 2003) (Figure 1). Pook’s Hill is a medium-sized plazuela group located in the karstic foothills forming the western outline of the Roaring Creek Valley, overlooking the fertile alluvial plain below. Investigations at Pook’s Hill have focused on the site’s terminal occupation, which dates to the Late to Terminal Classic period (ca. A.D. 750-950), though primary context deposits date back to at least the Middle Classic (ca. A.D. 550) and earlier materials have been found in secondary mixed deposits (Helmke 2001, 2003, 2006a, 2006b, 2006c; Helmke et al. 2003). It is situated less than 5 km north of a group of caves that were utilized by the local inhabitants throughout the Classic period and most intensively during the Terminal Classic (as is attested by speleothems discovered at Pook’s Hill). In relation to ancient surface sites, the plazuela lies 4.7 km north of the major center known as Cahal Uitz Na and 1 km northwest of the minor center of Chaac Mool Ha. Based on current evidence, the site of Cahal Uitz Na appears to have served as the regal capital to the local polity during the Classic period. Pook’s Hill is comprised of the remains of nine masonry building platforms. Each side of the plazuela is delimited by two building platforms, save the three defining the northern perimeter (Helmke 2006a). Most of the structures at Pook’s Hill are rectangular