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Mayan Metate Ethnoarchaeology, Michael T. Searcy

Theses and Dissertations

Manos and metates are ubiquitous at archaeological sites in Mesoamerica. Unfortunately, grinding stones are understudied, and thus, not much is understood about them. Understanding that archaeology is based on the use of analogy to infer past life-ways, little work has been done to create analogies specifically for manos and metates. The purpose of this thesis is to study modern grinding stones used by Mayans living in Guatemala to better understand manos and metates used by ancient peoples. I worked for two field seasons in Guatemala recording the life histories of manos and metates used by the Q'eqchi' and K'iche', two …