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Investigation into the production and distribution of craft goods has long been an important focus in archaeological research. This is partly due to the pattern of increasing labour specialization correlated with increasing disparities in socioeconomic inequality--an important transition in human history. This paper focuses on existing systems of social hierarchy and how craft specialization shaped domestic activities and social position. More specifically, we examine embedded production at the late pre-Columbian center of He-4 in the Central Region of Panama and argue that it played an important role in maintaining elite access to prestige goods. Through a consideration of the social context of production in elite households, it is argued that embedded specialization is more likely to develop during periods of intense sociopolitical competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]