Traditional Burnt-Lime Production at Mayapán,Mexico

Abstract

Lime was widely utilized throughout ancient Mesoamerica. Drawing on the expertise of traditional Maya lime producers from a small local community, we address the energetics, material inputs, and archaeological signature of burnt-lime production in the Northern Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. When compared with the estimated lime usage at the Maya site of Mayapan, the data collected from experimental lime burning suggest that traditional lime production was reasonably labor intensive and used large, albeit sustainable, quantities of raw materials, especially wood. Lime manufacture was an important component of ancient Mesoamerican economic life, especially in urban settings where it may have been a full time occupation for some, at least during certain parts of the year. This analysis allows us to predict what the remains of lime burning sites should look like and where they are most likely to be encountered archaeologically.     

我国传统镁质石灰初步研究

对我国从明代到民国的建筑灰浆的化学成分、矿物成分等分析发现,部分砌筑及抹灰灰浆为镁质石灰,MgO含量达到5%~26%。特别是取自河北、北京等地长城的传统石灰样品全部为镁质石灰。镁质石灰与钙质石灰比较,具有强度高、吸水率低的特点,从而具有更佳的抗冻融性能。此外,镁质石灰收缩低、易于施工。镁质石灰煅烧需要的温度低于钙质石灰,能耗低。鉴于传统镁质石灰在中国的研究尚为空白,建议系统地开展镁质石灰研究,研究内容包括原材料类型及分布、煅烧温度、消解方式、配比优化等。同时宜研究镁质石灰在严重大气污染下的耐久性及镁质石灰相关建筑遗产的保护修复技术等。     

The first direct evidence of pre-columbian sources of palygorskite for Maya Blue

Maya Blue, a nano-structured clay–organic complex of palygorskite and indigo, was used predominantly before the Spanish Conquest. It has fascinated chemists, material scientists, archaeologists and art historians for decades because it is resistant to the effect of acids, alkalis, and other reagents, and its rich color has persisted for centuries in the harsh tropical climate of southern Mesoamerica. One of its components, palygorskite, is part of modern Maya indigenous knowledge, and ethnohistoric and archaeological data suggest that its modern sources were probably utilized in Prehispanic times. Yet no direct evidence verifies that palygorskite was actually mined from these sources to make Maya Blue. Here we characterize these sources compositionally, and compare our analyses to those of Maya Blue from Chichén Itzá and Palenque. We demonstrate that the palygorskite in most of these samples came from modern mines, providing the first direct evidence for the use of these sources for making Maya Blue. These findings reveal that modern Maya indigenous knowledge about palygorskite, its mining, and its source locations, is at least seven centuries old.     

Technology and decay of magnesian lime plasters: the sculptures of the funerary crypt of Palenque,Mexico

The full-relief lime plaster sculptures of the funerary crypt of Palenque, Mexico, suffer from advanced decay due to the cave-like environment in which they are located. Macroscopically, the sculptures have a soft consistency, but there is a hard crust over their surface. Some of the features observed by microscopy are the neomorphism of minerals as a consequence of permanent water seepage, and the formation of wide shrinkage cracks as a result of drying. The mineral hydromagnesite Mg₅(CO₃)₄(OH)₂·4H₂O was identified by X-ray diffraction and microscopy; its relation with the shrinkage observed in the samples and its possible role in the decay of the sculptures are discussed in this paper. A short discussion is also made about the likely raw materials that were employed to manufacture the sculptures.     

古建油饰彩画的制作技术分析研究

为了对中国特有的古建油饰彩画制作技术加深了解,促进古建油饰彩画传统工艺科学化,采用X射线衍射仪、X射线荧光光谱仪、扫描电镜、体视显微镜等仪器对采自蒙古博格达汗宫博物馆、北京颐和园、甘肃嘉峪关、山西太符观等古代建筑的油饰彩画样品的制作技术进行了分析研究。结果表明,测试的样品分别采用了一麻五灰、一布四灰、单披灰等多种工艺制作地仗;麻纤维广泛应用于样品纤维层中,仅样品YHY-22使用了棉布;颐和园和博格达汉宫博物馆的样品以砖灰作为地仗无机填料,嘉峪关样品使用了白土粉,而山西古建样品则可能使用当地的土壤。可以得出结论:几个地区古建油饰彩画的制作材料和技术是有所不同的。     

Chemical composition of architectural plaster at the Classic Maya kingdom of Piedras Negras,Guatemala

Architectural plaster from elite masonry structures at the Classic Maya kingdom of Piedras Negras, Guatemala, is examined. Chemical composition is determined through X-ray fluorescence and compared statistically. Based on this sample, it was observed that any single masonry building was coated with plaster made from a single source of limestone and limestone-based aggregate, but that architectural plaster from different buildings across the site varied in chemical composition. It is concluded that this pattern is best accounted for by a model of rotational labor obligations to the state, with spatially distinct groups being responsible for manufacturing plaster for specific buildings.     

Characterization of lime carbonates in plasters from Teotihuacan,Mexico: preliminary results of cathodoluminescence and carbon isotope analyses

This study characterizes the degree of calcination of lime in lime plaster samples from Teotihuacan, the capital of a regional state in prehispanic Central Mexico. Lime plaster production consists of multiple steps, from the firing of raw materials to the mixing of lime and aggregate and the final application. While previous studies have focused on the compositional variability, specifically the recipe of lime plasters and mortars, the characterization of lime itself has not been sufficiently addressed. In this study, cathodoluminescence analysis coupled with petrographic and image analyses were employed to examine the degree of calcination of lime. The results of cathodoluminescence petrography were further examined through stable carbon isotope and ¹⁴C measurements. It appeared that the results of cathodoluminescence analysis are consistent with those of other analytical methods and that there are diachronic changes in the degree of calcination of lime among lime plaster samples. This implies changes in the organization of lime production, specifically the consistency in the control of firing temperature.     

Bioarchaeological Analysis of a Royal Burial from the Oldest Maya Tomb in Palenque,Mexico

In 1957, a new discovery inside Temple XVIII‐A was made in Palenque, the Mayan archaeological site in Chiapas Mexico, a royal tomb of an original design which proved to be the oldest at the site. Two skeletons were found, the principal (PAL‐44) was at the centre showing red pigmentation on the surface of some bones, personal adornments and offerings, which indicate that he was an early ruler of Palenque. The second (PAL‐45), deposited at the entrance, not in a special mortuary position, without offerings, suggests it was of a lower social status. This research presents a new bioarchaeological analysis with the following results: (i) The result of a direct radiocarbon dating of PAL‐44 by accelerator mass spectrometry is 250–420 cal AD (LTL12759A:1696 ± 30 BP). This means that the personage was buried long before the first designated ruler of Palenque, who, according to the epigraphic record was enthroned in ad 431. (ii) With X‐Ray Fluorescence, the red pigment was identified as cinnabar (HgS). (iii) PAL‐44 is a young adult male with a severe idiopathic scoliosis with a double curvature that affected the ribcage and lower limbs. Such a three‐dimensional deformity resulted in changes to his body mechanics and induced motion asymmetry. Consequently, his health and mobility must have been significantly affected by such a severe condition. (iv) PAL‐45 is an adult female with signs of nutritional problems in childhood and entheseal changes probably related to her activity. Three ante‐mortem traumas are registered: rib fracture, frontal depressed circular fracture and a nasal septal deviation. This traumatic event took place two weeks, approximately, prior to PAL‐45's death. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The practice of archaeology in southern Mesoamerica

Joyce, Rosemary A. Cerro Palenque: Power and Identity on the Maya Periphery. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1991. x + 188 pp. including references and indices. $32.50 cloth.

Hammond, Norman, ed. Cuello: An Early Maya Community in Belize. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. xxi + 260 pp. including references and index. $90.00 cloth.     

Methods for assessing stormwater management at archaeological sites: Copan Ruins case study

Archaeological sites may be discovered by fortuitous soil erosion, but their protection requires deliberative stormwater management plans and estimates of runoff volumes. This paper uses the Maya site of Copan, Honduras to demonstrate widely applicable methods to estimate runoff, including use of satellite rainfall data processed by single parameter models. Our analysis compares present day estimates of runoff and erosion with those of two historic periods, 900 A.D during peak Maya occupation of the Great Plaza, and 1800 A.D. prior to excavation when the site was mostly forest covered. For each period, the watershed area, soil, land cover, and rainfall data were used with a single parameter Curve Number model to estimate the runoff volume for annual to decadal storms. The maximum runoff depth and erosive potential in conveyance channels was then computed with the HEC-RAS model. The models did not predict runoff would occur for the forested period of 1800 A.D., but predicted that runoff for 900 and post-1800 A.D was large enough to cause the erosion observed in the drainage channel today. Our results provide runoff magnitudes that demonstrate the need for Copan Maya designed stormwater removal infrastructure described in earlier archaeological analysis. The need for stormwater removal was also designed into the wet Maya site of Palenque, while stormwater capture and storage was designed into the Maya sites of Tikal, a drier site due to local drainage characteristics and water availability. Methods used in stormwater runoff analysis can empower communities and managers to develop scientifically and culturally appropriate non-structural management methods to conserve archaeological sites.     

X‐ray Diffraction and SEM Investigation of Wall Paintings Found in the Roman Temple Complex at Horvat Omrit,Israel

In the present study, the fragments of wall painting found in the Roman Temple Complex at Horvat Omrit were analysed for the first time using the non‐destructive techniques of X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) equipped with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS). The application of these methods enabled unambiguous identifications of the pigments and plaster components of the samples. Quantitative information on mineral composition, crystallite size and elemental composition of each studied paint layer and plaster was collected. Based on the results of the XRD and EDS analyses, the green pigment was identified as celadonite. It was revealed that the Egyptian blue pigment does not contain impurities of tin and lead, and this excludes the use of bronze scrap in its synthesis. Comparison of the mineral composition of the paint layers indicates that a wider palette of colours was obtained by mixing the available mineral pigments. The study of cross‐sections of painted specimens revealed the usage of slaked lime for plastering. The obtained results give a new insight into the wall painting technique employed by ancient artists at Horvat Omrit, in northern Israel.     

陕西旬邑西头遗址出土彩绘白灰面的成分和工艺分析

对陕西旬邑县西头遗址出土的彩绘白灰面进行了成分和制作工艺分析。采用偏光显微分析、扫描电镜能谱、X射线衍射,拉曼光谱分析了该彩绘面的颜料和石灰层成分,采用气相色谱-质谱联用技术(GC-MS)分析了该彩绘面的胶料成分。结果表明,该彩绘面的颜料由铁红,铁黄和绿土构成。白灰层由碳酸钙构成,部分样品中存在双层白灰层。GC-MS分析表明,该彩绘面的胶料含动物胶,可能还含蛋类。通过比较研究发现,旬邑彩绘白灰面的制作工艺和与后期壁画制作工艺相似,对其组成和工艺的研究将有助于探索先周时期关中地区壁画的起源和发展。     

Special Studies: Petrographic Thin Sections and the Development of Neolithic Plaster Production in Northern Israel

Abstract

Petrographic and petrological techniques have been used to examine Neolithic plaster products from several sites in northern Israel. Referring to former studies, the value of different analytical methods for the examination of ancient plasters and mortars is considered. The new data, achieved by the relatively simple method of Petrographic examination, reveal a different interpretation of Neolithic craft specialization and cultural interchange. The production methods of architectural plasters, together with plaster products (e.g., beads, figurines, “white ware” vessels, etc.), differ significantly between sites, even in the limited region of the Israeli Galilee. In most cases, burnt lime was used as a secondary raw material, together with powdered chalk, sand, and clay. In our view, lime burning was a casual, limited activity that did not require intensive labor. Therefore, fulltime specialists would not have been required and, what is more, the complexity of Neolithic society, based on considerations of plaster technology, has yet to be clearly demonstrated.     

四川广汉龙居寺中殿壁画制作材料与工艺研究

广汉龙居寺中殿壁画为四川地区明代建筑壁画中精品。为了解该壁画制作材料与工艺,采用显微观察、激光粒度仪分析、X射线衍射、拉曼光谱、酶联免疫等方法,对样品结构形态和材料组成进行了分析。结果表明:该壁画载体为编竹夹泥墙结构。地仗层泥土颗粒矿物成分主要为石英、钠长石,颗粒组成墙体壁画以粉粒为主、砂粒次之,垫拱板壁画粗泥层比细泥层砂粒含量偏低、粉粒含量偏高;加筋材料粗泥层为稻草秸秆、谷壳等,细泥层为棉或麻纤维。颜料层显色成分为古代壁画常见矿物颜料,红色为朱砂、铅丹,绿色为氯铜矿、副氯铜矿,白色为方解石、滑石,黑色为炭黑,蓝色为石青,黄色为针铁矿,胶料为动物胶或蛋清。该壁画在四川地区明代建筑壁画制作材料与工艺上具有典型性,主要体现在载体结构类型、地仗层材料组成、颜料层显色成分等方面。研究成果不仅可为该壁画后期保护修复提供依据,而且丰富了对四川地区明代建筑壁画的认识。     

Envisioning Artifacts: a Classic Maya View of the Archaeological Record

This paper explores a Classic Maya (ca. AD 250–900) “material vision”—that is, a locally determined and culturally specific way of understanding the material world, its salient qualities, and associated meanings—based on evidence found in hieroglyphic texts from across the Maya world. Understanding Classic Maya ways of seeing the material world is an important undertaking as part of exploring alignments and misalignments between ancient indigenous and modern archaeological understandings of what today we view as “artifacts.” This topic is explored in the article through two related inquiries: first, I look at “artifacts” (i.e., materials that qualify as such, in an archaeological material vision) recorded in the hieroglyphic record, yielding thematic understandings of objects related to form and function, wholeness versus brokenness, and the relational potential of objects. Second, I use ten hieroglyphic property qualifiers that indicate Maya material perceptions and categories to gain explicit insight into some organizing principles within a Maya way of visualizing the material world. Throughout the article, I ask: can we envision archaeological objects using Maya conceptions, and how does this way of seeing align or misalign with archaeological material engagements?     

Trace fossils on penguin bones from the Miocene of Chubut,southern Argentina

Several traces of biological interaction were found on penguin bones from the basal levels (Aquitanian) of the Miocene Gaiman Formation in the lower Chubut valley of the Provincia del Chubut, Argentina. The fossil-bearing beds were deposited in littoral to sublittoral environments within sediments of mostly pyroclastic origin. We interpret many traces to have been produced by predators and/or scavengers while the penguins were still in a breeding area. Many bones show cracking marks due to aerial exposure. The material is disarticulated as is usual in recent breeding areas. Potential predators were coeval terrestrial mammals, most probably marsupial carnivores. After a marine transgression, these bones were buried or exposed on the sea bottom where they could be colonized by algae, sponges, cnidarians, and other benthic organisms. We identified sponge borings in several bones. Other traces are interpreted to have been produced by echinoderms feeding on sponges or algae. No evidence of other invertebrate predators such as muricid or naticid gastropods, or decapods was found. Finally, other traces appear to have been generated by shark and possibly teleostean vertebrates feeding on epibionts. One coracoid is interpreted to have been marked by a shark that is common in the Gaiman Formation, the carcharhiniform Galeocerdo aduncus. From an ethological (Seilacherian) classification, traces on bones from the Gaiman Formation include Domichnia (sponge perforations), Praedichnia (terrestrial marsupials, sharks, teleosteans) and Pasichnia (echinoderms). Remarkably, remains of marine organisms with skeletons made of calcium carbonate are very poorly preserved in the Gaiman Formation. Only large oysters, sparse shell fragments, skeletal moulds, and bioturbation is evident. The fossil assemblage is mainly composed of phosphatic (e.g. teeth, bones, crustacean parts) and siliceous (sponge spicules, diatoms) remains.     

PIGMENTS AND PLASTERS FROM THE ROMAN SETTLEMENT OF THAMUSIDA (RABAT,MOROCCO)

A total of 22 samples were taken both from plasters still in situ and from collapsed material recovered by French, Italian and Moroccan teams at the Roman settlement of Thamusida (Rabat, Morocco). The sample characterization was obtained using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, image analysis and Raman micro‐spectroscopy. Plaster aggregate was made using a mixture of sands and clays that outcrop nearby, while lime was probably produced using the local limestone crust, as was further verified for the mortars. The plasters from the bath complexes (public buildings) and the Temple à trois cellae (sacred building) were very poorly made, while those from areas VII and XX (private buildings) indicated the involvement of more expert masons. The pigments used were cinnabar, red ochre, yellow ochre, Egyptian blue, green earth, chalk white and carbon black. The overall manufacture was of low quality, and hence perfectly comparable to that observed in other Roman Provinces. With respect to Italy and to other Mediterranean Roman sites, Thamusida fits well within an aesthetic and technical koinè that differentiates sites of the Italian peninsula from those in the Provinces.     

砂岩类文物岩石材料劣化空鼓病害 特征及形成机理研究

为了探讨砂岩类文物岩石材料表层劣化空鼓病害的特征和形成机理,以西黄寺建筑砂岩材料为研究对象,采用化学全分析、X衍射、扫描电镜法测试方法对表层空鼓处岩样的化学成分、矿物成分及微观结构进行了分析,依据测试数据系统论述了三个方面空鼓病害的特征。研究结果表明,砂岩类文物岩石材料产生空鼓的原因是岩石内部本身具有层状结构和大量片状膨胀性粘土矿物或石膏;在雨水的作用下使其表面溶蚀,为水进入砂岩内部提供了条件。砂岩内部粘土矿物及石膏较多的部位遇水后发生急剧膨胀,产生较大的膨胀压力,由于粘土矿物及石膏较多的地方,岩层的联结强度又较低,在膨胀压力的作用下便会发生空鼓。本工作的测试方法及空鼓产生的机理可为类似研究提供参考。     

贡嘎曲德寺空鼓壁画修复实验研究

在西藏寺庙的壁画病害中空鼓是较为严重一类病害,贡嘎曲德寺地处雅鲁藏布江河谷,不同于布达拉宫壁画干燥的赋存环境,地下水位变化导致墙体毛细水上浸明显,传统高模数硅酸钾(PS剂)配粉煤灰作为灌浆材料在潮湿环境中易导致壁画酥碱病害。针对这一问题,通过室内实验和现场试验,筛选出以丙烯酸乳液为主剂,水硬性石灰加粘土为填料的灌浆材料,取得了良好的效果,灌浆修复后可避免壁画酥碱病害。研究结果表明,对西藏地区潮湿环境下的壁画修复,丙烯酸乳液加水硬性石灰加粘土的灌浆材料具有广泛的应用价值。