Lowland Maya lime plaster technology : a diachronic approach
Lime plasters are mixtures of burnt lime, aggregates and other materials that are employed in masonry architecture. Lime plasters were widely used by the ancient Maya in public monumental buildings and constitute important elements of ancient Maya material culture. This research analyses archaeological samples of lime plasters from three different lowland Maya sites: Palenque, Calakmul and Lamanai. The thesis examines how these building materials changed through time, and includes samples from ca. 400 BC to the 16th century AD. In addition to the analysis of archaeological samples, the research also reviews various sources of information, including ethnographic and ethnohistorical descriptions, for the understanding of ancient Maya lime plaster production. The results demonstrate that plasters from the three sites have different characteristics that are due to different access to raw materials and different building traditions at each of the sites. Some of the changes seem to be related to changing economic and political conditions, which is very clear in the use of clays instead of lime for the manufacture of architectural plasters during the Terminal Classic periods at Calakmul and Palenque. Other observations
VillaseĂ±or Alonso, M. I.
Lowland Maya lime plaster technology : a diachronic approach. Lime plasters are mixtures of burnt lime, aggregates and other materials that are employed in masonry architecture. Lime plasters were widely used by the ancient Maya in public monumental buildings and constitute important elements of ancient Maya material culture. This research analyses archaeological samples of lime plasters from three different lowland Maya sites: Palenque, Calakmul and Lamanai. The thesis examines how these building materials changed through time, and includes samples from ca. 400 BC to the 16th century AD. In addition to the analysis of archaeological samples, the research also reviews various sources of information, including ethnographic and ethnohistorical descriptions, for the understanding of ancient Maya lime plaster production. The results demonstrate that plasters from the three sites have different characteristics that are due to different access to raw materials and different building traditions at each of the sites. Some of the changes seem to be related to changing economic and political conditions, which is very clear in the use of clays instead of lime for the manufacture of architectural plasters during the Terminal Classic periods at Calakmul and Palenque. Other observations
lowland maya lime plaster technology diachronic approach lime plaster mixture burnt lime aggregate material employ masonry architecture lime plaster widely_use ancient_maya public monumental building constitute_important element ancient_maya material_culture analysis archaeological sample lime plaster three_different lowland maya sit examine building_material change_time include sample addition analysis archaeological sample also_review various source_information include ethnographic ethnohistorical description ancient_maya lime plaster production plaster three_site different characteristic due different access raw_material different building_tradition site change seem relate change economic_political condition clear use clay instead lime manufacture architectural plaster terminal classic period observation