The first direct evidence of pre-columbian sources of palygorskite for Maya Blue
Journal of Archaeological Science
By: Dean E. Arnold, Bruce F. Bohor, Hector Neff, Gary M. Feinman, Patrick Ryan Williams, Laure Dussubieux, and Ronald Bishop
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Abstract
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.
Suggested Citation
Arnold, D., Bohor, B., Neff, H., Feinman, G.M., Williams, P.R., Dussubieux, L., and Bishop, R., 2012, The first direct evidence of pre-columbian sources of palygorskite for Maya Blue: Journal of Archaeological Science, v. 39, no. 7, p. 2252-2260, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2012.02.036.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | The first direct evidence of pre-columbian sources of palygorskite for Maya Blue |
| Series title | Journal of Archaeological Science |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.jas.2012.02.036 |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Year Published | 2012 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Description | 9 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Journal of Archaeological Science |
| First page | 2252 |
| Last page | 2260 |