RT Journal Article
T1 Crystal–chemical and diffraction analyses of Maya blue suggesting a different provenance of the palygorskite found in Aztec pigments
A1 Sánchez del Río, Manuel
A1 García Rivas, Javier
A1 Súarez Barrios, Mercedes
A1 García Romero, Emilia
AB Maya blue is a pigment found in different archaeological sites of different cultures from Mesoamerica, and also in colonial buildings in Mexico and Cuba. The pigment is made from a thermally treated mixture of indigo and palygorskite. Pigment samples from Aztec and non‐Aztec archaeological sites as well as reference Yucatecan palygorskites were studied in this paper to assess their differences. The characterization of the samples was carried out by a combination of a crystal–chemical‐point analyses using electron microscopy to obtain the structural formulae of the palygorskite crystals, and studied using high‐resolution X‐ray diffraction. The data show evidence that the palygorskite used by non‐Aztec cultures, such as the Maya, is compatible with palygorskite from known sources in the Yucatan Peninsula, while the palygorskite used by the Aztec culture is different in its structure and has an origin that is still unknown.
PB Wiley
SN 0003-813X
YR 2021
FD 2021
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/8113
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/8113
LA eng
NO Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation
DS Docta Complutense
RD 26 ago 2024