BOLETÍN DE LA SOCIEDAD GEOLÓGICA MEXICANA

Vol 64, Núm. 2, 2012, P.207-213

http://dx.doi.org/10.18268/BSGM2012v64n2a6

Objects made of copal resin: a radiological analysis

 Objetos de resina de copal: análisis radiológico

Naoli Victoria Lona1,*

 1Posgrado en Antropología, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras/Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior - Mario de la Cueva s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, México, Distrito Federal, C.P. 04510, México.

 *This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Since pre-Hispanic times, copal (Bursera bipinnata resin) has been used for different purposes, from medical to ritual or religious, which promoted its transportation from what is now the state of Guerrero to Morelos, Puebla, and Mexico City, as has been verified by ethnographic studies.

During the Late Post-classic period, the resin was transported to Tenochtitlan where it was transformed into different objects such as bars, spheres, conglomerates, bases of sacrificial knives, anthropomorphic figurines and diverse amorphous fragments. The macroscopic and microscopic study of more than 300 copal objects from the offerings of the Great Temple archaeological zone (Templo Mayor) permitted the establishment of a methodology in the manufacturing processes of several formal groups, which were then corroborated by Computerized Axial Tomography, more commonly known by its abbreviated names, CT scan or CAT scan. This radiological technique, created for the study of living human organisms, is very effective in archaeological applications, since it is not invasive but still allows observation of the surface of an object as well as its interior by means of virtual slices. Additionally, it allows the detection of different densities of the components of the object, making it possible to know the composition of different materials.

Keywords: Resin, copal, archaeological objects, mexica, Great Temple of Tenochtitlan, Late Post-classical period, computerized axial tomography (CAT).