Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana Volumen 76, núm. 2, A250324, 2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.18268/BSGM2024v76n2a250324

Estudio experimental de las temperaturas en la producción de cal artesanal en Uayma, Yucatán

Experimental study of temperatures in the traditional lime production at Uayma, Yucatán

Soledad Ortiz Ruiz^1,*, Oscar G. de Lucio², Kenneth E. Seligson³, Thania Estefanía Narváez⁴,

Avto Goguitchaichvili⁵, Luis Barba Pingarrón⁶

¹ Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito exterior, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, Ciudad de México, México.

² Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias para la Investigación y Conservación del Patrimonio Cultural (LANCIC), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), 04510 Ciudad de México, México.

3 California State University-Dominguez Hills, 1000 E. Victoria Street Carson, 90747 CA, EUA.

⁴ Escuela Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía “Manuel del Castillo Negrete”, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Calzada General Anaya 187, San Diego Churubusco, Coyoacán, 04120, Ciudad de México, México.

⁵ Servicio Arqueomagnético Nacional, Instituto de Geofísica, Unidad Michoacán, Universidad Nacional, Autónoma de México, Campus Morelia, Antigua Carretera a Pátzcuaro No. 8701, Col. Ex-Hacienda de San José de La Huerta, 58190, Morelia, México.

⁶ Laboratorio de Prospección Arqueológica, Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito exterior, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, Ciudad de México, México.

* Autor para correspondencia: (S. Ortiz Ruiz) This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Cómo citar este artículo:

Ortiz Ruiz, S., de Lucio, O.G., Seligson, K.E., Ibarra Narváez, T.E., Goguitchaichvili, A. Barba Pingarrón, L., 2024, Estudio experimental de las temperaturas en la producción de cal artesanal en Uayma, Yucatán: Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana, 76 (2), A250324. http://dx.doi.org/10.18268/BSGM2024v76n2a250324

Manuscrito recibido: 19 de Septiembre de 2023; manuscrito corregido: 10 de Marzo de 2024; manuscrito aceptado: 20 de Marzo de 2024.

ABSTRACT

Lime is a versatile material that has been used by Maya societies in multiple aspects of their daily life for centuries. It is used in nixtamalization and cooking, ceramic preparation, in the surface of codex, pigment preparation, to support murals and as an important building material. How was lime made? Was lime production a specialized economic activity that fostered exchange between communities? Was its production in pyres and kilns dependent on its location? Was the use of pyres exclusively linked to domestic contexts of low production? These questions are still awaiting an answer in Maya lime production research. This paper presents a case study of experimental lime production carried out in the community of Uayma, Yucatan to try to address these questions. Characterization of the samples from the lime kiln has made it possible to infer mineralogical details and distinguish the ashes present. The recording of the operation of the lime kiln, the materials generated, and the analysis of the samples by molecular spectroscopies allow us to provide insights on the temperatures that were reached in the artisanal production of lime.

Keywords: experimental archaeology, open pyres, lime production, Maya area, archaeometry, FTIR-ATR.