Estudio arqueométrico de figurillas cerámicas mayas de Calakmul (Campeche, México)

Abstract

The results derived from an archaeometric characterization study undertaken on a representative ensemble of Late Classic ceramic figurines coming from the archaeological field work carried out in the Mayan town of Calakmul (Campeche, México) are reported and discussed in this paper. The main goals of the research were to gather some information on the technology of manufacture of these ceramics and provide some insights into their probable provenance. The archaeometric characterization was accomplished through the following complementary techniques: conventional optical microscopy (OM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). In order to isolate ceramic groups with a similar chemical profile, XRF data were also analyzed by exploratory multivariate statistical techniques. The resulting data indicate that most of the figurines were locally manufactured from a calcium carbonate (calcite)-rich clay raw material. A small ceramic group containing mixed calcium and magnesium carbonates (dolomite), which could be foreign or from other area of the Calakmul region, was also identified. These data suggest that the production of ceramic figurines could be associated to workshops linked to the monopoly on ceramic production performed by the centralized power of the town of Calakmul during this period.