The Palenque Pool Project: Sourcing the Sand from the Main Picota Pool

Summary

Many sites in the Maya Lowlands relied heavily on water storage features in order to sustain the annual dry season. However, in Palenque the opposite challenge was presented, as there was an abundance of perennial water flowing through the city. Palenque’s ancient name of Lakamha’ or Big Water was indicative of this issue. In response, there were intricate water management systems constructed in order to divert the water underground through aqueducts. In May of 2014, the Palenque Pool Project began excavation and consolidation of the largest pool in the Picota Group, about 1 kilometer west of the site center. Although the function of the pool will likely forever remain a mystery, its placement adjacent to one of Palenque's two stelae and its similarity to modern Maya examples, suggests ceremonial use. Beneath an approximate 40 cm of mud and debris lies a 10 cm layer of sand atop the bedrock floor. Being that Palenque is devoid of the granular material it must have been imported. A series of tests, including X-ray fluorescence (XRF), were utilized in determining the sand’s origin. This poster outlines our results.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage