Geochemical Analysis of Construction Materials in the Cave at Las Cuevas, Belize: An Intrasite Analysis

Summary

The entrance chamber of the Cave at Las Cuevas, Belize prominently features many platforms, staircases, and terraces. To date 72 platforms, seven staircases, and two sets of terraces have been mapped and recorded. Geochemical analyses of the plastered surfaces were conducted in situ and in the lab in order to understand the technology used to create the platforms within the cave. Geochemical analyses were conducted in situ using portable XRF (pXRF) and additional samples were collected for portable XRF analysis in the lab. Platforms from different areas of the cave entrance, different light quality, and different sizes were considered for this study. I hypothesize that differences in chemical composition may represent differences in function or may represent a construction chronology. I will present the results of the pXRF analysis and discuss the range of variation and possible reasons for the variation.

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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