Acknowledging Anonymous Artists: Examining the Painted Stucco Facade from a temple at Kiuic, Yucatan

Summary

Excavations in the main plaza of Kiuic in Yucatan, Mexico, revealed the presence of a dismantled stucco façade south of the temple it once adorned. The façade dates to the temple’s initial Late Classic construction (600-800 AD) and is thought to have been stripped from it during a second construction phase in the Terminal Classic (800-1000 AD). Preliminary analysis of the deposit provided insight into the methods used to sculpt the stucco revealing its theme to have been a historic-narrative depicting important characters, a style similar to those found at other Classic lowland Maya sites.

To understand the process by which such stucco facades were created, we will conduct analysis of the raw materials and artistic/architectural techniques used in their production. In this paper, we present the results of chemical analyses used to identify the materials (stucco plasters and pigments) used in the construction. Identification of these materials and the techniques by which they were combined enables us to address questions regarding their availability and selection by the artists operating at Kiuic during this time. The specifics of this artistic tradition with regard to level of specialization and resource investment can be compared to others in ancient Mesoamerica.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• The Bolonchén Regional Archaeological Project: Sixteen Years of Investigating Maya Society in the Eastern Puuc Region from the Preclassic through the Historical Period

Keywords

Spatial Coverage