Floors, an Archaeological Material: The Case of the Plaza de la Piramide del Sol, Teotihuacan, Mexico

Summary

Human beings have modified surfaces to make them habitable, with time they made other floors to give it a better finish. The process was recorded in the floors interiors; we can observe the materials used in its elaboration and how they changed through time. Additionally, we can conduct other studies which help us understand the time-frame between structures. Floors are a complex material and their study helps us identify social aspects seen in past studies of other materials such as ceramics, architecture, among others.

In this investigation we employed archaeomagnetic, chemical, geological, and six non-destructive physical analyses. Moreover, these studies were performed on fragments from three kinds of floor that correspond to distinct surface levels found in southern sector of Plaza de la Piramide del Sol, Teotihuacan during the 2014 excavation season.

Finally, we will present results gained from FTIR, XRD, and Raman analyses, from unconsolidated samples, SEM consolidated block sample studies against unconsolidated samples—as well as thin section findings. We will close by presenting archaeomagnetism dating results from which four construction periods were identified—as well as the benefits and drawbacks of using this methodology on a floor with the particular physical characteristics possessed by the analyzed Teotihuacan floors.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21084