Sakwitz’ob: There’s Gypsum in Them Thar Hills

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This poster documents the discovery in 2018 of a large ancient Maya gypsum quarry in southern Campeche, Mexico. The quarry extensively mined a regionally prominent hill (witz), likely making it a white beacon within the ancient landscape. Nearby sites appear to include gypsum workshops. Gypsum mines have also been recently discovered near El Zotz, Peten. We discuss the known and possible uses of gypsum by the ancient Maya including for plaster, sculpted vessels, and as an agricultural soil amendment.

Cite this Record

Sakwitz’ob: There’s Gypsum in Them Thar Hills. Nicholas Dunning, Christopher Carr, Timothy Beach. Presented at The 84th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Albuquerque, NM. 2019 ( tDAR id: 449938)

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Spatial Coverage

min long: -94.197; min lat: 16.004 ; max long: -86.682; max lat: 21.984 ;

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24485