Pigment Composition and Color Structure and Usage in the Lienzos De Chiepetlan, Guerrero, Mexico: A Non-destructive Analysis

Summary

This is an abstract from the "From Materials to Materiality: Analysis and Interpretation of Archaeological and Historical Artifacts Using Non-destructive and Micro/Nano-sampling Scientific Methods" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The community of Chiepetlan, Guerrero possesses six colonial lienzos. One manufactured during the 16th century, and four manufactured during the 18th century and used as legal documents in colonial land disputes. The current study contains two primary objectives: (1) to identify specific pigments used in the manufacture of the Chiepetlan Lienzos; (2) to interpret the significance of color use in Chiepetlan's broader cultural and historical context. Towards the first aim, this study makes use of three non-destructive techniques: portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), fiber-optic reflectance spectrometry (FORS), and multispectral imaging (MSI). Towards the second aim, this study draws on archaeological and ethno-historical evidence, as well as theories of materiality. In addressing the above objectives, this study furthers our understanding of pigment technology, as well as our methodologies for studying pre-Columbian and historical documents. It stands to elucidate social and political transformations following the Spanish conquest of Mesoamerica in which colonial documents and lienzos played a central role in indigenous identity and heraldry, and in negotiations between indigenous communities and European authorities.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• From Materials to Materiality: Analysis and Interpretation of Archaeological and Historical Artifacts Using Non-destructive and Micro/Nano-sampling Scientific Methods   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22993