The Authentication of the Codex Maya of Mexico, Previously Known as the Grolier, through Scientific 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.

After 45 years of polemic about the Codex Grolier, the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia of Mexico finally decided to undertake major scientific studies on this document to evaluate its authenticity. During 2017, several research teams analyzed the codex using both non-invasive and invasive methods ultimately producing the largest scientific corpus of data ever created for any Mesoamerican codex. Here, we present the results of testing done by the Colors of History Project and Laboratory of the University of Colorado, Boulder. The presence of the pigment Maya Blue was confirmed; no modern inks or materials were found, and three additional AMS C14 dates placed the manufacture of the document in the Early Postclassic period. All of the material evidence and analyses discount the notion that this document was a fabrication of the 20th century and instead support the authenticity of the Codex Maya of Mexico

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): 23506