Bitumen as Stabilizer in Earthen Architecture of the Mesoamerican Gulf Coast

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Plant Exudates and Other Binders, Adhesives, and Coatings in the Americas" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Investigations on monumental earthen architecture in the Classic period La Joya site in Central Veracruz led to the hypothesis that a bitumen additive was used as a stabilizer in construction. The use of bitumen resulted in increased resistance to weathering in a humid tropical environment, as well as control of vegetation, biofilm, and pest invasion. During 2009–2020, research advanced in parallel on two fronts: analysis of organic chemical extracts obtained from archaeological architectural samples, bitumen, and paleosoils (by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry and δ13C isotope ratio mass spectrometry) and construction and monitoring of experimental mudbrick walls using as stabilizers different proportions (1%–6%) of bitumen derivatives as well as organic mucilage applied in vernacular earthen architecture in Central America, their mechanical properties analyzed in a laboratory. The results indicate that petroleum derivatives were used in ancient construction and that asphalt emulsions are additives that improve the properties of earthen construction.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Plant Exudates and Other Binders, Adhesives, and Coatings in the Americas   •
• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32615