Using Sediment Chemistry to Define Ancient Activities

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Underwater Maya: Analytical Approaches for Interpreting Ancient Maya Activities at the Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Soil chemistry is used in the Maya area to evaluate ancient activities not readily identified through architecture and artifact assemblages. We evaluate ancient activities at Ta’ab Nuk Na salt work, one of the largest underwater sites in Paynes Creek National Park, with at least 10 wooden buildings preserved below the sea floor. Some of the buildings are salt kitchens that have abundant briquetage from evaporating brine over fires to make salt. Our paper will report fieldwork at Ta’ab Nuk Na to collect sediment samples, results of chemical analyses, and our interpretations. We expected chemical signatures for various activities such as pottery production of salt pots, salt enrichment areas, fishing or salting fish, and temporary or permanent residences for salt workers. Comparisons of 21 chemical elements using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry, notably calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and aluminum (Al) are compared among between six buildings. The results show variations in elements associated with salt production as well as differences inside and outside of buildings and a residence for the salt makers.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Underwater Maya: Analytical Approaches for Interpreting Ancient Maya Activities at the Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39209.0