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Ancient Mesoamerican Mortars, Plasters, and Stuccos: The Composition and Origin of Sascab

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Edwin R. Littmann
Edwin R. Littmann*
Affiliation:
Westfield, New Jersey
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Extract

The use of sascab as a substitute for sand in the preparation of ancient (and modern) mortars and plasters in Yucatán has been noted by many writers including Landa (Tozzer 1941: 171, 176), Morris, Chariot, and Morris (1931, Vol. 1: 220-4), E. H. Thompson (1887), and Villa R. (1934). R. H. Thompson (1958) details the use of sascab as temper for making pottery. Sascab is described by Villa R. (1934) as a soft limestone conglomerate; it has also been spoken of as an unconsolidated limestone. Sascab is a white to reddish, compacted powder, frequently containing rounded boulders or stones, and found in pockets in the limestone of Yucatán and possibly other areas with a similar geography.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , October 1958 , pp. 172 - 176
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1958

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References

Littmann, E. R. 1957 Ancient Mesoamerican Mortars, Plasters, and Stuccos: Comalcalco, Part I. American Antiquity, Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 135–40. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Morris, E. H., Charlot, Jean, and Morris, A. A. 1931 The Temple of the Warriors at Chichen Itza, Yucatan. 2 vols. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication. 406. Washington.Google Scholar
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