Message #141056

[Bianca]

The other co-authors of this research are Jason Branden from Northwestern University, and Patrick Ryan Williams and J.P. Brown, both from The Field Museum.






                                                     Digital images available:



Altar



The altar on the Temple of the Warriors at Chichén Itzá upon which human sacrifices were made. The altar was painted blue. After human victims were stripped, painted blue, and thrust back down on the altar, their beating hearts were removed.
Photo by Dean E. Arnold, Courtesy of Dean E. Arnold.






Bowl



This Maya tripod pottery bowl (Field Museum catalog number 1969.189262) containing copal from Chichén Itzá’s Sacred Cenote used for sacrifices provided the clues that resolved the mystery of how the ancient Maya produce Maya Blue and how a 14-foot layer of blue precipitate formed at the bottom of the Sacred Cenote (a natural well). It has been part of The Field Museum’s collections for 75 years.
Photo by John Weinstein; Courtesy of The Field Museum.






Copal from bowl



The underside of the copal removed from the Maya tripod pottery bowl shows evidence that helped solve mysteries surrounding the ancient production of Maya Blue. Fine blue and white grains were removed for analysis and indicated the presence of Maya Blue and palygorskite, indicating that the pigment was being made near Chichén Itzá’s Sacred Cenote into which the bowl (containing this copal) was thrown.



Photo by Linda Nicholas; Courtesy of The Field Museum.