Dissertation Research: Technological Styles of Late Preclassic Lowlands Maya Architectural Sculpture: Cultural Explanations of Technological Change

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Under the direction of Dr. Richard Leventhal, Mr. Eric Hansen will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will collect samples of stucco and samples which have secure archaeological contexts and which have been collected from a series of Preclassic lowland Mayan sites. These will be subjected to a series of analyses including optical microscopy, image analysis of petrographic thin sections and paint cross sections supplemented by instrumental examinations. With this information he will be able to determine whether technological styles - standardized techniques for preparation of these products - are present, their degree of uniformity and how they change over time. Stucco and plaster were widely used by Maya to coat temple walls, as a base for painted design and as the material to shape into sculptures. They are produced by burning lime, slaking it with water and then adding a variety of tempers. Preliminary work by Mr. Hansen indicates considerable variability in the details of Mayan production practices. Archaeologists study style for several reasons. Because styles change over time, by looking at designs on potsherds for example one is often able to construct chronologies, date selected examples by radiocarbon and then fit other excavated examples in the proper time slot. Secondly, archaeologists study standardization among items from a same site because it provides insight into the degree of centralized organization and control. Standardization and centralization are directly related. Through his research Mr. Hansen will both develop a new technique of stylistic analysis and provide information on specific Mayan sites. He, together with several other archaeologists believe that the rise of Mayan civilization dates to a period earlier than many researchers accept and the data he produces will be directly relevant to this question. This research is important for several reasons. It will produce data of interest to many archaeologists. It will help to pioneer the development of a new technique of potentially wide archaeological applicability and it will assist in the training of a promising young scientist.