Petrography of Mayan mortar, Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Conference · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1985 · Geol. Soc. Am., Abstr. Programs; (United States)

OSTI ID:6863173

Bain, R J

Along coastal regions of the Yucatan Peninsula Mayan builders used a mixture of beach sand, shell fragments, and clasts of rock as mortar for construction. With exposure to subaerial conditions, the aragonitic sand was converted into a semi-lithified mortar. Petrographic analysis of mortar samples collected from Mayan ruins on the south end of Isla Mujeres indicates that the mortar is cemented by blocky, meniscus style, low Mg calcite. In addition to the cement, low Mg calcite also occurs as blocky equant crystals either replacing grains or filling grain-moldic porosity. X-ray analysis of both modern beach sand and mortar shows the sand is composed of aragonite and high Mg calcite but lacks low Mg calcite. Mortar, on the other hand, consists of low Mg calcite, high Mg calcite, and aragonite however aragonite is much less abundant than in the sand. Aragonitic ooids, pellets and bioclasts of beach sand used in mortar were dissolved producing moldic porosity. At the same time, CaCO/sub 3/ derived from this process was precipitated as low Mg calcite which formed meniscus cement and filled moldic porosity within the walls of Mayan structures producing a remarkably hard mortar.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Akron, OH (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6863173
• Report Number(s): CONF-8510489-
• Journal Information: Geol. Soc. Am., Abstr. Programs; (United States), Vol. 17; Conference: 98. annual meeting of the Geological Society of America, Orlando, FL, USA, 28 Oct 1985
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
MORTARS
MINERALOGY
PETROGRAPHY
POROSITY
BUILDING MATERIALS
CALCITE
MEXICO
MIXTURES
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
CALCIUM CARBONATES
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBONATE MINERALS
CARBONATES
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DISPERSIONS
LATIN AMERICA
MATERIALS
MINERALS
NORTH AMERICA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
580300* - Mineralogy
Petrology
& Rock Mechanics- (-1989)
360603 - Materials- Properties