![]() ![]() Similarly, the Maya of the Copán Valley added their own flair. Scientists Find Hidden Mayan Civilization.Tricky 819-Day Mayan Calendar Explained.“It is important to understand why these ancient Maya lime-based materials are so durable,” the authors write, “not only to disclose the ancient Maya masons’ technological achievements but also to design, using a reverse engineering approach, new lime-based plasters and mortars for their use in architectural heritage conservation and in modern, sustainable construction.” The results of their research were published this week in Science Advances. ![]() In analyzing samples from the Copán archeological site and consulting Maya currently living in the area, what they found was that added biological material-specifically sap from nearby chukum and jiote trees-formed an incredibly resilient and insoluble lime plaster. This architectural outlier led scientists from Spain’s University of Granada investigate what made these ancient structures different from their mesoamerican peers. For context, Aztec monuments constructed centuries later have long since crumbled. But the structures of a past Maya civilization-one that thrived in Honduras’ Copán Valley from the 5th century CE until about the 10th century-somehow survived the ravages of time. Their intense tropical sun and high humidity could lay waste to even the most modern and high-tech of buildings if left untouched for centuries. The jungles of western Honduras are a rough climate for any man-made structure to survive. The sap created insoluble crystalline structures (similar to those found on the shells of mollusks) that were well-suited to surviving the hot and humid climate of central America. The secret ingredient was sap from nearby trees, introduced during the plaster-making process.Scientists from the University of Granada in Spain explored why this plaster was a step above the building materials of its mesoamerican peers.Examples of head-scratchingly impressive building material can be found throughout the ancient world, and Maya lime plaster ranks high among them.
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