New Research into Maya Blue

[Michael Ruggeri]

Listeros,

Researchers know that Maya Blue is made from plant dye, indigo and
polygorskite, but they do not know how they were cooked together. New
discoveries from researchers in Valencia have cast doubt on the theory
that it was made from a mix of only indigo and polygorskite. The new
research has uncovered a 2nd pigment called dehydroindigo, which
probably forms from exposure to heat. Dehydraindigo is yellow
and indigo is blue. Thus the greenish tone of Maya Blue was produced by
adding more wood to the fire or less. It appears that the indigo
penetrates into the channels of the polygorskite and the mix is heated
to 120-180 C and oxidization produces the yellow hue. They are still
studying why Maya Blue does not lose its luster through time. The
team found small greenish balls at the site of La Blanca in Guatemala.
It is thought this was used as plaster to decorate walls. And this color
may have been produced through the same processes.

laboratoryequipment.com has the story here;
http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/04/research-sheds-light-myst
erious-ancient-paint

Mike Ruggeri

Mike Ruggeri's Maya Archaeology News and Links
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