play in the dirt
Wow, it`s been another busy week! We had another course for the adobe walls-- this one started on the 15th, and Monday is the last class--so I`ve been participating in that instead of doing that data entry.
The course is taught by Maribel Beas, a architecture professor at the Univesity of Pennsylvania. We went to Cajamarquilla and took groups of wall samples from all the complexes. We then took the samples back to the laboratory and performed tests for plasticity, granulometry, density, estimation of mineral composition, etc. I love science labs! but we did have several problems. We had a ton of errors--some groups couldn`t even do some of the calculations because the numbers were so wrong. Some people used an electronic balance for their measurements, but the machine was not working well so their amounts were all wrong; I used the hand/mechanical balance for mine, so luckily mine were accurate. We also totally did not have enough materials to do anything; it tooks forever to do our tests because we had to wait in line for the equipment. Well, that`s what it`s like sometimes with science and classes.
The awesome thing is that I thought we were just going to learn conservation-y type stuff, but the tests we ran are totally applicable for archaeologists! For example, we took samples from earlier, later, and inca sections of adobe; with this change in time, we also see a change in construction methods (earlier uses adobe bricks, the later uses tapial aka poured/rammed earth that was made with wooden molds, inca uses bigger blocks and tapial also). The nifty thing is, you can see a change as well in the composition of the walls! The earlier samples have significantly more clay, as do the inca--this makes sense because it`d need to be clayey enough to form the bricks. The later sections are incredibly sandy and totally can`t form bricks, but are perfect for tapial; we even have a sample of where we think the source for the tapial material was, and it turns out that the compostitions match. I know, it sounds dorky, but I think it`s cool. :)
Okay, so to finish off, here`s some odd links, thanks to Tim. :) Check them out if you`re bored.
Is dead beast the marauding 'hybrid mutant'?Residents of Androscoggin County, Maine, are wondering if an animal found dead over the weekend may be the mysterious creature that has mauled dogs, frightened residents and been the subject of local legend for half a generation.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14383883/from/ET/
International Film Festival in Rome, Georgia (where Tim`s new job is, so ifyou want to visit him and see some cool films! There`s even a Call of Cthullu movie)
www.riff.tv
UFOs at Lima`s Airport! Hehehe --
http://www.analuisacid.com/kui_sam.htm
The course is taught by Maribel Beas, a architecture professor at the Univesity of Pennsylvania. We went to Cajamarquilla and took groups of wall samples from all the complexes. We then took the samples back to the laboratory and performed tests for plasticity, granulometry, density, estimation of mineral composition, etc. I love science labs! but we did have several problems. We had a ton of errors--some groups couldn`t even do some of the calculations because the numbers were so wrong. Some people used an electronic balance for their measurements, but the machine was not working well so their amounts were all wrong; I used the hand/mechanical balance for mine, so luckily mine were accurate. We also totally did not have enough materials to do anything; it tooks forever to do our tests because we had to wait in line for the equipment. Well, that`s what it`s like sometimes with science and classes.
The awesome thing is that I thought we were just going to learn conservation-y type stuff, but the tests we ran are totally applicable for archaeologists! For example, we took samples from earlier, later, and inca sections of adobe; with this change in time, we also see a change in construction methods (earlier uses adobe bricks, the later uses tapial aka poured/rammed earth that was made with wooden molds, inca uses bigger blocks and tapial also). The nifty thing is, you can see a change as well in the composition of the walls! The earlier samples have significantly more clay, as do the inca--this makes sense because it`d need to be clayey enough to form the bricks. The later sections are incredibly sandy and totally can`t form bricks, but are perfect for tapial; we even have a sample of where we think the source for the tapial material was, and it turns out that the compostitions match. I know, it sounds dorky, but I think it`s cool. :)
Okay, so to finish off, here`s some odd links, thanks to Tim. :) Check them out if you`re bored.
Is dead beast the marauding 'hybrid mutant'?Residents of Androscoggin County, Maine, are wondering if an animal found dead over the weekend may be the mysterious creature that has mauled dogs, frightened residents and been the subject of local legend for half a generation.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14383883/from/ET/
International Film Festival in Rome, Georgia (where Tim`s new job is, so ifyou want to visit him and see some cool films! There`s even a Call of Cthullu movie)
www.riff.tv
UFOs at Lima`s Airport! Hehehe --
http://www.analuisacid.com/kui_sam.htm
posted by archaesmd at 12:20 PM
3 Comments:
An update on the Maine Beast. Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman has become something of a target for the woman who took most of the photos you've seen. This seems to be in part because she wants to sell the photos, but mostly because Coleman has been quoted extensively in the press about the animal likely being mundane.
Details
http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/memutantpixout/
Question: Do you think the tapia vs. brick tests would work on sediments above stone foundations where walls once were (and have since melted)? San Salvador was built using what appears to be tapia, but I think the structure excavated in 2003 may have had imprints of brick.
Hmm, I think it`d be quite possible. If the bricks had been made out of a different material than the tapial, and the sediments above the walls were correspondingly different, you could make a case for that. You don`t happen to have bricks nywhere else on the site at all? Or nearby? That`d help with the comparison. Do you have pics?
I just got a copy of the lab manual that has a ton more tests in it, for all sorts of different types of material, so I`ll read through that and see if there`s anything else that might help too.
We`ll chat more about this when I get back, it sounds like an interesting possibility.
I'm talking with the director/excavator this evening, so I'll mention it to him.
My interest is that if there are different construction techniques, this might get to issues of labor organization, which in a warzone and with changing practices and policies, might tell us something. Brick can be sent to a location, tapial cannot and more workers must be sent to build and live on site.
Spaniards were directing production of fired ceramic roof tiles on site, and floor tiles, but not construction bricks. This is why I was somewhat surprised by potential evidence for adobe brick in 2003, since we had assumed tapial was the main manner of construction.
Thank you for the info. Like I said, I'll pass it along to the director.
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