THE IMPORTANCE OF USING SEDIMENT CHEMISTRY TO INTERPRET ANCIENT MAYA SALT MAKING ACTIVITIES AT THE PAYNES CREEK SALT WORKS

Abstract

Chemical analysis of soils and sediments are useful for finding activities and defining space not readily apparent in the artifact assemblage due to varied preservation. In the Maya cultural area, chemical analysis of anthropogenic and naturogenic terrestrial soils and marine sediments have been used to find activities that occurred at ancient Maya sites both inside and outside of buildings. The Underwater Maya project has adapted soil chemistry, usually conducted at terrestrial sites, to the submerged Paynes Creek Salt Works. The acidic red mangrove peat has remarkably preserved wooden posts that form the outline of buildings and botanical remains but does not preserve bone or shell. The differential preservation at the salt works could obscure the full plethora of activities taking place, under shadowing the complexity of production of salt for the Late Classic Maya. In this paper, we discuss the importance of soil and sediment chemistry analysis in the Maya are, methods for sampling sediment at the Paynes Creek Salt Works, and the chemical signatures of human activity that are most likely to occur at the salt works.