Ancient Mesoamerican Mortars, Plasters, and Stuccos: The Composition and Origin of Sascab

1 October 1958

journal article
Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in American Antiquity

Vol. 24 (2) , 172-176
https://doi.org/10.2307/277478

Abstract

The use of sascab as a substitute for sand in the preparation of ancient (and modern) mortars and plasters in Yucatán has been noted by many writers including Landa (Tozzer 1941: 171, 176), Morris, Chariot, and Morris (1931, Vol. 1: 220-4), E. H. Thompson (1887), and Villa R. (1934). R. H. Thompson (1958) details the use of sascab as temper for making pottery. Sascab is described by Villa R. (1934) as a soft limestone conglomerate; it has also been spoken of as an unconsolidated limestone. Sascab is a white to reddish, compacted powder, frequently containing rounded boulders or stones, and found in pockets in the limestone of Yucatán and possibly other areas with a similar geography.

Keywords

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: