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Polímeros prehistóricos: el procesamiento del caucho en la antigua Mesoamérica.
1Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|June 18, 1999
Resumen
Los antiguos mesoamericanos transformaron el látex de Castilla elastica en caucho duradero usando Ipomoea alba, mejorando su elasticidad para artefactos como bolas y figuras. Esta antigua técnica de procesamiento de caucho fue crucial para la cultura y los rituales mesoamericanos.
Área de la Ciencia:
- Ciencia de los materiales Ciencia de los materiales.
- Arqueología Arqueología.
- La etnobotánica es la etnobotánica.
Sus antecedentes:
- Las antiguas culturas mesoamericanas utilizaban recursos naturales de caucho.
- Los métodos de procesamiento para lograr las propiedades deseadas del material no se entendían bien.
Objetivo del estudio:
- Para investigar las antiguas técnicas de procesamiento de caucho de Mesoamérica.
- Comprender las bases químicas y mecánicas para la mayor elasticidad del caucho procesado.
Principales métodos:
- Análisis químico del látex de Castilla elastica.
- Análisis mecánico de artefactos de caucho procesados.
- Identificación de los compuestos en Ipomoea alba responsables de la modificación del caucho.
Principales resultados:
- El procesamiento implicó la purificación del componente de polímero del látex.
- Los compuestos orgánicos de Ipomoea alba aumentaron la fuerza y el número de interacciones entre cadenas en el caucho.
- Estas modificaciones mejoraron significativamente el comportamiento elástico de la goma.
Conclusiones:
- Los pueblos antiguos controlaban intencionalmente las propiedades del caucho a través de un procesamiento específico.
- Este dominio tecnológico permitió la creación de productos de caucho duraderos, incluidos los del juego de pelota mesoamericano.
- Los hallazgos destacan la sofisticada ciencia de los materiales antiguos y su significado cultural.
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