Re: OT: Wheels (Was: Clockwise without clocks)

On 4/17/05, Roger Mills <rfmilly@...> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> Unless I'm mistaken, that sounds like the primitive way of obtaining lime
> for mortar. Were the Mayan pyramids mortared??? I'd be surprised if they
> were. (In pre-industrial Indonesia they burned coral to produce lime, but
> small quantities. And isn't burning limestone basically the way cement is
> made even today? Cement factories certainly produce a ton of smoke....)

The Mayans made heavy use of lime for stucco/plaster for covering their 
pyramids and also for relief work. The Rosalia temple under structure 16 in 
Copán is an example (it was buried under a larger temple and was intact -- 
stucco work and even the colors). 

When you burn limestone, you get quicklime, which is essentially what 
plaster is. 

For actual building cement, you heat limestone and clay together until they 
almost fuse, then you crush it into a fine powder. When water is added, this 
gives cement. 

Mayan pyramids were essentially big mounds of rubble faced with limestone 
blocks. They would often frame off the site, wall it in and then fill it in 
with rubble, then build another level, and fill that in. After they 
constructed the building, they'd then coat it all with plaster and then add 
any ornamentation and plaster work to the outside. They'd also paint the 
sculpture too (as is the case with pretty much every ancient city... 
everything was usually painted and plastered). 

All of that construction and plastering required a LOT of limestone. 
Fortunately the Mayan realm sat atop vast reserves of it. 



I




-- 
They'll have a big parade for every day that you stay clean
But when the trumpets fade, you'll go under like a submarine
And you won't see it coming, no you won't see it coming

You could have it made up there in San Rafael
But baby I'm afraid i'll never see you well 
because i've seen the tally 
you're just going through the motions, baby