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America’s First Polymer Scientists: Rubber Processing, Use and Transport in Mesoamerica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Michael J. Tarkanian  and
Dorothy Hosler
Michael J. Tarkanian
Affiliation:
Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Room 8-003, Cambridge, MA 02139 (tarky@mit.edu)
Dorothy Hosler
Affiliation:
Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Room 8-204, Cambridge, MA 02139 (hosler@mit.edu)
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Abstract

Ancient Mesoamericans were making rubber by at least 1600 B.C, mixing latex from Castilla elastica trees with juice from Ipomoea alba (morning glory) vines. The combination of ethnographic, archaeological and mechanical data presented in this text illustrate that ancient Mesoamericans had fully developed this process, and consciously tailored the mechanical properties of rubber to suit requirements of specific applications by altering the ratio of latex to I. alba juice. Our data focus on rubber balls, sandal soles, and rubber bands for hafting and joining. Elasticity, the mechanical property that defines the ability of a rubber ball to bounce, is maximized with a 1:1 volume ratio of latex to I. alba juice. Rubber with high wear resistance, vital to the life and functionality of a sandal sole, can be created by mixing C. elastica latex with 25 percent I. alba juice by volume. Unprocessed C. elastica latex, without I. alba juice, is the material best suited for joining applications, such as adhesives or hafting bands, where strength and ability to absorb shock is of the greatest importance. Tribute data from sixteenth-century codices substantiate that rubber was processed for specific applications within the Aztec empire—rubber and latex goods were processed and constructed in the C. elastica-bearing regions, and then shipped to the capital for use or further distribution.

Resumen

Resumen

Los antiguos pobladores de Mesoamérica procesaban el hule desde por lo menos 1600 a.C., mezclando el látex del árbol Castilla elastica con el jugo obtenido de los bejucos de Ipomoea alba, una especie de dondiego de día. La combinación de los datos etnográficos, arqueológicos y físicos que se presentan en este texto muestra que los mesoamericanos descubrieron el amplio rango de propiedades mecánicas que se pueden obtener al combinar el látex con el jugo de I. alba en diferentes proporciones, y que aplicaron estos conocimientos para manipular las propiedades del hule según el uso específico que se le fuera a dar. Nuestro estudio se enfocará en tres ejemplos: las pelotas de hule, las bandas anchas de hule que servían para enmangaduras, y las sandalias con suelas de hule. Los datos de nuestra investigación revelan que el hule que se obtiene al mezclar un 50 por ciento de Ipomoea alba por volumen, sería la combinación ideal para la manufactura de las pelotas donde se requiere de una máxima elasticidad y rebote. En cambio, para las suelas de hule de las sandalias, la resistencia al desgaste y la fatiga son las propiedades mecánicas más importantes, y esto se lograba al agregar el 25 por ciento de jugo de I. alba por volumen. Por su parte, el látex seco, sin procesar, es el material más apropiado para crear las bandas anchas de enmangar, donde se requiere de una mayor fuerza de tensión, rigidez y capacidad de amortiguamiento. La hipótesis de que el hule se preparaba en varias formas en Mesoamérica es sugerida por algunas fuentes documentales del siglo dieciséis. En los documentos tributarios del imperio azteca se apunta que los artículos de hule y látex habrían sido procesados y manufacturados en las regiones donde los árboles de C. elastica son endémicos y desde ahí transportados a la capital mexica o a los centros tributarios del imperio.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 22 , Issue 4 , December 2011 , pp. 469 - 486
Copyright
Copyright ©2011 by the Society for American Archaeology.

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