Blowpipes and their metalworking applications: New evidence from Mayapán, Yucatán, Mexico.

This study presents evidence of two tuyères, or blowpipe tips, used in metalworking at the Postclassic period city of Mayapán. Blowpipe technology has long been hypothesized to be the production technique for introducing oxygen to furnaces during the metal casting process on the basis of ethnohistorical depictions of the process in ancient Mesoamerica. To our knowledge, the tuyères recovered at Mayapán are the first archaeologically documented tuyères for pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica. The dimensions, internal perforation, vitrification, and presence of copper prills within the ceramic fabric, suggest that they were used in pyrotechnological production, likely metalworking, and is consistent with previous evidence for small-scale metalworking at Mayapán. Blowpipe use in metallurgical production is a logical extension of a much longer tradition of blowgun use in hunting, which was likely already present in Mesoamerica by the time metal was introduced to West Mexico from South America. Furthermore, the dimensions of the Mayapán tuyères are consistent with the internal diameter of ethnohistorically-documented blowguns from Jacaltenango in the southwest Maya region. We conducted replication experiments that suggest that when combined with wooden blowpipes, the Mayapán tuyères would have been ideal for small-scale, furnace-based metallurgy, of the type identified at Mayapán from Postclassic period contexts.

Application of Autofluorescence for Confocal Microscopy to Aid in Archaeoparasitological Analyses.

Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) was used to examine archaeoparasitological specimens from coprolites associated with La Cueva de los Muertos Chiquitos (CMC) located near present-day Durango, Mexico. The eggs for 4 different types of parasites recovered from CMC coprolites were imaged using CLSM to assist with identification efforts. While some of the parasite eggs recovered from CMC coprolites were readily identified using standard light microscopy (LM), CLSM provided useful data for more challenging identifications by highlighting subtle morphological features and enhancing visualization of parasite egg anatomy. While other advanced microscopy techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), may also detect cryptic identifying characters, CLSM is less destructive to the specimens. Utilizing CLSM allows for subsequent examinations, such as molecular analyses, that cannot be performed following SEM sample preparation and imaging. Furthermore, CLSM detects intrinsic autofluorescence molecules, making improved identification independent of resource and time-intensive protocols. These aspects of CLSM make it an excellent method for assisting in taxonomic identification and for acquiring more detailed images of archaeoparasitological specimens.