[Aztlan] Olmecs on the History Channel - More about Bitumen

[David Hixson]

Estimados Listeros,

I hope most of you got a chance to see the "Digging
for the Truth" episode on the Olmecs.  It was
surprisingly good (considering the poor job that this
production team did on the Aztecs), one worthy of
classroom use.  I have a feeling a large number of
staff members on that team have been replaced in this
new season - for the better.

And, of course, it included our very own listero Dick
Diehl, discussing the topic he brought up here on
Aztlan.

I used to work with archaeologist Carl Wendt in
Illinois, and he also did a fantastic job in this
episode.  I want to thank Edward Allen for forwarding
some more news about Carl and his students' work on
the Olmec use of asphalt and bitumen:

http://media.www.dailytitan.com/media/storage/paper861/news/2007/09/17/News/Ancient.Civilization.Trading.Secrets.Revealed-2971876.shtml

It's long been known that the Olmec used these
tar-like resources, but Carl and his students are
taking the necessary next step of conducting trace
element analyses to "source" archaeological examples
and trace their distribution.  While this technique
can also be done with ceramics, actualistic studies of
original clay deposits are rare-to-non-existant. 
Bitumen is easier to source, and therefore may be a
more powerful tool for tracing trade and communication
routes of the Olmec.

-Dave


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