[Aztlan] Correction to Tom Schreiner's Lime Production Dissertation

[Mike Reed]

Hola Listeros,

Tom Schreiner's dissertation on Maya lime production is certainly the most informative, best-researched-and-cited work on Maya lime production available.  He used a great deal of first-hand data -- seeking out and interviewing old Yucatec-speakers, who were (and in some cases are) some the last remaining practitioners of the traditional Maya methods of lime production, that has slowly been dying out due to modern cheap methods of obtaining lime for construction in the Yucatan Peninsula and other areas.

Thanks to Michael Smith for directing us to a great source of information on the subject.  However, the title is incorrect.  Here is the correct title:  

"Traditional Maya Lime Production: Environmental and Cultual implications of Native American Technology,"  Ph.D Dissertation of Thomas Paul Schreiner, Department of Architecture, University of California, Berkeley, 2002.

For those of you who would like to get ahold of a copy, Tom said he will email you the PDF link.  His email address is <SchreinerT at aol.com>.  

The Maya were the masters of Mesoamerican plaster production without a doubt, and likely passed on the technology to other groups during ancient times.  There are limestone sources close to Teotihuacan, that were available to highlanders.  I am sure there are other outcroppings surrounding the volcanic basins of the Central Mexican Highlands, as well.  Tom can give you the lowdown on those sources too, I am sure.

Mike Reed
Davis, CA