Baking Pot Codex Restoration Project, Belize
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Research Year:  2003
Culture:  Maya
Chronology:  Late Classic
Location:  Belize
Site:  Baking Pot

Table of Contents

Abstract
Section I
Discovery of Tomb 2, Baking Pot, Belize
Tomb 2

Section II - Harriet Beaubien
Excavation of the Artifacts
Goals of Conservation and Technical Analysis
Description of the Artifacts
Goals of the Project
Artifact Conservation
Stabilization for Transport
List of Components
Conservation of Artifact R at SCMRE
Technical Study of Paint Flakes
Paint Layer Composition
Ground Layer Composition
Painting Technique and Decorative Scheme
Indicators of the Original Substrate(s)
Preliminary Interpretation of the Artifacts
Object Types
Contributions to Technical Studies of Maya Painting Traditions

List of Figures
Sources Cited

Abstract

During the 2002 field season a decayed stuccoed artifact was uncovered in a tomb at the site of Baking Pot. Initially, we believed that the painted stucco could be the remains of an ancient Maya codex. After funds were secured, Harriet Beaubien traveled to Belize to recover the material and bring it to the Smithsonian Institute for conservation and analysis. After more than a year of painstaking study Beaubien determined that the artifact was not a codex, but rather a number of smaller artifacts, similar in style and composition to gourds found at Cerén, El Salvador.

Submitted 03/05/2005 by:
Carolyn M. Audet
Vanderbilt University
carolyn.m.audet@vanderbilt.edu

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