Patterns in Maya Floor Construction

Abstract

A study of floor construction in the Maya area leads to the conclusion that a definite technique or pattern seems to have been used from the Preclassic to the Postclassic periods and that this consisted of using a foundation under a base which was covered by a plaster. It appeared further that the same technique was applied regardless of the raw materials at hand. It was also found that the use of burned earth or clay as an element of a floor was rather widespread and appeared to be deliberate rather than the result of the burning of flammable superstructures. No attempt was made at this time to determine the fine structures of the separate floor elements based upon their chemical or physical properties.