Chemical residues in lime-plastered archaeological floors

In addition to research carried out on soils and sediments, there is a parallel field of research applying the same analytical techniques to the study of chemical residues in stuccoes. The most common material used to build floors in Mesoamerica after the Classic period was lime plaster. The study of residues in stuccoes becomes, therefore, a very promising study area. In last 25 years the Archaeological Prospection Laboratory at Mexico's National Autonomous University has developed a research strategy to study human activities based on ethnoarchaeological studies to interpret the distribution of chemical residues in archaeological floors. The most successful applications have been in lime-plastered surfaces; this article presents a brief review of these works. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.