Analyzing the Physicochemical Characteristics of an Archaeological Glass Collection from Mexico City, Mexico

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30763/Intervencion.293.v1n29.72.2024

Keywords:

Archaeometry, barrilla, tequesquite, glassmakers, vitrifying

Abstract

This paper is a preliminary study detailing the results of a chemical-physical analysis executed on 20 fragments of archaeological glass from Mexico City. The analysis was carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray microanalysis, two techniques not previously applied in Mexico for this purpose. Both the content of oxides and the sample’s physical characteristics allowed us to determine that approximately seventeen coincided with the types of components identified in European glass prior to the 18th century. The other three were identified as having come from a later period. The physical characteristics on the microscopic level were diverse and showed adhesions resulting from the effects of environmental degradation. This facilitates an analysis of oxide content and mechanisms of glass degradation that will allow us to further our understanding of this material’s production process in our country moving forward.

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Author Biographies

José Roberto Perealta Rodríguez, Escuela Superior de Medicina-Sección de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigación, Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), México

Science lecturer in the IPN with a specialty at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico (UNAM). His lines of research focus on The historical development of visual health care in Mexico and the production of glass and ophthalmic lenses in Mexico City, in the 17th and 19th centuries. Recent publications: (2020) Spectacles and their availability in Mexico City during the Porfiriato. Relaciones. Estudios de Historia y Sociedad, 41(163), 82-96. (2021) Glass industry in Mexico City, 1830-1890. Estudios de Historia Moderna y Contemporánea de México, 62, 5-14.

Arturo García Bórquez, Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN)

PhD in Physics (1994). He holds over 50 peer-reviewed international publications with 400 citations and has supervised 27 postgraduate theses. Co-author of three books. Member of the Academia Mexicana de Ciencias (Mexican Academy of Sciences [AMC]), Sistema Nacional de Investigadores e Investigadoras (National System of Researchers (SNII, level II), Sociedades Mexicanas de Física (Mexican Societies of Physics [SMF]), Crystallography (SMCr), and Microscopy and Microanalysis (Ammmicro). Recipient of scholarships from Conahcyt, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), International Atomic Energy Agency, and the European Commission (OIEA). Moderator at national and international conferences. Organizer of international conference series on nanostructures. Reviewer for national and international scientific journals. Evaluator of research projects for Conahcyt postgraduate studies, DAAD scholarships, and Conahcyt grants for studies in Germany.

María de Jesús Alvizar Rodríguez, Museo del Templo Mayor (MTM), Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH)

Degree in Archaeology from the Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National School of Anthropology and History [ENAH]) of the INAH. Research professor at INAH. She has participated in excavations in the areas of Teotihuacan and Tlatelolco. Specialist dedicated to research on glass materials of the Historic Center of Mexico City. She has presented papers on glass production in Mexico from the New Sapin. Co-author of the article El vidrio en la Casa del Apartado, siglos XVI-XVII. Procesos Históricos, 18 (July-December, 2020).

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Published

2024-07-31

How to Cite

Perealta Rodríguez, J. R., García Bórquez, A., & Alvizar Rodríguez, M. de J. (2024). Analyzing the Physicochemical Characteristics of an Archaeological Glass Collection from Mexico City, Mexico. Intervención, 1(29), 17–64. https://doi.org/10.30763/Intervencion.293.v1n29.72.2024

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Section

Research article