The Grolier Codex: A Non Destructive Study of a Possible Maya Document using Imaging and Ion Beam Techniques
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1047-Y06-07
The Grolier Codex: A Non Destructive Study of a Possible Maya Document using Imaging and Ion Beam Techniques Jose Luis Ruvalcaba1, Sandra Zetina2, Helena Calvo del Castillo1, Elsa Arroyo2, Eumelia Hernández2, Marie Van der Meeren3, and Laura Sotelo4 1 Instituto de Fisica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apdo. postal 20-364, Mexico DF, 01000, Mexico 2 Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico DF, Mexico 3 Coordinacion Nacional de Conservacion del Patrimonio Cultural, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico DF, Mexico 4 Centro de Estudios Mayas, Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico DF, Mexico ABSTRACT The Grolier Codex has been a controversial document ever since its late discovery in 1965. Because of its rare iconographical content and its unknown origin, specialists are not keen to assure its authenticity that would set it amongst the other three known Maya codes in the world (Dresden, Paris Codex and Madrid Codex). The document that has been kept in the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City, after its exposure in 1971 at the Grolier Club of New York, has been analyzed by a set of nondestructive techniques in order to characterize its materials including paper fibers, preparation layer and color compositions. The methodology included UV imaging, IR reflectography and optic microscopy examinations as well as Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) and Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) using an external beam setup for elemental analysis. All the measurements were carried out at 3MV Pelletron Accelerator of the Instituto de Física, UNAM. The aim of this work is to verify if the materials in the Grolier Codex match those found in other pre-Hispanic documents. From the elemental composition we concluded that the preparation layer shows the presence of gypsum (CaSO4), color red is due to red hematite (Fe2O3) and black is a carbonbased ink. These results agree with previous analyses carried out by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM-EDX) on few samples. However, the presence of Maya Blue in the blue pigment cannot be assured. The examination using UV and IR lights shows homogeneity in the inks and red color but dark areas that contain higher amounts of K in the preparation layer. This paper discusses the results obtained for the UV-IR examinations and the elemental analysis. A comparison with other studies on pre-Hispanic and early colonial codex is presented. INTRODUCTION There are sixteen codices from pre-Hispanic Mexico, only three of which come from the Maya area: the Madrid Codex, the Dresden Codex and the Paris Codex. If the controversial Grolier Codex is authentic, it would be the fourth Maya pre-Hispanic document known to this date. The Grolier Codex discovery was strange; it is the only pre-Hispanic codex found in the
20th century, with the exception of a few archaeological fragments. The Mexican collector José Sáenz bought the manuscript in 1964. It was supposed
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