In oxygen-free sediment preserved beneath the ocean flooring close to Belize, archaeologists have found the remnants of salt kitchens constructed by historical Maya individuals to boil brine to be used in meals and preservation. As reported in a paper titled “Briquetage and Brine: Dwelling and Working on the Traditional Maya Salt Works of Ek Means Nal, Belize” printed within the journal Historic Mesoamerica, Louisiana State College archaeologist Heather McKillop and Cory Sills, an affiliate professor on the College of Texas at Tyler, surmised that remnants of residences close by performed dwelling to Maya individuals who labored within the kitchens to ship salt to inland cities.
Whereas area work close to what’s referred to as the Paynes Creek Saltworks stays postponed as a result of the pandemic, the researchers examined samples of picket posts and constructing elements in addition to damaged items of pottery on the LSU Archaeology lab and put collectively a timeline throughout which the saltworks and residences had been created up till round 900 B.C.E.
“The Archaeology lab seems to be like a Tupperware occasion, with tons of of plastic containers of water, however they’re holding the wooden samples moist in order that they don’t dry out and deteriorate,” McKillop mentioned in a report issued by the LSU Media Heart.
Outcomes from radiocarbon relationship level to the creation in several levels of the salt kitchens, residential dwellings, and out of doors areas the place fish had been salted for curing. “The analysis underscores the significance of radiocarbon relationship every pole and thatch constructing on the salt works in an effort to consider manufacturing capability of this dietary necessity,” McKillop added.