https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/extart?codigo=7667672

The ancestral heritage of the Maya civilization survives in the Yucatan Peninsula, where sophisticated construction systems were developed. This is evident in archaeological sites. Some aspects of the building culture of the Mayans are still used, much because they are both economical and ecological. Mortars and finishings are an important part of this traditional legacy. They are prepared by mixing lime with a kind of local earth called sascab, and a natural binder coming from the chucum tree. This ancient mixture is used to this day in construction processes. Builders who apply it are instrumental in keeping alive a knowledge that has come down to us from generation to generation. There are, however, no systematic records of the process of preparing the mortars, nor of how workers today perceive them. The article analyzes both aspects with the aim of presenting solutions for a sustainable harnessing of this cultural inheritance.