Microstructural analysis of two pre hispanic murals of the Cholula, Puebla archaeological zone; Analisis microestructural de dos murales prehispanicos de la zona arqueologica de Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

The archaeological site Cholula, state Puebla, in Mexico is famous for its huge pyramid and polychromatic ceramic. In this site there are important traces of mural painting, which were elaborated in the classic period. In this research, we study the pigments of two of these murals. One of the murals is 'Los Bebedores' and other is 'Los Insectos' or 'Chapulines'. The first is 56 m long and 2.5 m high and was painted around year 200 A.D. The second is 30 m long and 0.5 m high and was painted around the same period of time. Both murals have different deterioration problems. In order to obtain information about the raw material used in the manufacture of the pigments some samples were taken from different regions of the mural and they were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). (Author)