Prehistoric Polymers: Rubber Processing in Ancient Mesoamerica
Dorothy Hosler,
12*
Sandra L. Burkett,
2
Michael J. Tarkanian
12
Ancient Mesoamerican peoples harvested latex from Castilla
elastica, processed it using liquid extracted from Ipomoea
alba (a species of morning glory vine), and fashioned rubber
balls, hollow rubber figurines, and other rubber artifacts from the
resulting material. Chemical and mechanical analyses of the latex and
of the processed rubber indicate that the enhanced elastic behavior of
the rubber relative to the unprocessed latex is due to purification of
the polymer component and to an increase in the strength and number of
interchain interactions that are induced by organic compounds present
in I. alba. These ancient peoples' control over the
properties of latex and processed rubber gave rise to the Mesoamerican
ball game, a central ritual element in all ancient Mesoamerican
societies.
1 Center for Materials Research in Archaeology
and Ethnology,
2 Department of Materials Science and
Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
02139, USA.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
hosler{at}mit.edu
