A Diachronic Analysis of Blue-Green Color in Maya Effigy Censers from Palenque, Chiapas

Abstract This paper presents a study of the hue shift from green-blue to blue color used on the effigy censers from the Maya site of Palenque (Chiapas, Mexico) over time. These censers were discovered in the main ceremonial center of the Group of the Cross dating from 200 to 850 C.E. The continuous manufacturing of the effigy censers along Palenque’s history allows a diachronic analysis of color, helping to identify materials selection and the color making. The significance of these colors lies not only in their material composition, but also in their symbolism within the Maya culture, as blue-green and blue hues were perceived as different shades of the same color. An interdisciplinary methodology was employed, based on color vision science and archaeometry to analyze a group of effigy censers from color remains. Munsell color identification complemented with colorimetric measurements were used to describe and compare the hues among the effigy censers. For identifying the composition of the material and its application on the censers, microscopic analysis and portable non-destructive spectroscopic characterization techniques were applied. Finally, these results were interpreted within the current archaeological understandings of Palenque’s history including Mayan epigraphy and contemporary Maya language. It was concluded that there is a material hue change from blue-green at early times to dark blue on the latest objects. This variation was intentional, as detected by the composition of the color materials, but also related to the vision and symbolic meaning of these colors.