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Analysis Of Marine Sediment By Chemical Signatures And Loss-On Ignition To Discover Evidence Of Ancient Maya Activities At Site 74, Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize, Kobi Weaver

LSU Master's Theses

In this thesis, archaeological sediment chemistry, loss-on ignition and microscopic analysis of marine sediment are used to study Site 74 of the Paynes Creek Salt Works in southern Belize. Site 74 was once an ancient Maya salt work. Due to sea-level rise, sea water and mangrove peat now cover the site. Sediment from the site was exported under permit to the Louisiana State University Laboratory. I prepared and delivered the samples to the Louisiana State University Agricultural Chemistry Laboratory for inductively coupled plasma- atomic emission spectroscopy testing (ICP-AES). ICP-AES measured the amount of 20 elements in the sediment. Maps showing …