Geochemical Analysis of Plaza Types of Several Ancient Lowland Maya Sites

Ancient markets are difficult to identify as most utilitarian items and consumables were perishable. Our objective was to use geochemical analyses of extractable phosphorus and metallic residues in soils to distinguish the unique geochemical patterns of market plazas from other types of plazas within the lowland Maya area of Central America. Geochemical techniques in conjunction with locational and archaeological data have provided lines of evidence for ancient Marketplace activities.