[MR] Making Glue, Aztec-Style

[Kathrina A. Black]

Some of you might find this interesting.  Somebody sent it to me.  I'm not sure if it's true, but it might be worth and/or fun trying!

-Catriona inghean Ghiricc

> >  Making Glue, Aztec-Style
> >   First, take the root of an orchid, slice it and dry the cross sections
> in
> > the sun for about 72 hours. When they have hardened into chips, pound
them
> > into a powder, then add water, heat it and stir. The resulting goo will
> make
> > a glue delicate enough to bind feathers to wood without damaging them
and
> > strong enough to last centuries.
> >
> >  This is how the Aztecs did it, according to anthropologist Frances
Berdan
> > of California State University at San Bernardino, who studies the
> economics
> > of pre-colonial Mexico and the ways Aztec artisans made a living.
> >
> >  Berdan, who is analyzing adhesives from a dinner plate-size feather
> mosaic
> > from Mexico City's National Museum of Anthropology, began researching
> Aztec
> > glue about 10  years ago, working from texts written by 16th-century
> Spanish
> > conquistadors.
> >
> >  "There are a number of documents that describe the glue, complete with
> > drawings of the plants," Berdan said. "They appeared to be orchids,
except
> > there were so many kinds, I wasn't sure. But orchid dealers identified
> them
> > immediately."
> >
> >  Berdan and colleagues collected some of the orchids, and using the
> recipes
> > from the texts, managed to reverse-engineer the glue. What they got was
a
> > clear adhesive that artists used to attach colorful bird feathers to
> wooden
> > or hide backings, creating fine mosaics used in ceremonies, worn as
> > decorations or displayed in houses.
> >
> >  "It's a very ancient skill, but we only have eight samples from before
> the
> > conquest," Berdan said. Many more mosaics survived from the first few
> > decades after the Spanish arrived in 1519, she said, "but it was
something
> > that the upper-class Aztecs did, and by the end of the 16th century
there
> > were a lot fewer nobles."