Mayan Construction:
First Temple - Cerros
This
is a detailed account of how the first temple in Cerros was constructed.
First, the foundation was laid consisting of layer after layer of white
earth. This was done in the same way the peasants made the foundation
f their own huts. Then they shattered locally manufactured and imported
pottery and put it into the earth where the temple was to be constructed.
They also put flowers from fruit trees on the earth as an offering.
Next they would put flat, hard stones on top of the foundation to make
pavement. The platform was built on top of this pavement. Then
they built internal walls and filled them with white earth and pottery
mixed in with broken, course limestone from the quarry, to make the structure
sturdy. By stabilizing each layer, they did not have to worry about
is collapsing with the addition of the next layer(Schele and Freidel 106).
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