Juice put the bounce
in ancient rubber
Mesoamericans made latex into
rubber 3,500 years ago using a chemical process similar to modern vulcanization.
References:
Hosler, D., S.L. Burkett, and M.J. Tarkanian. 1999. Prehistoric polymers:
Rubber processing in ancient Mesoamerica. Science 284(June
18):1988.
Further Readings:
Bower, B. 1998. Ball court bounces back in time. Science News
153(May 16):315.
______. 1998. Sloping toward agriculture. Science News 153(March
28):201.
______. 1998. Sacred secrets
of the caves. Science News 153(Jan. 24):56.
______. 1997. Seeds of agriculture in the Americas. Science News
151(May 24):322.
______. 1994. Ups and downs of Yucatan Maya. Science News
146(Dec. 17):415.
______. 1994. Temple of the ascending goddess. Science News
146(Nov. 26):366.
______. 1994. Ancient burial emerges in Honduran cave. Science
News 146(Nov. 12):311.
______. 1994. Maya beginnings extend back at Belize site. Science
News 145(April 30):279.
______. 1994. Ancient city found on Mexican farmland. Science
News 145(Feb. 12):102.
Lipkin, R. 1995. No-itch latex. Science News 147(April 22):254.
______. 1995. A new catalyst yields a rubbery plastic. Science
News 147(Jan. 14):23.
Wu, C. 1998. Highway, heal thyself. Science News 153(Jan.
24):60.
Sources:
Sandra L. Burkett
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Cambridge, MA 02139
Dorothy Hosler
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology
Cambridge, MA 02139
Michael J. Tarkanian
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology
Cambridge, MA 02139
From Science
News, Vol. 156, No. 2, July 10, 1999, p. 31.
Copyright © 1999, Science Service.
