Pre-Columbian mural paintings from Mesoamerica as geomagnetic field recorders

This paper reports a reconnaissance archeomagnetic study of mural paintings in various pre-Columbian sites in Mexico. The magnetic measurements of the pigments show that at least four murals (sites: Cacaxtla, Cholula and Templo Mayor) retain a remanent magnetization carried by a mixture of magnetite and minor hematite grains. In most specimens, a characteristic remanent magnetization is successfully isolated by alternating field demagnetization. The mean directions are reasonably well determined for each mural and within the range of secular variation during the last centuries. Studied Mesoamerican murals apparently retain the direction of the magnetic field at the time they were painted and therefore are an invaluable source of information concerning its secular variation. The archeomagnetic study of pre-Columbian mural paintings opens new alternatives to drawing a reliable reference master curve for the region and may largely contribute to the Mesoamerican absolute chronology.