The Tzauhtli Glue

• Autores: Rocío Carolusa González Tirado
• Localización: Nuevo mundo, mundos nuevos, ISSN-e 1626-0252, Nº. 6, 2006
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The Aztecs used the word "tzauhtli" to name the glue extracted from Orchid bulbs, which was used as adhesive for feather mosaics. According to the 16th century chronicles tzauhtli could be obtained from different species of orchids. The use of tzauhtli in the manufacture of feather mosaics, will be described based on Sahagún. Since tzauhtli is a mucilague, a brief description of the chemistry of polysaccharides will be presented, as well as a method of identification using gas chromatography.