Minerals

In Tikal Peten you can find minerals such as limestone, dolomite, quartz, smectite, and calcite. areas in Tikal, Peten feature a landscapes and pyramids made out of limestone formations, sedimentary rocks, and volcanogenic deposits. In addition, jade, obsidian, and cinnabar have been used by the Maya in the region. As stated in "slideshare.net" Rock forming minerals are identify by their physical properties that include the following: Density, Fracture (the patter of how it brakes), Cleavage (brakes along specific planes), Hardness (measurement on the MOHS Scale, Luster (Metallic, Non-Metallic, Vitreous, and pearly)."maya-archaeology.org" lets us know interesting facts on the diverse minerals that are found in Tikal Peten Guatemala. We are able to find out that In Tikal we can find Iron Pyrite, Zeolites, and sediments showing that various minerals were present in the sediments samples found in Tikal's reservoirs that indicates a diverse mineral composition. Iron Pyrite is Iron Sulfide. With all the neotropical seasonal rain forest, the material disintegrates into a raised fluffy crust.  As stated in "maya-archaeology.org" In 1965 an archeologist discovered three iron pyrite mirrors in the tomb of a member of the royal family of Tikal. These mirrors consist of mosaic-sized pieces of bright shiny iron pyrite glued on top of slate clay disk. Deep in pyramids structures in Tikal excavators found mercury sulfide and hematite in wooden boxes that Mayas used for burial offerings. Some materials in the elite Maya tombs are traded in from far away. Cinnabar (mercuric sulfide) is one such product. "Structure 5D-73, Burial 196, Tikal, Peten, Guatemala a preliminary report by Nicholas Matthew Hellmuth" explains in detail and excavation done that was able to find many different minerals that they found during that period of time.  Water systems became critical in order to continually supply growing urban populations. Ancient Romans built giant aqueducts; the Greeks developed pressurized plumbing. A publisher in "scientific report chemistryworld.com" has discovered an extremely sophisticated filtration system at the Corriental reservoir, which supplied the Mayan city of Tikal. Deposits of quartz and zeolite indicate the Mayans used these minerals to purify their drinking water supply. These two minerals are an important component of modern filtration, suggesting the Mayans were many centuries ahead of their time. 

Zeolites is known for its ability to filter out harmful microbes, nitrogenous compounds, and other toxins from water. Maya civilization recognized this water purification capabilities of these minerals from early on in there conquering times, regardless of not being able to understand the science concept of its effectivities.

Euhedral Quartz was also used in the water filtrations system in the early days in Tikal Peten. The quartz crystals were part of the filtration process, which helped trap sediments and other impurities. Zeolites and quartz were sourced from a coarsely crystalline tuff stratum located near the Bajo de Azucar about 30 km northeast of Tikal. According to "nature.com" This Tuff deposit is known for its high-quality water, which could be the reason Mayan civilization identified these minerals as a good source of purification use. The filtration system located in the Tikal reservoir was named The Corriental, which is used to filter water at the Itzamna River. This filtration system was held in place by woven reed or palm fiber matting, which helped contain the zeolites and quartz crystals. This system could have been swept away by flash floods, leading to crystalline quartz lenses found in Tikal's National Park.  The Corrientals sediments contain sequential crystalline quartz lenses. This sediment allows to understand how the filtration system functions. 

The Natural resources found in Tikal National Park is