Knowing to Preserve: Vaulted Maya Architecture

Abstract

The study of Maya architecture has traditionally been approached from the discipline of archaeology. The
constructive and structural studies of the buildings, as well as the analysis of the degradation processes that
affect them, have had less importance. However, this internationally recognized cultural heritage presents
complex conservation situations that require the collaboration of multidisciplinary teams. The work presented
here is part of a recent research on the Maya vault, the most advanced roofing system of this architecture
and perhaps one of the best expressions of this civilization’s technological evolution. Based on an exhaustive
collection of field data, with special emphasis on the constructive aspects, the main pathological agents and
degradation mechanisms affecting Maya vaulted buildings were analyzed. This made it possible to verify that
the constructive features of these buildings, as well as their construction process, determine in many cases not
only their stylistic features, but also their forms of collapse. This paper shows the incidence of the constructive
aspects of the Maya vaulted buildings in their process of deterioration and collapse.