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Maya Blue: Unlocking the Mysteries of an Ancient Pigment

79 points by DanielKehoe 1y ago

DanielKehoe 1y ago
[flagged]
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
jihadjihad 1y ago
Cool article, and even cooler site IMO. Brings back memories of 20 years ago, when many sites looked similar. It probably looks radically ugly to the modern eye, but I kind of miss the goofiness of pages like this, down to the poem at the bottom (in Comic Sans, no less). Chrome probably would have kicked up some sort of fuss about it, but I was almost hoping to see .swf as the file extension for the wheel GIF at the top. Good times.
- pimlottc 1y ago
  The downside is that it’s not very mobile friendly. Reader mode works okay on Mobile Safari, although it does lose the images.
fside 1y ago
[flagged]
- cap11235 1y ago
  No? Calling them advanced is one thing (because it was advanced up to their elimination/dispersion), saying it rivals modern materials science is ridiculous, and is a statement that appeals to the people that buy crystals for their "healing energy". The peoples born of the America's do not benefit from Burning Man-type bullshit.
  - IAmBroom 1y ago
    Or to put it more nicely, knowing how to make something is not knowing the fundamental science behind the thing. Romans made self-healing cement without any knowledge of chemistry and materials science. Surgeons performed tumor removals without knowing why they formed. Etc.
    - webdoodle 1y ago
      [flagged]
      - colechristensen 1y ago
        It is silly to assert that ancient peoples might have known quantum physics but "we just don't know!"
        cwmoore 1y ago
        Especially silly since we don't know now either. Oh well, good luck.
      - cwmoore 1y ago
        Sibling comment's strawman aside, we don't know what we don't know about what we don't know about. It's easy to forget.
        cwmoore 1y ago
        No, really, forgetting is built-in to every conquest, including generational drift and downvotes. Where do you think all the New World libraries and gold instruments went? Don’t forget the levels of human sacrifice in modern days when you cast your superior symbolic knowledge.
      - ReptileMan 1y ago
        The Mayan cavillation collapsed way before that.
maxwell 1y ago
Egyptian blue was recently recreated using ancient methods: https://news.wsu.edu/press-release/2025/06/02/researchers-recreate-ancient-egyptian-blues https://news.wsu.edu/press-release/2025/06/02/researchers-re... They look chemically quite different: clay, palygorskite/sepiolite, and indigo for Mayan blue; silica, lime, copper, and an alkali for Egyptian blue.
dclaw 1y ago
Apparently someone has recreated it. https://yucatantoday.com/en/blog/how-is-the-maya-blue-pigment-made https://yucatantoday.com/en/blog/how-is-the-maya-blue-pigmen...
noduerme 1y ago
By chance I came across this after yesterday flying for the first time over the eastern edge of the Yucatan. The turqoise color of the water is otherworldly. I love that they draw the comparison, as this pigment really does resemble it!
tinkertrain 1y ago
For anyone interested in pigments/colors, the National Gallery recently started a podcast on the subject in YouTube, I enjoyed the Prussian Blue history episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK1GSvP6VYs&t=1992s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK1GSvP6VYs&t=1992s
NaOH 1y ago
Related: 'Maya blue': The mystery dye recreated two centuries after it was lost - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42288864 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42288864 - Dec 2024 (21 comments) 'Maya blue': The mystery dye recreated two centuries after it was lost - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42292443 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42292443 - Dec 2024 (1 comment)

79 points by DanielKehoe 1y ago

DanielKehoe 1y ago

[flagged]

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]

jihadjihad 1y ago

Cool article, and even cooler site IMO. Brings back memories of 20 years ago, when many sites looked similar. It probably looks radically ugly to the modern eye, but I kind of miss the goofiness of pages like this, down to the poem at the bottom (in Comic Sans, no less). Chrome probably would have kicked up some sort of fuss about it, but I was almost hoping to see .swf as the file extension for the wheel GIF at the top. Good times.

pimlottc 1y ago
The downside is that it’s not very mobile friendly. Reader mode works okay on Mobile Safari, although it does lose the images.

fside 1y ago

[flagged]

cap11235 1y ago
No? Calling them advanced is one thing (because it was advanced up to their elimination/dispersion), saying it rivals modern materials science is ridiculous, and is a statement that appeals to the people that buy crystals for their "healing energy". The peoples born of the America's do not benefit from Burning Man-type bullshit.
- IAmBroom 1y ago
  Or to put it more nicely, knowing how to make something is not knowing the fundamental science behind the thing. Romans made self-healing cement without any knowledge of chemistry and materials science. Surgeons performed tumor removals without knowing why they formed. Etc.
  - webdoodle 1y ago
    [flagged]
    - colechristensen 1y ago
      It is silly to assert that ancient peoples might have known quantum physics but "we just don't know!"
      - cwmoore 1y ago
        Especially silly since we don't know now either. Oh well, good luck.
    - cwmoore 1y ago
      Sibling comment's strawman aside, we don't know what we don't know about what we don't know about. It's easy to forget.
      - cwmoore 1y ago
        No, really, forgetting is built-in to every conquest, including generational drift and downvotes. Where do you think all the New World libraries and gold instruments went? Don’t forget the levels of human sacrifice in modern days when you cast your superior symbolic knowledge.
    - ReptileMan 1y ago
      The Mayan cavillation collapsed way before that.

maxwell 1y ago

Egyptian blue was recently recreated using ancient methods: https://news.wsu.edu/press-release/2025/06/02/researchers-recreate-ancient-egyptian-blues https://news.wsu.edu/press-release/2025/06/02/researchers-re... They look chemically quite different: clay, palygorskite/sepiolite, and indigo for Mayan blue; silica, lime, copper, and an alkali for Egyptian blue.

dclaw 1y ago

Apparently someone has recreated it. https://yucatantoday.com/en/blog/how-is-the-maya-blue-pigment-made https://yucatantoday.com/en/blog/how-is-the-maya-blue-pigmen...

noduerme 1y ago

By chance I came across this after yesterday flying for the first time over the eastern edge of the Yucatan. The turqoise color of the water is otherworldly. I love that they draw the comparison, as this pigment really does resemble it!

tinkertrain 1y ago

For anyone interested in pigments/colors, the National Gallery recently started a podcast on the subject in YouTube, I enjoyed the Prussian Blue history episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK1GSvP6VYs&t=1992s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK1GSvP6VYs&t=1992s

NaOH 1y ago

Related: 'Maya blue': The mystery dye recreated two centuries after it was lost - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42288864 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42288864 - Dec 2024 (21 comments) 'Maya blue': The mystery dye recreated two centuries after it was lost - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42292443 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42292443 - Dec 2024 (1 comment)