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5.3: Assignment

  • Page ID
    46375
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    Assignment:

    1. When describing the minerals in reservoirs and sinkholes at Tikal, the article says that "calcite originates from the local Cretaceous-Tertiary limestone bedrock." Based on the geological time scales for the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods, what are the ages of the calcite minerals? What was the environment of Tikal at that time (on land, in coastal sea, in deep ocean)?
    2. The archaegeological study of the Tikal site followed a logical pattern. According to the authors, what aspects of the investigation have been completed in previous studies? What aspects of the investigation are the goals of the current study? What are the techniques to be used to achieve these goals?
    3. The article stated that the zeolite sedimentary stratum were only found in the Corriental reservoir and that there were discontinuities in the sedimentary strata besides the Corriental reservoir. By considering the complete sedimentary strata shown in the paper, describe a relative approach to determine whether the absence of the zeolite stratum is due to erosion or loss.
    4. The article views the simultaneous presence of macro-crystalline quartz and zeolite in the stratum in the Corriental reservoir as an indication of systematic water filtration. What is the function of the macro-crystalline quartz? What is the function of zeolite?
    5. In a perspective article published in the journal Proceeding of the National Academy of Science of the U.S.A., a geologist specialized in ancient Maya water systems but not associated with the zeolite study commented: "That said, zeolite is found in volcanic deposits (e.g., highland Guatemala) and would not have been readily available in most areas of the southern lowlands. Further, the Corriental Reservoir has the only known zeolite filtration system in the Maya area (though only 50 Maya reservoirs have been excavated or cored)." (Lucero, 2023) Consider the balance of opinions in relation to evidence, should the reported finding of zeolite filtration taken with general faith, or should there be further evidence?

    This page titled 5.3: Assignment is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Likwan Cheng.