Integral Intensities of Absorption Bands of Silicon Tetrafluoride in the Gas Phase and Cryogenic Solutions: Experiment and Calculation

The spectral characteristics of the SiF4 molecule in the range 3100700 cm1, including the absorption range of the band 3, are studied in the gas phase at P = 0.47 bar and in solutions in liquefied Ar and Kr. In the cryogenic solutions, the relative intensities of the vibrational bands, including the bands of the isotopically substituted molecules, are determined. The absorption coefficients of the combination bands 23, 3 + 1, 3 + 4, and 34 are measured in the solution in Kr. In the gas phase of the one-component system at an elevated pressure of SiF4, the integrated absorption coefficient of the absorption band 3 of the 28SiF4 molecule was measured to be A(3) = 700 ± 30 km/mol. Within the limits of experimental error, this absorption coefficient is consistent with estimates obtained from independent measurements and virtually coincides with the coefficient A(3) = 691 km/mol calculated in this study by the quantum-chemical method MP2(full) with the basis set cc-pVQZ. ©2005 Pleiades Publishing, Inc

Archaeology and Maya writing

Recent decipherments underscore the relevance of Maya writing to archaeology. Textual references assist in dating archaeological features and help identify rulers that commissioned architecture. Maya script also touches on matters as diverse as Classic Maya folk classification, the average life spans of the elite, and the attribution of provenance to looted monuments. More generally, decipherments reveal the composition and spatial organization of Classic Maya polities, now shown to be smaller than previously supposed

Cueva del Lazo: Child Sacrifice or Special Funerary Treatment? Discussion of a Late Classic Context from the Zoque Region of Western Chiapas (Mexico)

The text discusses the archaeological remains from Cueva del Lazo (Chiapas, Mexico), a ritual precinct that yielded a group of 11 Late-Terminal Classic children’s partially mummified remains. Uncommon and rich contextual information, mainly derived from the exceptional preservation of perishable materials due to the dry climate of the cave, suggests that the interments could be interpreted as postsacrificial deposits or, alternatively, as funerary contexts whose special character could be linked to the specific sociocultural identity of the buried individuals, all of whom are under six years of age. In order to discuss these possibilities, we describe the archaeological context of the cave as well as review the available archaeological and ethnohistorical information on child sacrifices in Mesoamerica, in order to sketch a meaningful framework useful for interpreting the excavated burials