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Science 18 June 1999:
Vol. 284. no. 5422, pp. 1898 - 1899
DOI: 10.1126/science.284.5422.1898b
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News of the Week

ARCHAEOLOGY:
How Aztecs Played Their Rubber Matches

Erik Stokstad

On page 1988, researchers describe how the Olmec, Maya, and other ancient Mexican and Central American cultures turned raw latex into rubber. According to documents, the native Americans made latex by collecting sap from lowland trees and mixing in juice from pulverized morning glory vines. This feat of chemistry, which converts the slippery polymers in raw latex to a resilient structure, was not duplicated until the mid-19th century.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)