Morphological and Geometrical Characterization of Historical Churches of Yucatan, Mexico

ABSTRACT

This paper deals with the architectonic, constructive, and geometrical characterization of Yucatan stone masonry churches in Mexico. The work aims at finding statistical correlations between geometric parameters that characterise the main cross section of the churches. For this, a detailed historical and architectonic review was performed and a description of the structural elements and connections among them were provided combining existing data and visual survey of churches under ruins. In addition, a database of 44 Yucatan churches was built with the geometric features of the cross section and linear correlations were studied between the geometric parameters. Additional churches from different regions of Mexico were also considered for a systematic comparison. Besides, simple geometric relations between geometric key parameters as a function of the span of the churches with semi-circular canon vaults were derived and further compared with empirical relations provided in historical treatises from the 16^th to 18^th centuries was carried. Based on the results obtained, it was seen that the key geometric parameters defining the thickness of canon vaults and thickness and height of the stone masonry walls are reasonably close to some proposals provided in historical treatises.

KEYWORDS:

• Empirical geometric relations
• historical treatises
• key geometrical parameters
• statistical analysis
• stone masonry walls and vaults
• Yucatan churches

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express their gratitude to the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (INAH), the Commission of Ecclesiastical Properties and Sacred Art of the Archdiocese of Yucatan, the Yucatan State Government Restoration Department, the Faculty of Architecture of the Autonomous University of Yucatan, and the Teacher Professional Development Program (PRODEP) for all collaboration and support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.