Alfred Kroeber wrote that contrary to popular opinion silver was used by the Moche but stated his belief that early silver was rare.4 A few years later, in a chart summarizing the development of metallurgy in northern Peru, Samuel Lothrop described silver as present but rare in Chavin, Gallinazo, and Mochica (Moche) contexts.5 As mentioned earlier, artifacts entirely of silver attributed to the Early Horizon Chavin culture are almost unknown, although there are a few examples of silver-and-gold composite pieces. Early Horizon metalworkers also used silver as an alloying metal: there are Chavin silver-based ternary alloys, where the three components are gold, silver and copper, which were used for solder,6 and other man-made gold-based ternary alloys were employed for the fabrication of metal sheet. Discoveries of the last forty years, having significantly increased the number of silver or partially silver artifacts that can be attributed to the Vicuis and Moche cultures, demonstrate that the use of silver was so not uncommon in the Early Intermediate Period. An abundance of silver objects was recently found at a Moche site at Sipan.7 In addition to the solid-silver-sheet nose ornaments from Loma Negra (see MMA 1978.412.243; Figure 2), a considerable number of artifacts from Loma Negra were made from silvered-copper sheet.8 Again, one may mention the use by the Moche of ternary silver-based and intentionally alloyed ternary gold-based solders, as well as the intentional alloying of binary (gold-silver) alloys and ternary alloys (goldsilver-copper), the former for gilding copper substrates and the latter for use as sheet metal. LOMA NEGRA AND THE DISCOVERY OF MOCHE METALWORK The first opportunity to observe the enormous productivity and high level of expertise achieved by Moche metalworkers came in the late 196os when tomb robbers discovered and looted a rich burial site that came to be known as Loma Negra, in the Vicis region of the Piura Valley on the far north coast of Peru (Figure 1).9 During the early i 96os this area had been the focus of widespread illegal digging, and study of the objects recovered, supplemented by information gathered in professional salvage operations, led to the recognition of the Vicfis culture.'o Indigenous to the Piura River valley, the Vicfis culture has been dated to the first half of the Early Intermediate Period." Hundreds of artifacts recovered in the Vicuis region, however, are attributed to the Moche, a people who flourished in the fertile river valleys far to the south on the other side of the inhospitable Sechura Desert, from about A.D. 100 to 800. The intensive agricultural activity undertaken by the Moche supported a highly stratified society with widespread commercial contacts.'2 Still, the discovery of Moche artifacts on the north side of the desert, far from the Moche cultural sphere as it was then defined, raised many questions. The relationships between the local Vicis culture and this Moche "outpost," and between the Piura Valley sites and Moche culture as a whole, ha...
Gold and silver appear in Egypt at least as early as the Predynastic Period, and remained thereafter in use for the manufacture of ritual and funerary objects and personal possessions. On occasion, the ancient metalworker or his patron would choose to combine them in the manufacture of an objet de vertu: a jewel, a vessel, a royal coffin. The earliest uses of gold and silver, and electrum—a naturally occuring alloy of the two—together can be described as random, as the juxtapositions appear to have no meaning in terms of relative monetary value or visual design, and to have no colouristic or symbolic associations. During the Old Kingdom there appear the first objects that use precious metals systematically for their contrasting colours, a practice that becomes more widespread in the Middle Kingdom. The greatest sophistication in the use of precious metals can be documented during the second half of the Eighteenth Dynasty, particularly in the time of Tutankhamun, when gold—including alloys that are reddish or have been intentionally coloured red—silver and electrum, were used together also to exploit their inherent colours and to evoke symbolic meaning.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.