The Central Andean region of South America has a long tradition of mining and metallurgy. Such activities were fundamental to the economic, socio-political and ideological dynamics of the pre-Columbian cultures that inhabited this area. In spite of their importance, few archaeological investigations of metallurgy have been carried out in the Central Andes in general, and in current Chilean territory in particular. The present project investigates archaeometallurgical sites in northern Chile using scientific analysis, as a first step towards a large-scale map of prehistoric copper production and exchange across South America. This research involves documentation and sampling of already excavated archaeological materials from a number of copper-producing sites located in the Atacama District. Preliminary results of XRF analysis of artefacts from the collection of the R. P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum, San Pedro de Atacama, have been obtained and enabled us to characterise the different elements present in the metal objects. These results might provide information on the nature of the raw materials used.

Bone-ash cupels are increasingly identifi ed in medieval and later archaeological contexts related to the refi ning of noble metals in alchemy, assaying, jewellery or coin minting. Th ese small fi nds may provide information on metal refi ning activities, the technical knowledge of diff erent craftspeople, and the versatility of laboratory practices, which often diff ered from the standard protocols recorded in metallurgical treatises. Th is paper is centred around a late 16 th -early 17 th century cupel excavated in Montbéliard, France. Th e analytical study by optical microscopy, ED-XRF and SEM-EDS allows the cupel to be ascribed to the assaying of the silver content of an ore sample, which is supported by local historical and geological information. Th e manufacture of the cupel, made of a mixture of wood ash and bone ash, is also addressed, as well as the limited technical effi ciency of the operation. Th is leads to a wider discussion of diff erent recipes for the manufacture of cupels, documented historically and archaeologically, and involving the combination of various raw materials such as bone, wood ashes and clay. Th is variability raises interesting questions about the existence of diverse technical traditions, and the material properties and performance of diff erent cupels in their specifi c contexts. In order to facilitate comparisons, we propose that the study of cupellation remains is most informative when it combines microscopy and microanalysis. Th e role of experimental approaches to these questions is also discussed. Résumé : Les coupelles en cendres d'os sont de plus en plus nombreuses à être reconnues dans des fouilles médiévales ou modernes. Elles sont utilisées pour l'affi nage de métal précieux par les alchimistes, les essayeurs, les orfèvres ou encore les monnayeurs. Ces artefacts peuvent fournir des informations sur les techniques d'affi nage, les savoir-faire et les pratiques de l'atelier qui souvent sont diff érentes des recettes et procédés décrits dans les textes métallurgiques. Cette étude concerne une coupelle de la fi n du XVI e siècle ou du début du XVII e siècles découverte en fouille à Montbéliard (France). Les analyses, par microscopie optique, MEB-EDS, et ED-XRF permettent d'associer la coupelle à l'essai d'un échantillon

Mesoamerican copper metallurgy emerged in West Mexico sometime between A.D. 600 and 800. Over a period of approximately 900 years a wide variety of artifacts, typically decorations and other valuable non-utilitarian goods, were produced. By A.D. 1450, the Tarascan kingdom in the state of Michoacan had become the most important center of pre-Hispanic metalworking. Metallurgy played a significant role in the structure of political and economic power in the Tarascan Empire. Metal adornments used as insignia of social status and public ritual became even more associated with political power. While metal was used for an array of goods, virtually nothing is known about the manufacture and the organization of production of this material. Archaeological research at the site of Itziparátzico, near the modern Tarascan community of Santa Clara del Cobre, has recently located potential production areas where concentrations of smelting slag were recorded.The smelting of ores is almost invariably related to the formation of slags, which form from the various impurities introduced into the smelting process, such as gangue minerals, furnace wall material, and fuel ash. Slag analysis thus has the potential for revealing important information about metallurgical technology. Copper smelting slag recovered from the excavations at Itziparátzico has been analyzed for microstructure and compositional properties using light microscopy, x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometry (SEM/EDS). Preliminary results indicate a smelting technology that used sulfidic ores and highly efficient furnaces. While further archaeological investigations are required to precisely date these activities, this technological information is important for establishing the context and scale of production of copper at the site.

Appendices to Chapter 26, Pločnik: technology of metal production.

Abstract:The site of Corta Lago is located within Rio Tinto mining district, in the Huelva province, in the South-West of Spain. This region is geologically characterised by the presence of the Iberian Pyrite Belt, highly important for the concentration and the subsequent exploitation and production of several metals such as silver, copper, gold and manganese, since the Bronze Age up to few decades ago. This paper focuses on the exploitation of the North Lode of Cerro Salomon and in particular on the stratigraphic section of Corta Lago, spanning between the Phoenician period up to the second century AD, mainly highlighting the Roman period (200 BC-200 AD). The main goal is to distinguish the various slag typologies and reconstruct from them the differences between the silver smelting techniques and their possible reasons. The importance of lead is well known within the cupellation process. However, for the silver production in Rio Tinto, lead has a crucial role already in the first step of the production: the smelting. Lead metal or a lead mineral is added to the first charge in the furnace with jarosite (containing a varying lead concentration), and gangue (quartz plus barite in varying ratios). The isotopic characterisation of the lead involved in the system seems to point to use of lead with different origins, sometimes local and sometimes "foreigner". This observation is further confirmed by the presence of Roman lead ingots with the stamp "Carthago" (stored at the Rio Tinto Museum). The lead isotope analyses have the aim to identify the possible area of provenance of the lead used for the smelting in Rio Tinto. Résumé : Le site de Corta Lago est situé dans la ville de Rio

he Phoenician tomb discovered in Kition in 1998 yielded some of the most impressive gold jewellery items recovered by archaeological excavations in Cyprus. Seal inger-rings, lunate earrings, necklace pendants, bracelets and a richly decorated elbow ibula exemplify the goldsmith's skill in the 8 th-7 th century BC. he aim of this work is to describe and illustrate the goldsmith's techniques with low magniication micrographs and to determine the variety in composition of the gold alloys used in the manufacture of 25 items. he study, integrated in the European project AUTHENTICO, was carried out at the National Museum of Archaeology of Nicosia with a portable video camera equipped with a zoom and a handheld XRF spectrometer. Résumé : Parmi les objets d'orfèvrerie les plus impressionnants livrés par les fouilles archéologiques menées à Chypre, se trouvent ceux découverts en 1998 dans la tombe phénicienne de Kition. Bagues à sceau, boucles d'oreille, pendants de colliers, bracelets et une ibule à l'arc coudé richement décorée, mettent en évidence la virtuosité de l'orfèvre au VIII e-VII e siècle av. J.-C. Le but de ce travail est de décrire et illustrer les techniques employées par l'orfèvre et de déterminer la variété des alliages en or employés. L'étude analytique a été réalisée dans le cadre du projet européen AUTHENTICO, au Musée national d'archéologie de Nicosie, à l'aide d'une camera vidéo portable équipée d'un zoom et d'un analyseur de luorescence X portable miniaturisé.

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