Metallography and Microanalysis of Precious Metal Objects from the Middle Sican Elite Tombs at Batan Grande, Peru

Microchemical Investigation of Long-Term Buried Gilded and Silvered Artifacts From Ancient Peru

“…The aim of the ancient goldsmiths was to give to the objects the appearance of solid precious metal or to create an elaborate and fascinating specific visual effect combining the color of different metals (Oddy, 1981(Oddy, , 1990Raub, 1986a,b;Schorsch, 1988;Bray, 1993;Merkel et al, 1995;Kallfass, 1998, 2000;Grimwade, 1999;Centeno and Schorsch, 2000;Ingo et al, 2013a).…”

Chemical composition of small fragments of metals from Castillo de Huarmey (Peru): Chemical analysis in the micro‐area using FE‐SEM‐EDS, FE‐EMPA and XRD

“…While this alloy is commonly associated with Tiwanaku‐style metals and some Wari objects from the south‐central Andes, its presence is rare on the north coast of Peru, but present as an alloying element in the copper items (e.g., Lechtman 1981; Merkel et al . 1995; Bezúr 2003; Shugar et al . 2014).…”

“…In the case of artefacts made of silver, the Sicán (e.g., Gordus and Shimada 1995; Merkel et al . 1995), and Moche (e.g., Cesareo et al . 2010, 2011a, 2011b, 2015; Galli et al .…”

“…One of the few examples of the analysis of a large number of metal relics found in situ at the archaeological site is the artefacts from the Royal Tombs of Sipán and Batán Grande (Moche culture) (e.g., Merkel et al . 1994, 1995; Gordus et al . 1996; Hörz and Kallfass 2000; Ingo et al .…”

Metals, microanalysis and meaning: a study of metal objects excavated from the indigenous cemetery of El Chorro de Maíta, Cuba

“…Ternary alloys with varying proportions of gold, silver and copper are typical of Pre-Columbian metallurgy in Central and South America [12,19,22,34,36]. ED-XRF analyses of some adornments excavated at El Chorro de Maíta showed them to be made of this alloy, which the Taínos named guanín.…”