Money or ingots? Metrological research on pre-contact Ecuadorian ‘axe-monies’

Abstract

The Axe-monies, trapezoidal sheet objects made of arsenical copper, are associated with graves and hoards of the Manteño-Huancavilca (600–1532 A.D) and Milagro-Quevedo (400–1532 A.D.) cultures, both located in the coast of Ecuador. Historically, scholars identified these artifacts as monies, relating them to a currency system. This paper aims to test this hypothesis by searching for standardization analyzing an important sample of these objects. Metrological analyses on dimensions (length, width) and weight show that the currency hypothesis is flawed because neither apparent clustering of dimensions nor a tendency to a single (range of) weight value(s) is found. We suggest ‘axe-monies’ were used as ‘ingot-objects’ and copper was a commodity in the framework of exchanges involving different cultures throughout America's Pacific coast.