The Production of Copper-arsenic Alloys in the Central Andes: Highland Ores and Coastal Smelters?

Lechtman, Heather

doi:10.1179/009346991791548780

Cited by 44 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…De hecho, los valores de O cercanos o superiores a 40% indican fuerte incidencia de corrosión, mientras que Si, Al y posiblemente Fe, provendrían del sedimento adherido. En tres de los análisis realizados, destaca la presencia de Sn, cuyas menas (depósitos de casiterita; SnO 2 ) se encuentran solo en el altiplano boliviano y el noroeste argentino (González 2004;Lechtman 1978Lechtman , 1996. Este antecedente es fundamental para considerar las potenciales regiones de procedencia de las materias primas o de las piezas mismas.…”

Section: Caracterización Del Ajuar De Bn29unclassified

Chenques en El Centro Oeste De Patagonia (Holoceno Tardío Final, Valle De Ñirehuao, 45° S, Chile)

et al. 2017

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La inhumación tipo chenque se concentra en el último milenio en el extremo más austral del cono sur de Sudamérica. Los esfuerzos por entender esta modalidad, su distribución espacio-temporal y el potencial de su información bioantropológica están condicionados por el parcial muestreo espacial, la preservación del material óseo y por el coleccionismo ilegal. En este artículo se presenta nueva información de cuatro chenques del valle andino de Ñirehuao (Chile) en Patagonia central. Se buscó obtener el máximo potencial de estos contextos aun cuando los restos se registraron en estado incompleto. Se sintetizan aspectos contextuales de la modalidad funeraria, se describen las características bioantropológicas de los individuos, se presentan fechados radiocarbónicos y valores de isótopos estables del material óseo de cada uno de los individuos identificados y resultados de los análisis de composición elemental del material metálico asociado a uno de ellos. A partir de ello, se confirma una antigüedad máxima de 1.510 años cal a.p. para los chenques cercanos a los Andes de Patagonia Central, se muestran patrones isotópicos consistentes con dietas proteicas de amplio espectro y se revela la presencia de materiales exóticos sugerentes de un amplio traslado de bienes durante los siglos XII y XIII.Palabras claves: modalidad funeraria tipo chenque, Holoceno Tardío final, Patagonia centro oeste. The chenque funerary-type concentrates in the last millennium in the southernmost area of the Southern Cone of South America. Efforts for understanding this funerary type, its spatio-temporal distribution, and the potential of its bioanthropological information are conditioned by the partial spatial sampling, preservation of bone material, and illegal collecting. This paper presents novel information from four chenques of the Andean valley of

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Section: Caracterización Del Ajuar De Bn29unclassified

Chenques en El Centro Oeste De Patagonia (Holoceno Tardío Final, Valle De Ñirehuao, 45° S, Chile)

et al. 2017

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“…As far as the small sample-series allows a first statement, there is a characteristic isotopic pattern of the southern Peruvian coastal area that even overlaps also with some of the silver-copper artifacts found during the excavations and surveys in the highlands. The isotopic variation separates clearly Northern Coastal and Central Peruvian ore samples (Lechtman 1991), but also colonial silver objects and coins produced from Potosí silver bearing ores (Desaulty et al 2011) (Figures 22 a/b). A rough evaluation indicates a further south Peruvian ore field not yet sufficiently investigated (Lechtman andMac Farlane 2005, 2006).…”

Section: Resultados De Análisis Composicionales Por Sc-icp-ms De Algumentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The isotopic variation separates clearly Northern Coastal and Central Peruvian ore samples (Lechtman 1991), but also colonial silver objects and coins produced from Potosí silver bearing ores (Desaulty et al 2011) (Figures 22 a/b). A rough evaluation indicates a further south Peruvian ore field not yet sufficiently investigated (Lechtman andMac Farlane 2005, 2006). It should be mentioned that some of the ores investigated from the Nasca-Ocoña formation nicely matches with silver-copper alloys from the highland sites of the Palpa survey.…”

Section: Resultados De Análisis Composicionales Por Sc-icp-ms De Algumentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The metallurgy especially of the Nasca period remains enigmatic up to now: While some slag-sites and remnants of copper metallurgy is known (e.g. Lechtman 1976), the smelting of complex sulphides or poly-metal copper ores is not to be expected even before the end of the Nascaculture (around AD 600)-but this certainly needs more detailed field-work for a confirmation.…”

Section: Geology and Raw-materials Use Of The Palpa And Nasca Region: mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Archaeological investigations concerning mining in southern Peru were intensified in recent years by American and German research groups, which focused on the use of pigments and metal ores by the ancient inhabitants of the Nasca-Palpa region (Eerkens et al2009;Schlosser et al 2009;Stöllner 2009;Stöllner and Reindel 2007;Vaughn et al 2007). Root and Lechtman started to review this situation and asserted that extensive use of copper objects can be observed mainly in the late periods of the south coast of Peru (Root 1949;Lechtman 1976). This more or less coincides with northern Chile assisted by investigations (e.g.…”

Section: Geology and Raw-materials Use Of The Palpa And Nasca Region: mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Precolumbian Raw-Material Exploitation in Southern Peru-Structures and Perspectives

Stöllner

Reindel

Gassman³

et al. 2013

Chungará (Arica)

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The article deals with the exploitation of raw materials during pre-colonial times in Southern Peru especially pre-Columbian mining and quarrying activities in the valleys of Palpa and Nasca. Between 2006 and 2009 the Peruvian-German Palpa-project has discovered several places related to the extraction and the processing of lithic material, ores and minerals. All places detected so far are locations with traces of small scale mining. The available evidence demonstrates that production of raw materials has been carried out since the earliest periods of pre-Columbian occupation of the region. Obsidian was transported to the coast since the archaic period and can be considered as evidence of the mobility of the earliest settlers. Gold processing is present in the region at least since the Early Paracas period: Its regional usage increased during the late Paracas and the Nasca-period: many small scale mining operations could be found that provide insight into the organisational level. In nearly all cases the Paracas and Nascapopulations have used and processed the rich mineral occurrences nearby the settlement areas. There are arguments either to relate metal objects with the coastal Nasca-Ocoña belt or with the large central Andean silver bearing deposits around the Lake Titicaca.Key words: Pre-colonial mining, technology, provenance studies. En este artículo se describe la explotación de materias primas durante los periodos precoloniales en el sur del Perú. El enfoque principal está en las investigaciones sobre minería en los valles de Palpa y Nasca entre 2006 y 2009 (cooperación peruanoalemana en los valles de Palpa). Todos los sitios descubiertos hasta el momento presentan evidencias de minería a escala pequeña. La evidencia disponible demuestra que la extracción de materias primas se practicaba desde los periodos más tempranos de

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Analysis of the spectacular gold and silver from the Moche tomb ‘Señora de Cao’

et al. 2016

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f On the north coast of present-day Peru, between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, approximately between 100 and 600 AD, the Moche civilization prospered. The Moche were very sophisticated artisans and metal smiths, so that they are considered the finest producers of jewels and artifacts of the region. Their metalworking ability was impressively demonstrated by the excavations of the tomb of the 'Lady of Cao' (dated around third-fourth century AD) discovered by Regulo Franco in 2005. Impressive is the beauty of the artifacts, and also the variety of metallurgical solutions, demonstrated by not only the presence of objects composed of gold and silver alloys but also of gilded copper, gilded silver, and tumbaga, a poor gold Cu-Au alloy subject to depletion gilding.About 100 metal artifacts from the tomb of the Lady of Cao, never before analyzed, were studied by using various portable equipments based on following non-destructive and non-invasive methods:• energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence with completely portable equipments;• transmission of monenergetic X-rays;• radiographic techniques; and • optical microscopy.Gold objects and gold areas of nose decorations are characterized by approximately the same composition, that is, Au = (79.5 ± 2.5) %, Ag = (16 ± 3) %, and Cu = (4.5 ± 1.5) %, while silver objects and silver areas of the same nose decorations show completely erratic results, and a systematic high gold concentration. Many gilded copper and tumbaga artifacts were identified and analyzed. Further, soldering gold-silver was specifically studied by radiographs.Additional measurements are needed, particularly because of the suspect that depletion gilding was systematically employed also in the case of some nose decorations.

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The Production of Copper-arsenic Alloys in the Central Andes: Highland Ores and Coastal Smelters?

Cited by 44 publications

References 12 publications

Chenques en El Centro Oeste De Patagonia (Holoceno Tardío Final, Valle De Ñirehuao, 45° S, Chile)

Chenques en El Centro Oeste De Patagonia (Holoceno Tardío Final, Valle De Ñirehuao, 45° S, Chile)

Precolumbian Raw-Material Exploitation in Southern Peru-Structures and Perspectives

Analysis of the spectacular gold and silver from the Moche tomb ‘Señora de Cao’

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