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Small metal fragments were found in the tomb of the Wari culture elite (Castillo de Huarmey, Peru). These objects were subjected to chemical analysis using a scanning electron microscope with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy and field emission (FE‐SEM‐EDS), an electron microprobe analyser with field emission (FE‐EMPA) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Chemical composition analysis showed that four different alloys were used to make copper objects. Two different alloys were found in silver alloys. A comparative analysis was made of the artefacts of other cultures from the Middle Horizon Period. They differ in their chemical composition.

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This paper presents Ag, Cu, and Pb isotopes for five silver and 10 copper artefacts found in the first intact pre‐Columbian tomb of the Wari culture female elite at Castillo de Huarmey, Peru. Ag and Cu isotope data indicate that the metals were extracted from primary, hypogene ore deposits. Most of the Pb isotope data for the Castillo de Huarmey artefacts correlate with the core Wari site of Conchopata, suggesting utilization of ores from similar deposits. The observed spread in Pb isotopes can be explained by the utilization of regional ores with highly variable Pb isotopes, such as the Julcani deposit. Alternatively, the linear nature of the Pb isotope results obtained for these samples may also be a result of the mixing of ores from different deposits or the re‐smelting of metals. Some of the Pb isotope results also indicate imports from other remote regions, providing evidence for long‐distance interactions on a vast regional scale, in the northern (North Coast of Peru) and southern (Southern Peru and Potosi region in Bolivia) spheres of influence of the Wari Empire and the Tiwanaku state.

A vast amount of ceramics (among other grave goods) were recovered from Castillo de Huarmey, a Wari culture (650–1050 ce) archaeological site on the north coast of Peru. In order to assess ceramic production area(s) and possible trade, political or cultural interactions with other regions, and to complement earlier petrographic analysis, electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) was conducted following a rarely used methodology in archaeology. The chemical composition of individual minerals in ceramics and sediments samples from the Huarmey Valley was obtained, focusing mainly on amphiboles, feldspars and pyroxenes. The results of the analyses clearly indicate that the majority of the ceramic analysed was made of raw material of local origin.