Non Destructive In Situ Analysis of Gold and Silver Artifacts from Tomb 7 of Monte Alban, Oaxaca, Mexico

Peñuelas, Guerrero; Ruvalcaba, J. L.; Contreras, Juan; Hernández, Eleazar López; Ortiz, E.

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-14678-7_91

Cited by 6 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Certain aspects of the production process are more archaeologically visible than others, due to their differential preservation. Despite this, numerous studies, including our own, are finding evidence for the production process in evidence from prills [1][2][3], miscast artifacts [2][3][4], ingots [3,5], metallographic sections [1,6], metallurgical ceramics [4,[7][8][9], compositional data [1,3,5,6,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18], evidence of mining and smelting [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26], and molds for lost-wax ceramic cores [27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Blowpipes and their metalworking applications: New evidence from Mayapán, Yucatán, Mexico

et al. 2020

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This study presents evidence of two tuyères, or blowpipe tips, used in metalworking at the Postclassic period city of Mayapá n. Blowpipe technology has long been hypothesized to be the production technique for introducing oxygen to furnaces during the metal casting process on the basis of ethnohistorical depictions of the process in ancient Mesoamerica. To our knowledge, the tuyères recovered at Mayapá n are the first archaeologically documented tuyères for pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica. The dimensions, internal perforation, vitrification, and presence of copper prills within the ceramic fabric, suggest that they were used in pyrotechnological production, likely metalworking, and is consistent with previous evidence for small-scale metalworking at Mayapá n. Blowpipe use in metallurgical production is a logical extension of a much longer tradition of blowgun use in hunting, which was likely already present in Mesoamerica by the time metal was introduced to West Mexico from South America. Furthermore, the dimensions of the Mayapá n tuyères are consistent with the internal diameter of ethnohistorically-documented blowguns from Jacaltenango in the southwest Maya region. We conducted replication experiments that suggest that when combined with wooden blowpipes, the Mayapá n tuyères would have been ideal for small-scale, furnacebased metallurgy, of the type identified at Mayapá n from Postclassic period contexts.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Blowpipes and their metalworking applications: New evidence from Mayapán, Yucatán, Mexico

et al. 2020

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“…The different trace elemental pattern, and particularly the high silver content, make a Mesoamerican origin more plausible, since the practice of adding silver to gold-alloys appears more frequently documented in this region than in Colombia (e.g. Peñuelas et al, 2011). However, most of the Mexican bells published are made of copper-based rather than gold-based alloys.…”

Section: Composition and Originsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Metallic encounters in Cuba: The technology, exchange and meaning of metals before and after Columbus

Martinón‐Torres¹,

Rojas²,

Samper³

et al. 2012

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

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a b s t r a c tMetals held important symbolic and political values for the indigenous communities of the Caribbean islands. However, metal objects are not abundant in indigenous archaeological sites, and their study has hitherto been very limited. This paper presents the results of the first analytical programme focused on metal artifacts recovered in a range of Taíno sites in Cuba, chronologically covering the periods before and after contact with Europeans. Our aims were: (a) to identify metallurgical traditions related to a diversity of cultural or learning backgrounds; (b) to investigate the origins of different metal artifacts found in Cuba, as a proxy to reconstruct patterns of exchange and interaction among indigenous communities and between these and Europeans; and (c) to approach the meaning and symbolism of different metals by considering their contexts of appropriation and use. The techniques employed included optical microscopy, SEM-EDS, pXRF and PIXE. The results allow a diachronic picture of the procurement, transformation, use and symbolism of metals in Cuba with broader implications for Caribbean archaeology. We reveal culture-specific Taíno choices in their interaction with materials and value systems from continental America and Europe. We also discuss the selective appropriation, recontextualization and meaning of different metals in the indigenous cultures.Crown

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“…The corresponding results are plotted in the graphs of Figs 10 and 11, respectively. The high homogeneity of the alloys composition is not surprising 45, 49. These artifacts were casted by false filigree lost wax procedure.…”

Section: Some Applications To Cultural Heritage Studiesmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The high homogeneity of the alloys composition is not surprising. [45,49] These artifacts were casted by false filigree lost wax procedure.…”

Section: Pre-columbian Gold and Silver Artifactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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SANDRA: a portable XRF system for the study of Mexican cultural heritage

et al. 2010

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Destructive Analysis using X-rays) developed at the Physics Institute of the UNAM, Mexico, for the study of Mexican cultural heritage collections. The X-ray fluorescence (XRF) SANDRA device can use 75 W Mo, Rh and W X-ray tubes and Amptek Si-PIN and Cd-Te detectors that are selected and combined depending on the elemental range detection requirements and the specific problem to be studied. In this paper, a full description and characterization of this system, sensitivities for the X-ray tubes and detectors as well as the detection limits are discussed. Examples of applications to technological studies on pre-Columbian metallic artifacts and analysis of color materials of ancient Mexican codex are shown.

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Non Destructive In Situ Analysis of Gold and Silver Artifacts from Tomb 7 of Monte Alban, Oaxaca, Mexico

Cited by 6 publications

References 3 publications

Blowpipes and their metalworking applications: New evidence from Mayapán, Yucatán, Mexico

Blowpipes and their metalworking applications: New evidence from Mayapán, Yucatán, Mexico

Metallic encounters in Cuba: The technology, exchange and meaning of metals before and after Columbus

SANDRA: a portable XRF system for the study of Mexican cultural heritage

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