A new piece of the puzzle: slag and ore analysis to reconstruct the prehispanic smelting technology at the Atacama Desert, Chile

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dc.catalogadorpau
dc.contributor.authorPlaza, Maria Teresa
dc.contributor.authorGarrido, Francisco
dc.contributor.authorLarreina-García, David
dc.date.accessioned2023-09-26T13:00:53Z
dc.date.available2023-09-26T13:00:53Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.description.abstractThe Incas appropriated many local metallurgical technologies throughout the Andes, each of which had its unique peculiarities and was based on local ancestral knowledge. The widespread use of tin-bronze during the Inca expansion, the development of mining and smelting sites, as well as ethno-historical records evidence the Incas' interest in copper smelting, a key activity in the Andes since ca. 1400 BC. However, little is known about the technical parameters achieved by ancient metallurgists and the changes that occurred during the Inca expansion. In this paper, we address these changes through a case study of Copiapo valley, focusing on the Vina del Cerro site, one of the most famous Inca smelting centres of the southern Andes. Although this place was architectonically restructured by the Incas, its operations began long before the imperial expansion and used wind-powered furnaces. We analysed 19 slag and 11 copper ore samples using OM, SEM-EDS, WD-XRF, and XRD analyses. Results identified heterogeneous and viscous slags, rich in SiO2 (43 wt%) and poor in FeO (13 wt%). Copper retention was high (up to 60 wt%). Microstructural analyses indicate that slags were formed under unstable oxidising conditions, reaching temperatures that ranged between 1000 to 1100 & DEG;C. The copper produced was very pure. High-grade copper ores containing up to 69 wt% CuO were reduced at the site, combining carbonates (malachite, azurite), halides (buttgenbachite, clinoatacamite), and some sulphates (brochantite). We propose that even under the relatively unfavourable conditions for slag formation, the smelting conditions generated at Vina del Cerro were competent enough to extract metal, but not necessarily enough to form liquid slag. These conditions were facilitated by the local metallurgists' thorough knowledge of the wind flow and their ability to select the right ore. This new information contributes to understanding the efficiency of metallurgical technology and the knowledge, skills, and adaptability of the ancient metallurgists from Copiapo valley, a group that was integrated into the economic networks of the Inca Empire.
dc.fechaingreso.objetodigital2023-09-26
dc.format.extent22 páginas
dc.fuente.origenBiomed Central
dc.identifier.doi10.1186/s40494-023-01017-z
dc.identifier.issn2050-7445
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-023-01017-z
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/74677
dc.identifier.wosidWOS:001048585500001
dc.information.autorucEscuela de Antropología; Plaza, Maria Teresa; 0000-0002-8533-2447; 1156007
dc.issue.numero1
dc.language.isoen
dc.nota.accesoContenido completo
dc.publisherSPRINGER
dc.revistaHERITAGE SCIENCE
dc.rightsacceso abierto
dc.subjectCopper smelting
dc.subjectSlags
dc.subjectWind-powered furnaces
dc.subjectWD-XRF
dc.subjectXRD
dc.subjectSEM-EDS
dc.subjectCopper-rich ores
dc.subjectAndean metallurgy
dc.subjectVina del Cerro
dc.subjectAtacama Desert
dc.subject.ddc300
dc.subject.deweyCiencias socialeses_ES
dc.titleA new piece of the puzzle: slag and ore analysis to reconstruct the prehispanic smelting technology at the Atacama Desert, Chile
dc.typeartículo
dc.volumen11
sipa.codpersvinculados1156007
sipa.indexWOS
sipa.trazabilidadWOS;2023-08-26
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