Includes bibliographical references (p. [295]-304) and index.
Summary:
This second book in the Yale University Publications in Anthropology series dedicated to the materials recovered early in the 10th century by the Yale Peruvian Scientific Expeditions focuses on the rich assemblage of metal artifacts from Machu Picchu and evidence of metallurgy at the site. Here the Inca assembled methods and skills gathered throughout their empire in the hundred years before European contact to supply their people with metal products fabricated from copper, tin, and silver. The culmination of nearly two thousand years of independently developed indigenous American metal technology, these were not accoutrements of nobility, but quotidian possessions of retainers who staffed the royal estate. -- The innovative research presented here provides new patterns and interpretations revealed by an impressive array of new artifact and analytical data, making this work a strong addition to our knowledge of Andean prehistory, and the Inca in particular. Clearly presented, yet technical and descriptive, this research reports on laboratory study of compositional analyses, alloy preparation, and artifact manufacture, and includes extensive tables, an excellent visual comparison of artifact types, and distribution maps plotted from a database of more than 10,000 metal artifacts from across the Andes. This book, the most thorough effort so far at a synthesis of the metalwork of the central Andes, is a significant contribution to foundation work in this area. -- Richard L. Burger is Charles J. MacCurdy Professor of Anthropology, director of graduate studies, chair of the Council on Archaeological Studies, Yale University, and curator of anthropology at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. -- Lucy C. Salazar is research associate in the Department of Anthropology, Yale University, and curatorial affiliate at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. --Book Jacket.
Series:
Yale University publications in anthropology ; no. 91.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.