Archaeometallurgy in Colombia: Recent Developments Martinón-Torres, M et al 2017 Archaeometallurgy in Colombia: Recent Developments. Archaeology International, No. 20: pp. 80–84, DOI: https:// doi.org/10.5334/ai-354 RESEARCH UPDATE Archaeometallurgy in Colombia: Recent Developments Marcos Martinón-Torres*, María Alicia Uribe-Villegas†, Juanita Sáenz-Samper† and Jimena Lobo-Guerrero‡ Introduction The technical quality and aesthetic beauty of the pre-Columbian metalwork of Central and South America have long fascinated scholars and the public alike. However, the existing picture of pre-Columbian metallurgy remains rather generalised and, as such, archaeologi- cally simplistic. With some notable excep- tions, much previous work has downplayed the role of humbler metallurgical traditions, the importance of archaeological contexts, and the changes deriving from cultural interaction among indigenous communi- ties, and between these and early European colonists. The UCL Archaeometallurgy in the Americas Research Network aims to enhance and diversify our understanding of the pro- duction, use and value of metals in America before and after Christopher Columbus, as a proxy for the underlying diversity of cul- tural and historical contingencies. One of our main strategies is the use of a bottom-up approach to develop a coherent set of high- resolution, science-assisted contextual stud- ies that may allow for temporal and cultural comparisons, from which we can approach the development of ideas, their transmission and adaptation, as materialised in goldwork. Much of our work in recent years has zoomed into Colombia. This country alone encompasses a great deal of diversity in eco- logical environments, resources, ethnicities and cultural traditions, materialised in tens of thousands of metal objects recovered in a relatively small region, with chronologies spanning over two thousand years to the pre- sent day. As such, it is an excellent ground for the characterisation of different technical styles at the subregional level, as opposed to the traditional broader comparisons between larger regions. Building primarily on a col- laboration agreement signed between the UCL Institute of Archaeology and the Gold Museum in Bogotá, we are trying to com- bine UCL’s expertise in archaeometallurgy with the Museum staff’s intimate knowledge of the tens of thousands of artefacts in their stores and the myriad of cultures who cre- ated, used and deposited them. This report outlines three lines of recent and current work and publication. Muisca Goldwork, Wax and Connoisseurship A significant strand of our research so far has focused on the study of Muisca votive offerings. The Muisca were a Chibcha- speaking community organised in chiefdoms that inhabited the Eastern Highlands of Colombia (ca. AD 800-1600). One of their vis- ible archaeological traces is the hundreds of * UCL Institute of Archaeology, London WC1H 0PY, UK † Museo del Oro, Banco de la República, Bogotá DC, CO ‡ University of Bristol, UK Corresponding author: Marcos Martinón-Torres (m.martinon-torres@ucl.ac.uk) https://doi.org/10.5334/ai-354 https://doi.org/10.5334/ai-354 mailto:m.martinon-torres@ucl.ac.uk Martinón-Torres et al: Archaeometallurgy in Colombia 81 tunjos or figurines they left behind, typically in the form of votive offerings deposited in special locations of the landscape (Lleras Pérez 1999). Through stylistic, microscopic and chemical analyses of many of these, we have characterised the Muisca votive gold- smithing tradition as one that peculiarly devoted more attention to the modelling of wax models for lost-wax casting than to the actual casting and finishing of the metal items themselves (Uribe-Villegas 2012; Uribe- Villegas and Martinón-Torres 2012). Objects often appear unfinished, with remnants of casting feeders and dirt from the moulds on their surfaces (Fig. 1). As such, Muisca votive metalwork seems to defy the gener- alised conception of goldwork as refined and ostentatious, and instead it points to the ritual importance of wax, corroborated ethnographically (Falchetti 2003, Martinón- Torres and Uribe-Villegas 2015a). These ideas have led us to reconsider the famous Muisca raft of El Dorado (gold votive model of a raft) from a perspective that explicitly tries to avoid Eurocentric biases (Uribe-Villegas, Martinón-Torres and Quintero in press). In the course of this project it also became apparent to us that, like art connoisseurs but using science rather than subjective judgement, we could potentially identify the work of individual artisans based on their idiosyncratic technical gestures and use of materials. This has given us not just a way of recognising the agency of anonymous prehistoric individuals, but also an entry point to address issues such as the organisa- tion of workshops, knowledge transmission, skill, and the tension between individual and social agency. We plan to continue work in this direction, and have encouraged others to explore the potential of ‘science-based archaeological connoisseurship’ (Martinón- Torres and Uribe-Villegas 2015b). Even before it had been published in academic journals, this research formed the basis of a very successful exhibition at the Gold Museum (Uribe-Villegas et al. 2013); our findings have also led to a redesign of some of the permanent displays at the Museum, including that of the popular Muisca raft. Nahuange Goldwork, Changing Colours and Object Biographies The region of Sierra de Nevada de Santa Marta is well known for its steep slopes descending into the Caribbean sea, as well as for the thou- sands of gold objects left behind by the Tairona (Bray 2003; Giraldo 2010). These are among the most technically accomplished exam- ples of metal casting and surface treatment Figure 1: Muisca votive object cast in a gold- copper alloy (O15117). The object would have been cast upside down. The very prominent cast sprue cup and feeders have not been removed from the finished object. Casting flashes, and traces of clay and charcoal from the mould, are still visible in some corners and crevices. Overall height is 12.8 cm (Photo Clark M. Rodríguez, Museo del Oro, Banco de la República). Martinón-Torres et al: Archaeometallurgy in Colombia82 in South America, and as such they have attracted considerable scholarly and public attention. Fewer people, however, have con- sidered the earlier roots of this technical tradi- tion. Building on a long-term interest of Juanita Sáenz Samper (2015), we are developing a detailed characterisation of Nahuange or Early Period material culture (ca. AD 100–1000), with particular attention to metalwork. A salient feature emerging from our analyt- ical work is the way in which the Nahuange treated the surface of the metal (Sáenz- Samper and Martinón-Torres 2017; in press). Like many other artefacts of Andean metal- work, Nahuange objects underwent a process known as depletion gilding, whereby a copper-rich gold alloy was oxidised and pickled to remove copper from the surface and hence create a more golden appearance. However, examination of many of these objects shows that, at some point in their lives, their outer surfaces were painstakingly polished off to remove the golden layer and show the pink colour of the underlying cop- per alloy (Fig. 2). This realisation highlights the often overlooked significance of copper in so-called goldwork, and the fact that the value of metalwork cannot be judged by its gold content or sheen. Ethnographic accounts report the connection between red hues and the female and, interestingly, Nahuange human representations and iconography are dominated by female motifs. Whatever the explanation for this phenomenon, the gild- ing and ungilding of Nahuange metalwork reminds us of the need to consider the life- histories of these objects, and of the probabil- ity that their materiality and value may well have changed over time. We are currently developing this exploration into a broader set of artefacts, casting the net more widely both diachronically and geographically. We are hoping to explore how changes in the political history of the region are reflected in changing technologies and uses of goldwork. Colonial Encounters and Metalwork in Mompox Considering the very large number of metal artefacts recovered in Colombia, it is quite remarkable that very few production remains have been reported. Recent excavations and Figure 2: Front (left) and back of a Nahuange pectoral (O17587). The front has been polished intensively to remove the golden layer and expose the colour of the orange copper beneath. The back is unpolished and remains golden by depletion. Diameter is 10 cm (Photo Clark M. Rodríguez, Museo del Oro, Banco de la República). Martinón-Torres et al: Archaeometallurgy in Colombia 83 related research led by Jimena Lobo Guerrero (2016) in Mompox have provided an oppor- tunity not only to study such material, but also to begin to explore continuities and changes in goldsmithing traditions after the European arrival. Located in a region known for its rich- ness in alluvial gold and a long-lived pre- Columbian goldsmithing tradition, Santa Cruz de Mompox also became a key enclave for Europeans from the early decades of the colonial period: it was an obligatory stopping port for all the gold that was extracted from south of the territory of New Granada, as it had to be taxed or quintado in Mompox. In this town, indigenous groups and Spaniards experienced encounters of individuals, met- allurgical technologies and knowledge – and all of these appear represented in the small sample of crucibles we analysed (Martinón- Torres et al. in press). In our study we found evidence for the local manufacture of cruci- bles as well as for the melting of unrefined gold dust, tumbaga (gold-copper-silver alloys) and silver. These metallurgical prac- tices illustrate some likely illegal activities, continuities with pre-Columbian traditions in the use of tumbagas, and the Spanish-led introduction of silver in northern Colombia. Given the importance of metals and met- alworking for all the communities involved, metallurgical remains can be informative of the wider social and economic negotiations that engaged indigenous peoples, mestizos and Spaniards in the configuration of the colonial reality, and we are hoping to see more work in this direction. Acknowledgements We are very grateful to the many colleagues and friends at the Museo del Oro in Bogotá for sharing their time, materials and knowl- edge. The various strands of this research have been supported by grants from the British Academy (SG-54242), a UCL Research Catalyst Award, and funds from the Banco de La República of Colombia. We would also like to thank the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History (ICANH) for grant- ing all the permits needed to ship archaeo- logical material from Colombia to the UK for their analysis. Competing Interests The authors have no competing interests to declare. References Bray, W 2003 Gold, Stone and Ideology: Symbols of Power in the Tairona Tradi- tion. In: Quilter, J and Hoopes, J W (Eds.) Gold and Power in Ancient Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia. Washington DC: Dumbarton Oaks, pp. 301–344. Falchetti, A M 2003 The seed of life: the symbolic power of gold-copper alloys and metallurgical transformations. In: Quilter, J and Hoopes, J W (Eds.) Gold and Power in Ancient Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia. Washington DC: Dumbarton Oaks, pp. 345–381. Giraldo, S 2010 Lords of the snowy ranges: politics, place and landscape transforma- tion in two Tairona towns in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. Unpublished thesis (PhD), University of Chicago. 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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/ S0003598X00047918 Uribe-Villegas, M A, Martinón-Torres, M and Quintero, J P in press The Muisca raft: Context, materiality and technology. In: McEwan, C, et al. (Eds.) The Art of Central America and Colombia. Washington DC: Dumbarton Oaks. How to cite this article: Martinón-Torres, M, Uribe-Villegas, M A, Sáenz-Samper, J, and Lobo-Guerrero, J 2017 Archaeometallurgy in Colombia: Recent Developments. Archaeology International, No. 20: pp. 80–84, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/ai-354 Published: 14 December 2017 Copyright: © 2017 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. OPEN ACCESS Archaeology International is a peer-reviewed open access journal published by Ubiquity Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959774314001164 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959774314001164 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2015.08.014 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2015.08.014 https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2017.97 https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2017.97 http://www.banrepcultural.org/museo-del-oro/exposiciones-temporales/historias-de-ofrendas-muiscas http://www.banrepcultural.org/museo-del-oro/exposiciones-temporales/historias-de-ofrendas-muiscas http://www.banrepcultural.org/museo-del-oro/exposiciones-temporales/historias-de-ofrendas-muiscas http://www.banrepcultural.org/museo-del-oro/exposiciones-temporales/historias-de-ofrendas-muiscas https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00047918 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00047918 https://doi.org/10.5334/ai-354 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Introduction Muisca Goldwork, Wax and Connoisseurship Nahuange Goldwork, Changing Colours and Object Biographies Colonial Encounters and Metalwork in Mompox Acknowledgements Competing Interests References Figures Figure 1