Archaeometallurgy in Mesoamerica: Current Approaches and New Perspectives

1. Archaeometallurgy in Ancient Mesoamerica

1 In recent decades there has been much discussion among archaeologists about the transformative roles material objects play in human societies. Various scholars have focused attention on the ways that material culture is an integral part of social and economic systems through time, with considerable discourse centered on the role of specialized crafting in ancient societies (Apel and Knutsson 2006; Arnold and Munns 1994; Brumfiel and Earle 1987; Clark and Parry 1990; Costin 1991, 2001; Earle 2002; Flad and Hruby 2007; Helms 1992, 1993; Henrich and Boyd 2008; Hirth 2009; Peregrine 1991; Roux 2003; Schortman and Urban 2004; Spielmann 2002; Sullivan 2006; Vaughn 2004; Wailes 1996). The investigation of ancient technologies has a long tradition in Mesoamerican archaeology. Stone, bone, ceramic, and a number of other materials have been analyzed by archaeologists and archaeological scientists working in this region of the Americas for many decades, and these studies have yielded valuable information on the myriad ways ancient Mesoamericans adapted to their dynamic physical and social environments. While it appears that metal never fully replaced stone, bone, or shell for utilitarian or other purposes, objects fashioned from this unique material and the technology used to create them had clearly been embraced by some groups as early as Classic times (ca. AD 300–900) and by even greater numbers of Mesoamerican peoples during the Postclassic Period (ca. AD 900–1521) (see Table 1.1). O n e Archaeometallurgy in Ancient Mesoamerica Scott E. Simmons and Aaron N. Shugar DOI: 10.5876/9781607322009.c01 2 ScOtt e. SimmOnS and aarOn n. Shugar Throughout many parts of ancient Mesoamerica a wide range of metal objects, most of which were copper-base, were created during the centuries in which metallurgy was a part of the social fabric of ancient Mesoamerican life. Metal objects appear relatively late in this part of the Americas, by AD 600 (Dorothy Hosler 1994, 2009, and her Chapter 9 of this volume). The technology is believed to have been introduced to Mesoamericans by seagoing peoples from South America (Bray 1977; Hosler 2009; Lechtman, in press; Mountjoy 1969; Pendergast 1962; Strong 1935). Recent work in the Andes suggests that gold was the first metal to be manipulated by ancient South Americans (Aldenderfer et al. 2008). Specifically, nine cold-hammered native goldbeadswerefoundaccompanyingaroughlyfour-thousand-year-oldburial in the southwest part of the Lake Titicaca basin at the site of Jiskairumoko in Peru (Aldenderfer et al. 2008, 5004). Such cold-hammered gold objects continued to be produced into the Early Horizon (1000–400 BC), and it was during this time that Andean peoples began to smelt gold and other nonferrous ores (Bruhns 1994; Cooke, Abbott, and Wolfe 2009; Ponce 1970). Later, Andean metallurgical traditions grew to become much more sophisticated, with smelting, hammering, and alloying of mostly status and ritual objects by highly skilled smiths, particularly in groups such as the Moche. Although it is still not entirely clear why the diffusion of metallurgy from South America to Mesoamerica was “delayed” for some time (Bruhns 1989), it appears that the technology was introduced to West Mexicans living in coastal port towns by seagoing peoples from Ecuador by approximately AD 600 (Hosler 2009, 188–189). This belief is based on several lines of evidence, table 1.1 Mesoamerican Chronology with Selected Sites Discussed in the Text Region Time Period Maya Lowlands Maya Highlands Basin of Mexico West Mexico Colonial AD 1521–1800s Tenochtitlán Lamanai Postclassic AD 900–1521 Mayapán Q’umarkaj Jicalán el Viejo El Coyote (Utatlán) Itziparátzico Chichén Itzá El Manchón Classic AD 300–900 Formative ca. 2000 BC–AD 300 3 archaeOmetallurgy in ancient meSOamerica including comparative data derived from chemical compositional analyses as well as specific fabrication techniques and design characteristics of Central and South American metal artifacts. Also, recent experimental studies of the kinds of Ecuadorian balsa-wood sailing vessels reported by Spanish explorers suggest that such vessels were capable of making several round-trip voyages between coastal Ecuador and the West Mexican states of Guerrero and Michoacán before they were no longer serviceable (Dewan and Hosler 2008). The transmission of metallurgical technology between South and Central America probably took place over the course of several centuries, and would have required extended layovers in West Mexican communities by South American mariners (West 1961, 1994). It is likely that some of these travelers from the South were skilled metalsmiths who passed on their...