Abstract This paper presents Ag, Cu, and Pb isotopes for five silver and 10 copper artefacts found in the first intact pre‐Columbian tomb of the Wari culture female elite at Castillo de Huarmey, Peru. Ag and Cu isotope data indicate that the metals were extracted from primary, hypogene ore deposits. Most of the Pb isotope data for the Castillo de Huarmey artefacts correlate with the core Wari site of Conchopata, suggesting utilization of ores from similar deposits. The observed spread in Pb isotopes can be explained by the utilization of regional ores with highly variable Pb isotopes, such as the Julcani deposit. Alternatively, the linear nature of the Pb isotope results obtained for these samples may also be a result of the mixing of ores from different deposits or the re‐smelting of metals. Some of the Pb isotope results also indicate imports from other remote regions, providing evidence for long‐distance interactions on a vast regional scale, in the northern (North Coast of Peru) and southern (Southern Peru and Potosi region in Bolivia) spheres of influence of the Wari Empire and the Tiwanaku state.
Abstract This study aims to characterize the phase composition and chemistry of the speiss/matte sample from the Metallurgist's Burial at Castillo de Huarmey and to use the information derived from these analyses to infer the temperatures, furnace conditions, and ores associated with the smelting processes, which created the speiss/matte sample. For this purpose, a number of geochemical analyses were performed on the spies/matte fragment: analysis of the general chemical composition (handheld X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry [hhXRF], X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy [XPS]), analysis of the chemical composition in the micro area (field emission scanning electron microscope with an energy dispersive spectroscopy detector [FE‐SEM‐EDS], field emission electron probe microanalysis [FE‐EPMA]), analysis of the mineral composition (X‐ray diffraction [XRD]), and analysis of the phase composition (Raman spectroscopy). Chemical and mineralogical analyses of the speiss/matte specimen determined that the specimen is composed of distinct arsenide, arsenate, sulfide, and glass phases. During the smelting process, the charge material consisted mainly of Cu, Fe, and As sulfides. Arsenopyrite is the most likely candidate as the mineral source of arsenic. In addition, temperatures of at least 1200°C were achieved during the smelting process, with smelting occurring over a relatively short timeframe given that effective density separation of speiss and matte phases was not achieved.
Peruvian tapestries are prestige textiles, known for their mosaic-like patterns made of multicoloured yarns. Numerous tapestry fragments from the Middle Horizon Period (650-1050 A.D.) were found at the Castillo de Huarmey archaeological site on the North Coast of Peru, where an intact Wari royal mausoleum was discovered. Relying on technological and iconographical analyses and, also on the context of the entire textile collection, a new Middle Horizon tradition associated with the expansion of Wari culture is proposed.
Una prospección arqueológica integral del sitio Castillo de Huarmey, uno de los centros ceremoniales y religiosos prehispánicos más importantes del periodo Horizonte Medio (600 – 900 d.C.),fue llevada a cabo por especialistas polacos. La prospección comparó diferentes métodos no destructivos: mapeo con GPS RTK, fotogrametría aérea con cometa, magnetometría de cesio y análisis espacial de la distribución de artefactos en superficie. Los datos de la prospección fueron combinados usando una base de datos de sistemas de información geográfica para registrar la arquitectura monumental de adobes y la vasta necrópolis de los miembros de alto rango de las elites prehispánicas, y para reflejar la superficie subyacente del sitio.
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