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The Emergence of Complex Silver Metallurgy in the Americas: A Case Study from the Lake Titicaca Basin of Southern Peru

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2016

Carol A. Schultze ,
Jennifer A. Huff ,
Thilo Rehren  and
Abigail R. Levine
Carol A. Schultze
Affiliation:
Historical Research Associates, Inc., 1904 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA 98101, USA & Collasuyo Archaeological Research Institute (CARI-Peru), Puno, Peru Email: ca.schultze@gmail.com
Jennifer A. Huff
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Box 353100, Seattle, WA 98195-3100, USA Email: huffj@uw.edu
Thilo Rehren
Affiliation:
UCL Qatar, PO Box 25256, Georgetown Building, Hamad bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar, Email: th.rehren@ucl.ac.uk
Abigail R. Levine
Affiliation:
Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California Los Angeles Box 951553, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA Email: abigail.levine@ucla.edu
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Abstract

This paper discusses the emergence of silver metallurgy some two millennia ago in the south central Andes. It is argued that the availability of multiple abundant resources and a high population density were instrumental in the development of this complex technology. The potential for such resource-rich environments to stimulate and sustain innovation is briefly discussed, particularly for prestige goods in societies engaged in socially competitive networks. The Puno Bay area of Lake Titicaca and its hinterland is shown to be one such resource-rich region, which may have contributed to its role in developing a complex and labour-intensive silver metallurgy as part of a larger mining-metallurgical landscape.

Type
Research Article
Information
Cambridge Archaeological Journal , Volume 26 , Issue 1 , February 2016 , pp. 53 - 64
Copyright
Copyright © The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research 2016 

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