Pre-hispanic goldwork technology. The Quimbaya Treasure, Colombia

One of the most important pre-Columbian gold assemblages made up of more than one hundred objects from two tombs in the Cauca river valley, Colombia, was studied to obtain archaeometric information. Although several attempts have been made to arrange gold production in time and space from the stylistic point of view, no firm conclusions were possible due to the lack of archaeological contexts. This paper presents first results of a new, fully instrumental approach, in which different analytical techniques, including OM, SEM-EDS, XRF, PIXE, RBS, AMS and X-ray imaging, were applied in order to determine a technological, metallurgical and chronological frame of the so-called Quimbaya Treasure.

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► We present three radiocarbon dates directly associated with pre-hispanic gold objects.
► X-Ray images of pre-hispanic goldwork, revealing important technological features.
► Characterization of gold enriched surfaces, and deterioration in museum conditions due to continuous abrasive cleaning.