Blowpipes and their metalworking applications: New evidence from Mayapán, Yucatán, Mexico.

This study presents evidence of two tuyères, or blowpipe tips, used in metalworking at the Postclassic period city of Mayapán. Blowpipe technology has long been hypothesized to be the production technique for introducing oxygen to furnaces during the metal casting process on the basis of ethnohistorical depictions of the process in ancient Mesoamerica. To our knowledge, the tuyères recovered at Mayapán are the first archaeologically documented tuyères for pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica. The dimensions, internal perforation, vitrification, and presence of copper prills within the ceramic fabric, suggest that they were used in pyrotechnological production, likely metalworking, and is consistent with previous evidence for small-scale metalworking at Mayapán. Blowpipe use in metallurgical production is a logical extension of a much longer tradition of blowgun use in hunting, which was likely already present in Mesoamerica by the time metal was introduced to West Mexico from South America. Furthermore, the dimensions of the Mayapán tuyères are consistent with the internal diameter of ethnohistorically-documented blowguns from Jacaltenango in the southwest Maya region. We conducted replication experiments that suggest that when combined with wooden blowpipes, the Mayapán tuyères would have been ideal for small-scale, furnace-based metallurgy, of the type identified at Mayapán from Postclassic period contexts.

Emissions from pre-Hispanic metallurgy in the South American atmosphere.

Metallurgical activities have been undertaken in northern South America (NSA) for millennia. However, it is still unknown how far atmospheric emissions from these activities have been transported. Since the timing of metallurgical activities is currently estimated from scarce archaeological discoveries, the availability of reliable and continuous records to refine the timing of past metal deposition in South America is essential, as it provides an alternative to discontinuous archives, as well as evidence for global trace metal transport. We show in a peat record from Tierra del Fuego that anthropogenic metals likely have been emitted into the atmosphere and transported from NSA to southern South America (SSA) over the last 4200 yrs. These findings are supported by modern time back-trajectories from NSA to SSA. We further show that apparent anthropogenic Cu and Sb emissions predate any archaeological evidence for metallurgical activities. Lead and Sn were also emitted into the atmosphere as by-products of Inca and Spanish metallurgy, whereas local coal-gold rushes and the industrial revolution contributed to local contamination. We suggest that the onset of pre-Hispanic metallurgical activities is earlier than previously reported from archaeological records and that atmospheric emissions of metals were transported from NSA to SSA.

Pre-Columbian alloys from the royal tombs of Sipán; energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis with a portable equipment.

On the north coast of present-day Peru flourished approximately between 50 and 700 AD, the Moche civilization. It was an advanced culture and the Moche were sophisticated metalsmiths, so that they are considered as the finest producers of jewels and artefacts of the region. The Moche metalworking ability was impressively demonstrated by the objects discovered by Walter Alva and coworkers in 1987, in the excavations of the "Tumbas Reales de Sipán". About 50 metal objects from these excavations, now at the namesake Museum, in Lambayeque, north of Peru, were analyzed with a portable equipment using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence. This portable equipment is mainly composed of a small size X-ray tube and a thermoelectrically cooled X-ray detector. Standard samples of gold and silver alloys were employed for quantitative analysis. It was determined that the analyzed artefacts from the "Tumbas Reales de Sipán" are mainly composed of gold, silver and copper alloys, of gilded copper and of tumbaga, the last being a poor gold alloy enriched at the surface by depletion gilding, i.e. removing copper from the surface.

Atividades científicas no Império português: um estudo da obra do 'metalurgista de profissão' Manuel Ferreira da Câmara: 1783-1820 / Scientific activities under the Portuguese Empire: a study of the works of Manuel Ferreira da Câmara, 'metalworker by profession': 1783-1820

O personagem Manuel Ferreira da Câmara ficou conhecido na historiografia pelo seu perfil político de estadista e parlamentar. Contudo sua trajetória histórica mostra que os interesses políticos e seus estudos das ciências naturais estavam associados. Este artigo resulta de uma pesquisa cujo objetivo é estudar as memórias científicas elaboradas pelo estudioso e analisá-las com a atenção voltada para o contexto social mais amplo em que foram concebidas. As memórias são testemunhos importantes de comprovação da existência de produção científica no Império português no final do século XVIII e início do XIX e revelam a riqueza do pensamento ilustrado luso-americano.

Manuel Ferreira da Câmara became known in historiography for his political profile as a statesmen and parliamentarian. His historical trajectory shows a link between these political interests and his studies in the natural sciences. This article is the result of research on the scholar's scientific memoirs, with an analysis that focuses on the broader social context in which they were conceived. These memoirs stand as a valuable testimony to the existence of scientific production under the Portuguese Empire in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and illustrate the richness of thinking under the Luso-American Enlightenment.

[Scientific activities under the Portuguese Empire: a study of the works of Manuel Ferreira da Câmara, 'metalworker by profession'--1783-1820]. / Atividades científicas no Império português: um estudo da obra do 'metalurgista de profissão' Manuel Ferreira da Câmara--1783-1820.

Manuel Ferreira da Câmara became known in historiography for his political profile as a statesman and parliamentarian. His historical trajectory shows a link between these political interests and his studies in the natural sciences. This article is the result of research on the scholar's scientific memoirs, with an analysis that focuses on the broader social context in which they were conceived. These memoirs stand as valuable testimony to the existence of scientific production under the Portuguese Empire in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and illustrate the richness of thinking under the Luso-American Enlightenment.

[Possible health effects associated with Pre-Columbian metallurgy]. / Posibles efectos en la salud asociados con la metalurgia precolombina.

In the Old World, several researchers have indicated that adverse health effects were associated with exposure to arsenic, and that this influenced a change in the use of copper-arsenic alloys to others less toxic. This hypothesis was evaluated for three Pre-Columbian metallurgy traditions: Central Andes, Intermediate Area, and West Mexico. The metal artifacts from the Central Andes showed arsenic concentrations similar to those in the Old World (0.5%-1.0%). In the Intermediate Area the values were smallest; however, in West Mexico the arsenic content was very high (7%-25%). In Central Andes arsenical bronze was used initially, but copper-tin alloys when introduced were preferred and distributed throughout the Inca Empire. Osteological and artistic evidences of foot amputations among Moche individuals from Central Andes support the presence of "black foot disease" (a condition associated with arsenic poisoning) among Pre-Columbian populations. In conclusion, the adverse effects of arsenic have been observed in the New World, and that these effects promoted a change toward the use of less toxic alloys.

[Health and Angola's Companhia de Diamantes]. / A saúde e a Companhia de Diamantes de Angola.

Ever more studies have been devoted to the use of medicine in colonial contexts, a topic that serves to illustrate the more subtle ways in which a colonial State may spread its power. Countering the studies of colonial mining companies conducted to date, the case of the Companhia de Diamantes de Angola (Diamang) brings something new to the issue of colonial relations. Diamang was extraordinarily cautious when it came to the health of its workers and local population. However, this sanitary vigilance was closely linked to company concerns about productivity and about the need to constantly enhance human resource management.

Los albores de la profesión: odontología entre los Etruscos (trad) / The dawn of dentistry: dentistry among the Etruscans

Los etruscos constituían un grupo de pueblos agricultores que evolucionaron hacia una población urbana de artesanos, comerciantes y navegantes, que vivieron en una red de ciudades y dominaron el área del Mediterráneo alrededor de Italia en los siglos VIII y IX a C. Lo que se ha descubierto, y es de importancia para nuestro estudio de la historia de la Odontología, es una gran cantidad de obras de arte muy interesantes que incluyen prótesis dentales de oro. Las prótesis etruscas son notables porque utilizan bandas de oro que fueron soldadas en anillos en vez de los alambres de oro que se ven en otras culturas de la misma época (fenicia, egipcia) (AU)

Los albores de la profesión: odontología entre los Etruscos (trad) / The dawn of dentistry: dentistry among the Etruscans

Los etruscos constituían un grupo de pueblos agricultores que evolucionaron hacia una población urbana de artesanos, comerciantes y navegantes, que vivieron en una red de ciudades y dominaron el área del Mediterráneo alrededor de Italia en los siglos VIII y IX a C. Lo que se ha descubierto, y es de importancia para nuestro estudio de la historia de la Odontología, es una gran cantidad de obras de arte muy interesantes que incluyen prótesis dentales de oro. Las prótesis etruscas son notables porque utilizan bandas de oro que fueron soldadas en anillos en vez de los alambres de oro que se ven en otras culturas de la misma época (fenicia, egipcia)

[Fortunes and misfortunes of a metal]. / Venturas y desventuras de un metal.

The history of amalgam (which essentially consists of mercury and silver) is briefly reviewed, from its origin through different civilizations. The various ways by which silver was extracted during colonial times are mentioned; credit for invention of the method, however, still remains unknown. Finally, the study lists the purposes for which the amalgam was originally used, mainly for the benefit of the mining industry, and only much later introduced into medicine and hence onto odontology.