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DID YOU KNOW?
FACTS & FICTION WITH A MEXICAN TWIST
JUNE 2007Did you know that...
...what the Spanish Conquistadors thought was gold was often only an alloy called tumbaga? By Tony Burton Copyright © 2007
As they explored the New World, the early conquistadors were spurred on by the possibility of finding treasure and riches. Captive Indians told convincing stories of cities far to the north even more fabulous than the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. The Spaniards' greed was sufficient to fuel determined drives into ever more remote territory in the hopes of striking it rich.
Copper Mines 
The Aztecs certainly had lots of gold, but nowhere near as much as the conquistadors believed. It turned out that all that glittered was not necessarily gold - much of it was an alloy called tumbaga.
The metallurgical skills of the pre-Columbian Indians went unrecognized for centuries prior to the pioneering work of Dora M. K. de Grinberg and others in the past fifty years or so. De Grinberg, an Argentinian archeologist working in Mexico, doggedly followed tenuous leads to uncover ample evidence that the ancient Indian metalworkers were far more knowledgeable than had previously been supposed.
The conventional wisdom was that pre-Columbian tribes worked only gold, copper and platinum found in their native state (i.e. almost pure, and not requiring any smelting). In addition, it was accepted that some groups knew how to take advantage of any rich ores found in placer deposits in streams. But it was rarefor anyone to suggest that the Indians had their own underground mines, or knew how to control the mix of metals required for the production of alloys.
De Grinberg became interested in the drawings on one particular piece of cotton cloth, about 3 meters in length, which dated back to sometime in the mid-16th century. The drawings, using black and red pigments, provided historical information in a series of scenes, linked together by lines, which archaeologists believed represented routes. Each drawing was of a distinct place, only some of which could be identified with certainty at the time de Grinberg took up the challenge. All the known places were in the state of Michoacán. De Grinberg thought that many of the drawings in this codex (now known as the Lienzo de Jicalán) showed activities connected with mineral exploitation, and that the routes were mining routes. But how could she prove it?
The Lienzo de Jicalán dates back to the mid-16th century She guessed that the codex might have...
Read the complete article, with more images . . .
Did You Know Index
Text © Copyright 2007 by Tony Burton. All rights reserved.
- - - Sombrero Books Page
Photos in public domain unless otherwise credited.
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