Abstract

AbstractThe archaeological setting of the La Tolita—Tumaco culture is briefly discussed as a framework for the examination of the metallurgy of the area, in particular the gold—platinum alloys used to make platinum-coated gold objects, platinum—gold sintered alloys, and platinum—gold foil—plated objects. The sophisticated approach to the manipulation of metallic materials resulted in several notable advances being made by the La Tolita—Tumaco culture: the production of extremely fine rectangular wire, bimetallic tumbaga alloys, small lead spheres inlaid with platinum, soldering, granulation, and a degree of sophistication to metalworking that is very impressive and, in some cases, unique in the world. Some selected examples are discussed, and the microstructure of a representative selection of the La Tolita material, bimetallic tumbaga construction, the initial sintered gold—platinum product, platinum-plated gold, and heavily worked gold—platinum composite artifacts are presented.

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