Mining and Quarrying in the Ancient Andes

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

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2. Introduction

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. An Introduction to Mining and Quarrying in the Ancient Andes: Sociopolitical, Economic and Symbolic Dimensions

      • Kevin J. Vaughn, Nicholas Tripcevich

      Pages 3-19

3. Pigment, Clay, Salt and Stone

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 21-21

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   2. Archaeological Approaches to Obsidian Quarries: Investigations at the Quispisisa Source

      • Nicholas Tripcevich, Daniel A. Contreras

      Pages 23-44

   3. Variation in Inca Building Stone Quarry Operations in Peru and Ecuador

      • Dennis Ogburn

      Pages 45-64

   4. Building Taypikala: Telluric Transformations in the Lithic Production of Tiwanaku

      • John Wayne Janusek, Patrick Ryan Williams, Mark Golitko, Carlos Lémuz Aguirre

      Pages 65-97

   5. Arcillas and Alfareros: Clay and Temper Mining Practices in the Lake Titicaca Basin

      • Andrew Roddick, Elizabeth Klarich

      Pages 99-122

   6. The Huarhua Rock Salt Mine: Archaeological Implications of Modern Extraction Practices

      • Justin Jennings, Félix Palacios, Nicholas Tripcevich, Willy Yépez Álvarez

      Pages 123-136

   7. Hunter–Gatherer–Fisher Mining During the Archaic Period in Coastal Northern Chile

      • Diego Salazar, Hernán Salinas, Jean Louis Guendon, Donald Jackson, Valentina Figueroa

      Pages 137-156

   8. The Organization of Mining in Nasca During the Early Intermediate Period: Recent Evidence from Mina Primavera

      • Kevin J. Vaughn, Hendrik Van Gijseghem, Verity H. Whalen, Jelmer W. Eerkens, Moises Linares Grados

      Pages 157-182

4. Metals

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 183-183

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5. Metals

   1. Mining Under Inca Rule in North-Central Chile: The Los Infieles Mining Complex

      • Gabriel E. Cantarutti

      Pages 185-211

   2. Amalgamation and Small-Scale Gold Mining in the Ancient Andes

      • William E. Brooks, Gabriela Schwörbel, Luis Enrique Castillo

      Pages 213-229

   3. Silver Mines of the Northern Lake Titicaca Basin

      • Carol A. Schultze

      Pages 231-251

   4. Mining, Commensal Politics, and Ritual under Inca Rule in Atacama, Northern Chile

      • Diego Salazar, César Borie, Camila Oñate

      Pages 253-274

   5. Economic, Social, and Ritual Aspects of Copper Mining in Ancient Peru: An Upper Ica Valley Case Study

      • Hendrik Van Gijseghem, Kevin J. Vaughn, Verity H. Whalen, Moises Linares Grados, Jorge Olano Canales

      Pages 275-298

   6. Mining Archaeology in the Nasca and Palpa Region, South Coast of Peru

      • Markus Reindel, Thomas R. Stöllner, Benedikt Gräfingholt

      Pages 299-322

6. Discussion

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 323-323

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   2. Some Thoughts on Mining and Quarrying in the Ancient Andes

      • Richard L. Burger

      Pages 325-334

​Over the millennia, from stone tools among early foragers to clays to prized metals and mineral pigments used by later groups, mineral resources have had a pronounced role in the Andean world. Archaeologists have used a variety of analytical techniques on the materials that ancient peoples procured from the earth. What these materials all have in common is that they originated in a mine or quarry. Despite their importance, comparative analysis between these archaeological sites and features has been exceptionally rare, and even more so for the Andes. Mining and Quarrying in the Ancient Andes focuses on archaeological research at primary deposits of minerals extracted through mining or quarrying in the Andean region. While mining often begins with an economic need, it has important social, political, and ritual dimensions as well. The contributions in this volume place evidence of primary extraction activities within the larger cultural context in which they occurred. This important contribution to the interdisciplinary literature presents research and analysis on the mining and quarrying of various materials throughout the region and through time. Thus, rather than focusing on one material type or one specific site, Mining and Quarrying in the Ancient Andes incorporates a variety of all the aspects of mining, by focusing on the physical, social, and ritual aspects of procuring materials from the earth in the Andean past.    

• Inca quarry and mining sites
• archaeology of mining in the Ancient Andes
• geological resources in the Ancient Andes
• mining practices in the Ancient Andes
• ritualization of mining
• tool production in the Ancient Andes
• mineral resources

From the reviews:

“Tripcevich and Vaughn compiled this volume for a comparative analysis of mining and quarrying, a rare undertaking in Andean studies. … Andeanists and those interested in the extraction and processing of solid materials from the earth in any world region will find much of value in this volume. … all the chapters offer valuable new information that may serve as a baseline for future studies.” (Kylie E. Quave, Lithic Technology, Vol. 39 (1), 2014)

• Archaeological Research Facility, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, USA

  Nicholas Tripcevich

• , Department of Anthropology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA

  Kevin J. Vaughn

Dr. Nicholas Tripcevich is a member of the Archaeological Research Facility at the University of California, Berkeley. His research interests include Andean prehistory, social complexity, exchange theory, ethnoarchaeology, ancient mining, GIS, and lithic analysis. Dr. Kevin J. Vaughn is an Associate Professor in the department of Anthropology at Purdue University. His research interests include the emergence of social complexity, political economies of middle-range societies, craft production, ancient mining, village and household archaeology, the anthropology of pilgrimage, provenance analysis, archaeometry (INAA, LA-ICPMS, XRD, stable isotopes), ceramic analysis, Andean South America, Nasca.

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