The Pre Columbian Society of Washington DC is an all-volunteer educational organization dedicated to increasing interest and understanding of pre-Columbian cultures. Established in 1993, the Society presents illustrated lectures monthly, publishes a newsletter, hosts an annual symposium, and sponsors other events for amateurs and professionals to learn about pre-contact people of the Americas.


**********************************************************************************************************************************


The Columbian Society of Washington DC Announces our Annual Symposium

"Under Cover of Darkness: The Meaning of Night in Ancient Mesoamerica"

Saturday, September 25, 2010
Click here to see symposium details
**********************************************************************************************************************************
July lecture

Friday 2nd, 2010

William “Earl” Brooks, geologist

“SMALL-SCALE GOLD MINING IN THE ANCIENT ANDES”

Abstract: The vast quantity of worked gold provided by Atahualpa, the royal Inka leader, as ransom for his release from the Spanish in 1532 is astonishing by any standards one can imagine. Did the Inka, and other Andean cultures before them, rely on placer gold—the type of gold found in stream beds—to manufacture their fabulous golden objects, or did they possess knowledge of sophisticated metallurgy techniques and have resources to extract, refine, and work almost-pure gold? There is scant archaeological evidence to address this question. And whether or not advanced metallurgy processes were being practices in the Andes prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the New World is the subject of much debate.

This presentation discusses analyses of gold artifacts from several pre-contact Andean sites, using modern geological methods, to determine the extraction and manufacturing techniques. The results support the argument that advanced metallurgy processing, involving liquid mercury, gold ore, and intense heat smelting were employed in the New World even before such techniques were first practiced by the ancient Roman in Europe.
Click here to see details of this month's lecture
**********************************************************************************************************************************