1,200-year-old metallurgist's tomb found in Peru

Polish archaeologists in Peru have accidentally discovered a 1200-year-old metallurgist’s tomb – after nearly falling into a hole where it was buried.

The 20-year-old man had been buried in a sitting position and covered with cloth. He had a dozen
well-used bronze tools with him, including a saw, a variety of knives, an axe and chisel
[Credit: Miłosz Giersz]

The tomb was uncovered near Huarmey, where the scientists have been working for a few years now. But unlike previous discoveries where remains were found of people who had been ritualistically sacrificed, the body in the latest find had been buried with the tools of his trade placed on his chest.

The tomb was uncovered purely by chance when the archaeologists were investigating a site located in a ceremonial area where religious rituals were carried out and the remains of sacrificial Ilamas had previously been found, when one of the students helping with the excavations almost fell into a hole.

Tools made from a rare type of bronze – copper alloy with arsenic, rather than more common tin – were found
with the skeleton [Credit: Miłosz Giersz]

To their surprise, they uncovered a well-preserved grave. Prof. Miłosz Giersz, from Warsaw University’s Centre for Precolumbian Studies, the head of the mission, told PAP: “That's why when we came across a man's burial this year, we initially thought it was also a sacrifice. In the meantime, it turned out that this case was different.”

The 20-year-old man had been buried in a sitting position and covered with cloth. He had a dozen well-used bronze tools with him, including a saw, a variety of knives, an axe and chisel.

Serrated bronze tool with a possible maker's mark [Credit: Miłosz Giersz]

Analysis carried out by Toronto University’s Branden Rizzuto showed that the tools were made of a rare type of bronze – copper alloy with arsenic, rather than more common tin.

Giersz said: "The alloy with arsenic guaranteed that these were really hard tools that could be used for a variety of farm and carving jobs."

Detail of the maker's mark [Credit: Miłosz Giersz]

The most astonishing finding was an obsidian knife, as the material was rare in the Wari culture. Giersz explained: "Obsidian was considered a very valuable raw material in the Wari culture, as well as in other cultures of America, it was imported from a very long distance, this particular one from Quispisis, obsidian outcrops located over a thousand kilometers in a straight line north of Huarmey".

In 2012, the Warsaw University archaeology mission found a pre-Incas tomb on the top of the mountain, where they found the buried metallurgist. With over 64 bodies and 1,200 valuable objects made from silver, gold, bronze, of alabaster and other materials, it was astonishingly untouched and hadn’t been plundered.

Pre-Inca gold jewellery [Credit: Miłosz Giersz]

Attributed to the pre-Inca Wari culture, just like the metallurgist’s tomb, it was dated back to the 8th century. The bodies found belonged mostly to women, which made the archaeologists think that the tomb belonged to one of the Wari leaders and her retinue of noble women.

The Centre for Precolumbian Studies was established in 1988. Since then, Polish archaeologists have conducted extensive works in South America, with missions in Huarmey, Machu Picchu, Cusco and Easter Islands.

Author: Joanna Jasinka | Source: The First News [April 25, 2019]