Copper Processing and its Implications in NW Honduras

Kenyon College, Gambier OH

Investigators

Abstract

What is known about prehistoric Mesoamerican metallurgy is seemingly straightforward. Workshops where items of copper and copper alloys were made date to as early as the 7th century and are limited to western Mexico. These objects are found in small numbers throughout Mesoamerica in contexts that suggest their use in conveying the high ranks of those who could acquire them. Consequently, the creation and expression of hierarchical distinctions in numerous prehispanic societies partly depended on elite access to goods flowing through trade networks originating in west Mexico. Excavations conducted during 2002 and 2004 at the Terminal Classic (AD 800-1000) political center of El Coyote in northwestern Honduras challenge these assumptions. Investigations here revealed unexpected but clear evidence of copper processing including areas where: copper-bearing rocks were broken up before smelting; the smelting occurred; the melted material was further processed to yield small beads of pure copper; and, debris generated by these steps was jettisoned. If the workshop's prehispanic date is confirmed, this discovery questions archaeological assumptions about copper's role in ancient Mesoamerican systems of production, trade, and power. Ascertaining El Coyote's significance to the understanding of metallurgy's place in Mesoamerican political and economic processes requires determining: when copper working occurred at the center; what techniques were employed in this process; and how the manufacture of copper artifacts figured in the social relations through which power was exercised locally and over wider territorial extents. Of these objectives, the first is the most fundamental. Initial attempts to date El Coyote's copper workshop yielded contradictory results; the material culture found in the production area points to its use in the Terminal Classic period while C-14 assays suggest an 18th century date. Complicating the matter is evidence that copper was worked at El Coyote over at least three distinct chronological phases and may span the prehistoric and historic eras. Metallurgy may, thus, have figured in local and regional political economies that pre- and/or post-dated the Spanish conquest. Work supported by the National Science Foundation will address these crucial issues through a combined program of excavation and data analysis. Systematic excavation will determine the production area's full extent, identify features related to copper working, especially where artifacts were cast, and collect material samples from different strata and locations throughout the workshop. These items will be subject to varied analyses, including: 1.) studies of artifact styles and functions to infer periods of occupation, behaviors pursued in the workshop, the cultural affiliations of the artisans, and changes in these variables over time; 2.) chemical and mineralogical assessments of soils, artifacts, and debris to reconstruct changing technologies of manufacture and trade connections; 3.) C-14 assays to date the different intervals of copper processing. The broader impacts of the research include the opportunities it will provide: for Honduran and U.S. students to learn the practice of archaeology; for local teachers and their charges to incorporate emerging understandings of the area's prehistory in their studies; and, to enhance understanding of metallurgy's place in past political economies.