Technological Transitions in Prehispanic and Colonial Metallurgy: Recent and Ongoing Research at the Archaeological Site of Jicalán Viejo, in Central Michoacán, West Mexico

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Technological Transitions in Prehispanic and Colonial Metallurgy: Recent and Ongoing Research at the Archaeological Site of Jicalán Viejo, in Central Michoacán, West Mexico" at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Copper and its alloys were the raw materials par excellence for most precolombian metallurgical industries. In ancient Mesoamerica, copper was not only the predominant metal but also the most amply used base material. When the colonizers assumed control of the local copper industry in the early sixteenth century, it is presumed that they employed native miners and smelters, who for decades carried on the metallurgical techniques that they knew. However, the metallurgists introduced several innovations through the remainder of Spanish dominion, during which time various minerals were extracted from ore. This poster session addresses the preliminary results of the Preindustrial Mining and Metallurgy in Mexico: Research on Copper Smelting in Michoacán project, which focuses on interdisciplinary research at the Postclassic and Colonial site of Jicalán Viejo. Recent and ongoing field and archival investigations and laboratory analyses have allowed us to identify patterns from temporal, spatial, structural, and functional standpoints. This symposium aims to present the above recent investigations and analyses in a public format to a wide audience and to bring together researchers with diverse interests who are contributing to the project.