Ceramic Molds for Mixtec Gold: New Insights into Lost Wax-Casting traditions of Late Postclassic Oaxaca

Summary

Lost-wax casting in prehispanic Mesoamerica reached its apogee in Late Postclassic Oaxaca, Mexico. Nowhere is this artistry more evident than in the spectacular gold and silver offerings from Tomb 7 at Monte Albán. Researchers have long understood the general process of lost-wax casting, but have incompletely examined variability in techniques utilized through space and time. This poster presents new evidence of ceramic molds from Late Postclassic Tututepec that are believed to have been used to make casting cores—an important component of the lost-wax casting process in Oaxaca. To date, archaeometallurgical studies in Mesoamerica have overlooked the use of ceramic molds for making casting cores. The relatively large sample of molds from Tututepec suggests that this Mixtec capital was an important production center for making gold and silver jewelry that was consumed by local elites and possibly exported to distant centers, such as Monte Albán.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage