Internal Networks and the Materiality of Imported Gold in the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia (AD 600–1600)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Materials in Movement in the Isthmo-Colombian Area" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Muisca of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia are known for making extensive use of imported gold to manufacture both votive metalwork and body ornamentation over a millennium. To better understand the materiality of this imported raw material, we present new computational models of the compositional datasets pertaining to Muisca metal assemblages, and propose that the chemical signatures of the votive offerings reflect contributions of gold from people converging into specific locations for festivities. In turn, we argue that the symbolic value of gold among the Muisca was often based on processes and raw material movements at the intra-regional scales, taking place after its introduction from foreign sources. We finally zoom into the contextual scale, presenting new data on votive assemblages from the archaeological site of Divino Niño, Sopó: here, elemental and technological analyses demonstrate the combination of multiple manufacturing hands and gold compositions in a single ritual context. While the dynamics of internal exchange networks are undoubtedly more difficult to reconstruct, our results highlight that the symbolic value of metals or other imported materials should not be assumed to be a-priori or primarily placed on their value as foreign luxury goods, whether within the Isthmo-Colombian region or elsewhere.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Materials in Movement in the Isthmo-Colombian Area   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38776.0