Pre-Columbian Metallurgy of South America
Pre-Columbian Metallurgy of South America
By: Elizabeth P. Benson
This volume investigates social and political implications in the study of metallurgy in Pre-Columbian South America.
Title information
Metallurgy is an important indicator of the art of high cultures wherever it appears in Pre-Columbian South America. From Early Horizon sheet-gold disks, spoons, plaques, and ear ornaments that show Chavín deities and themes to the gold and silver walls at the temples of Cuzco, metallurgy was a site of technological innovation and development. This volume’s six papers investigate social and political implications in the study of metallurgy, focusing on questions of the significance of metal objects in the society, what they were used for, who had them, and the relationships of metalworking to the society as a whole.
Elizabeth P. Benson
Elizabeth P. Benson (1924–2018) was an art historian known for her extensive contributions over a long career to the study of Pre-Columbian art, in particular that of Mesoamerica and the Andes. A former Andrew S. Keck Distinguished Visiting Professor of Art History at the American University in Washington, D.C., Benson had also a long association with Dumbarton Oaks, where she served as curator of the collection of Pre-Columbian artworks, and then, most influentially, as the inaugural Director of Pre-Columbian Studies.
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