Crossing the Borders: New Methods and Techniques in the Study of Archaeological Materials from the Caribbean

Metal Objects and Indigenous Values / 37
the artifacts analyzed noninvasively, or in the polished sections of those mounted
for microstructural analysis. Further analytical details, images, and micrographs
can be found in another publication ( Martinón- Torres et al. 2007).
Analysis and Results
The metal objects from El Chorro de Maíta that were studied as part of this research
can be divided into three categories: beads, laminar sheets, and tubes. An
ornithomorphic pendant, a jingle bell, and a spherical bead were also found in the
cemetery; however, they were not available for this study.
Beads
Two circular metal beads, measuring approximately 2 mm in diameter, were both
found in association with an adolescent female skeleton in burial 57 in El Chorro
de Maíta. Noninvasive SEM- EDS analysis of one of these beads showed it to be
gold (93.4 wt percent) with smaller amounts of silver (5.2 wt percent) and copper
(1.3 wt percent). These metal compositions are comparable to naturally occurring
alluvial gold sources, some of which are known in the Holguín area near to
El Chorro de Maíta (Ariosa 1977). Ethnohistorical sources attest to the exploitation
of naturally occurring gold by indigenous peoples throughout Latin America
(Bray 2003; Fernández and Garita 2004) and there is archaeological evidence for
the exploitation of gold nuggets from alluvial sources in Puerto Rico (Chanlatte
Baik 1977:47). The Amerindians in the Antilles called this metal caona. Therefore,
it appears probable that these beads were made from individual gold nuggets collected
from a local alluvial source. From microscopic observation it appears that
the nuggets were shaped into a square elongated form using simple hammering
and then bent into a circle before the two ends were heated and fused together to
form a simple bead (Figure 3.2a). Thus, no high- temperature melting or smelting
were involved.
Laminar Sheets
Four laminar sheets were found in burial 57 at El Chorro de Maíta; two are trapezoidal,
one is triangular (CMP 1), and one is arrow shaped (CMP 2). All the sheets
from El Chorro de Maíta are approximately 22 mm by 17 mm in size and have a
small perforation (< 1 mm) located off center (Figure 3.2b).
Two of these sheets, CMP 1 and CMP 2, were analyzed by SEM- EDS and were
found to be ternary alloys of copper, silver, and gold (CMP 1 Cu 47.9 percent, Ag
12.6 percent, Au 39.5 percent; CMP 2 Cu 55.1 percent, Ag 10.0 percent, Au 34.9 percent).
Both samples show very similar compositions that reflect the alloy of one
part of pure copper with one part of alluvial gold, the latter with an Ag:Au ratio
of 0.3. Ternary alloys with these compositions have been found in indigenous con-
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