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

40 / Cooper, Martinón- Torres, and Valcárcel Rojas
Chorro de Maíta is too high to be explained as a result of fortuitously smelting
mixed copper and zinc ores. There is currently no evidence of brass production
by cementation in the New World before the arrival of the Europeans. It therefore
seems most likely that the brass used to make the metal tubes found at El Chorro
de Maíta came from medieval foundries in central Europe.
The question then remains as to how this brass came to be in an indigenous
cemetery in Cuba? Microscopic examination of the edges of the metal sheet shows
vertical cut marks, suggesting that punching or striking with a sharp tool in one
single cutting event was the method used to cut the sheet. This appears in contrast
with the repetitive cut marks observed in the guanín pendants and described
above. The metallography of these specimens shows recrystallized and twinned
grains resulting from cold working followed by annealing, reflecting the manufacture
of the sheets that have been beaten and bent into their tubular shape. Thus,
both the chemical composition and the manufacturing traits set these objects
apart from those manufactured in the Americas and discussed above. The analytical
observations, coupled with the ethnohistorical sources suggest that, in all
likelihood, these tubes were not crafted pendants but rather reused lace tags or
aglets from European clothing. These aglets were common in Europe from the fifteenth
century onward, and it is likely that the first Europeans to arrive in the Caribbean
had aglets fastened to their doublets and hose. There are several mentions
of copper- alloy aglets in the literature of the period, and they also appear in period
paintings and domestic archaeological contexts in Europe (Egan and Pritchard
1991; Margeson 1993:22). Similar objects have also been excavated in early colonial
settlements in Havana, Cuba, and North America, including Fort San Juan (Moore
et al. 2004) and Jamestown (Kelso and Straube 2004:173–174). Thus, our analyses
appear to confirm previous suggestions by Szaszdi Nagy (1984:133) that these aglets
were used as a trade item by the Europeans arriving in the Caribbean at the end of
the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. In order to interpret the role and significance
of these different American and European metals within the indigenous
context of El Chorro de Maíta, it is necessary to contextualize their role in Taíno
society.
Metal Objects and Indigenous Values
A detailed review of the ethnohistorical and archaeological evidence for the role of
gold within Taíno society is provided by Vega and Oliver (Oliver 2000; Vega 1979).
Gold, or caona, was sourced locally and worked by the Taíno in Cuba, Hispaniola,
and Borinquen. Interestingly, ethnohistorical accounts state that gold was the
least valued of all the metals within Taíno society, possibly because it was the most
easily sourced. The ternary alloy of gold, silver, and copper, or guanín, was held in
much higher esteem. Indeed, the word guanín held much more significance than
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