Abstract

BECERRA, M. Florencia; NIEVA, Nicolás  and  ANGIORAMA, Carlos I. Characterization of archaeological slag: the colonial metallurgy of Fundiciones 2, Rinconada, Jujuy. Rev. cienc. tecnol. [online]. 2014, n.21, pp.58-64. ISSN 1851-7587.

Fundiciones 2, Rinconada, Jujuy, a metallurgical facility in operation probably since the late eighteenth century, consists of two attached rooms, a roofed shelter and five reverberatory furnaces, three of them are inside another structure. This paper presents the results of microscopic studies and chemical characterization of slag samples recovered there, to further the understanding of the nature of the smelted minerals and the conditions of metallurgical processes developed. The methodology employed was observation and analysis by means of optical microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM with energy dispersive spectrometry EDS) and electron microprobe microanalysis (EPMA with wave-length dispersive spectrometry WDS) of metallurgical slag recovered during the excavation of two furnaces and two enclosures. These results, and the contextual information, help to understand the operation of this facility and to explore the technology used in extractive metallurgy of lead and silver ores during the colonial period in the region.

Keywords : Slag; Metallurgy; Foundry Furnaces; Colonial Period; Archaeology.

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