SITE DIRECTORY
Site 35 looking east; platform is at center.
Site 35 is located on the east bank of the Todos Santos river, approximately
200 m to the north of Jalantaña and the modern mining camp of the
same name. It consists of a low (1.5 m high), subrectangular platform
of earth built against the base of Cerro San Cristobal and buttressed
on the three remaining sides with informal rock walls. A test unit within
the platform yielded artificial fill, but few artifacts; the function
of the platform is thus unknown. The stone foundations of a crudely made
L-shaped building (Structure 3) are situated just to the west of the platform,
and additional foundations also occur to the east. The latter consist
of seven rectangular structures as well as two circular grinding platforms
which contain quimbaletes (large rocker stones for grinding ore).
Topographic map of Site 35.
Plan Map of Structure 3.
Structure 3.
Feature E in Structure 3 - rectangular double-chambered
furnace.
Three structures (1, 3, and 7) were excavated at Site 35. Structure 1, the best made building at the site, measures 6 by 2.5 m and has stone walls that reached at least 1 m in height when it was first constructed. The interior was divided into two by a narrow partition; the southern area contained a carefully buried set of grinding stones as well as a small hearth. A relatively small quantity of artifacts was recovered from Structure 1, and the assemblage was dominated by simply made jars. However, excavations also yielded sherds from cooking vessels and serving bowls, as well as cigar-shaped objects of vitrified clay that may have been used in the production of metal. A single glass chevron bead is indicative of an early colonial occupation, and the building probably served as a residential dwelling where some metallurgical activity also occurred.
Feature G in structure 3 - cupellation furnace.
Structures 3 and 7 appear to have served purely industrial purposes. Structure 3 contained both a reverberatory furnace of the type used today to refine silver ore, as well as a larger, double-chambered furnace with a rectangular stone and adobe base. In the latter case, the oxidized, eastern compartment was probably surmounted by a clay dome and contained the remains of disintegrating flat-bottomed vessels that may have been used in the production of metal. The western compartment, in contrast, was blackened and contained ash; a small opening in the western wall allowed waste charcoal and carbonized llama dung to be discarded in a trench outside and slightly below the furnace. Both furnaces are reverberatories that worked on the same basic principles; hopefully, their respective roles in the production of metal will be clarified once the metallurgical analysis of associated waste products is complete.
Structure 7 has a poorly made, oval stone foundation that may have been surmounted by an ephemeral superstructure. A carefully constructed, open hearth was built into the northern end of the structure and is buttressed on the exterior by clay and rocks. The floor of the hearth slopes to the south and empties into a circular depression dug into the floor of the building. A small trench filled with black ash and bounded on the west side by burnt clay is located 60 cm to the east of the hearth against the interior eastern wall of the building. This feature appears to have been used for the production of lead or the cupellation of silver; as is the case with the furnaces in Structure 3, determining its precise role in the production process will depend on the results of metallurgical analyses.
Plan Map Structure 7.
Feature H in Structure 7.
During the course of excavation and mapping at Site 35, a disturbed burial was encountered eroding out of a sand dune on the northeastern edge of the site. Excavation revealed the remains of an adult with worn teeth and traces of osteoarthritis who had been placed in a flexed, seated position. Many elements, including the pelvis, were missing, either as a result of disturbance or because the remains represent a secondary interment. The individual was placed in a simple hole 70 cm deep that was supported on one side by a flat rock. A cooking vessel and a set of copper tupus (pins used to fasten a woman’s shawl) were found in the burial, suggesting that the individual was a an indigenous woman. A twisted glass Nueva Cadiz bead was also recovered, indicating that the interment occurred during the early Colonial Period.
Grinding stones in Structure 1.
The CSU Archaeomagnetic Laboratory, directed by Dr. Jeffrey Eighmy, ran
four samples collected from Site 35. Of these, three contained too little
clay to produce reliable results. The fourth, taken from the hearth in
Structure 7 suggest that the feature was last fired at some point between
1650 and 1800 A.D. However, a number of artifacts recovered from the site,
including the glass beads from Structure 1 and the burial, as well as
a copper hawks bell found in Structure 3, suggest that the site was occupied
during the early Colonial Period, perhaps prior to 1650.
Possible muffle fragment.
Site 35 appears to have housed a small residential population - perhaps
just a family or two - that was engaged in the production of metal, most
likely during the 17th century. The low density and diversity of artifacts
suggest a short-term occupation, perhaps even seasonal in nature. The
source of the ore was most likely either the vein running along the crest
of the Zodillas ridge to the southwest, or the unexplored mines on the
upper slopes of Cerro San Cristobal to the east.
Funding for this project provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities,
the National Science Foundation, the Curtiss T. Brennan and Mary G. Brennan
Foundation, and Colorado State University.
Please direct any comments or questions about the project to the director,
Mary Van Buren.
Web site designed by Andrew Mueller