- The Nahuange people lived in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains
- Their little understood society flourished between the years 100 and 1,000 AD
- The master metalworkers were capable of improving the look of cheap gold alloy
- Experts were surprised to find they often created rose gold from this material
A cast nose ornament, once gold on the surface but purposely polished to be pink.
Researchers from the Museum of Gold in Bogotá, Colombia, studied 44 pinkish metal artefacts from the Nahuange culture.
Very little is known about the society of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range, near Colombia's Caribbean coast, which flourished between 100 and 1,000 AD.
But, based on artefacts they have uncovered, experts believe they were skilled metalworkers.
The Museum of Gold team examined nose pendants, necklaces, earrings, belts, bracelets and other finds to learn more.
There, they found evidence of a process of refinement and then burnishing which resulted in a rose gold appearance.
Speaking to Live Science Marcos Martinón-Torres, an archaeologist at University College London and co-author of the study, said: 'What's peculiar about finding it here in Colombia is that the whole Andean region is renowned historically for mastering the technology of gilding.
'That is, making metals more golden than they should be based on their composition.
'[This finding] defies our expectations that the more golden the better.
'For the Nahuange, things are not quite so simple.'
Rose gold, also known as pink gold and red gold, gets its colour from mixing gold with copper.
Researchers from the Museum of Gold in Bogotá, Colombia, studied 44 pinkish metal artefacts from the Nahuange culture.
Very little is known about the society of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range, near Colombia's Caribbean coast, which flourished between 100 and 1,000 AD.
But, based on artefacts they have uncovered, experts believe they were skilled metalworkers.
The Museum of Gold team examined nose pendants, necklaces, earrings, belts, bracelets and other finds to learn more.
There, they found evidence of a process of refinement and then burnishing which resulted in a rose gold appearance.
Speaking to Live Science Marcos Martinón-Torres, an archaeologist at University College London and co-author of the study, said: 'What's peculiar about finding it here in Colombia is that the whole Andean region is renowned historically for mastering the technology of gilding.
'That is, making metals more golden than they should be based on their composition.
'[This finding] defies our expectations that the more golden the better.
'For the Nahuange, things are not quite so simple.'
Rose gold, also known as pink gold and red gold, gets its colour from mixing gold with copper.
This makes it cheaper to produce than the purer forms of gold.
Andean goldsmiths created a process called depletion gilding that allowed them, through a combination of oxidation and polishing, to bring the gold to the surface.
This would make the object appear more pure than it actually was.
A hammered nose ornament. Remnants of the
golden layer that once covered the whole surface
are still visible.
Andean goldsmiths created a process called depletion gilding that allowed them, through a combination of oxidation and polishing, to bring the gold to the surface.
In the case of the rose gold jewellery, the craftsmen intentionally polished past this golden layer to reveal the copper content beneath.
Why this should be the case remains somewhat of a mystery.
The authors suggest two potential theories that the objects may have held some ritualistic significance.
The first suggests that they may have been involved in funerary rights.
The second links them to gifts to girls going through puberty as studies from the region have connected red and orange with femininity. (in other words, they don't know
)
Originally published on Live Science.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...jewellery.html
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