Estudio de la microestructura de aleaciones precolombinas platino - oro usando EBSD

M. AVALOS; J. ESCOBAR; N. BUSTAMANTE; V. TARTALINI; P. RISSO; R. BOLMARO

Santa Fe

Congreso; IBEROMAT XIII 14 SAM - CONAMET XIII Simposio Materia; 2014

SAM-CONAMET

A B S T R A C T The metallurgy of platinum appeared in Europe in the eighteenth century, based mainly on powder metallurgy technology because of the high melting point of platinum (~ 1760 ° C). However, ornamental objects made on Pt-Au alloys and dated at about pre-hispanic times were found in southern Colombia and northern Ecuador. These objects exhibit different geometries, colors, brightness and finishes that were obtained as a function of alloy composition and thermomechanical treatments. It is surprising how these pre-hispanic cultures managed Pt alloys when there was no evidence of a high temperature technology in the region. The goal of the present study is to analyze the microstructure of pre-Columbian pieces made of Pt based alloys to support or reject the hypothesis about the manufacture of these pieces. Sometimes the archaeological pieces are obtained out of their original arqueological context, so the use of advanced characterization techniques is essential to reconstruct the history and context of the piece in the culture of origin. The study of antiquities, and pieces of collections, require non-destructive analysis techniques to preserve the sample of interest. In this context, the use of Electron Backscater Diffraction EBSD technique together with EDS is suitable for the development of crystallographic and composition analysis of unknown alloys.