Microtexture of pre-columbian platinum alloys

TARTALINI, VANINA; BOLMARO, RAÚL; ÁVALOS, MARTINA; RISSO, PABLO

Congreso; XXV International Material Research Congress; 2016

Material Research Society

The metallurgy of platinum appeared in Europe in the eighteenth century, based mainly on powdermetallurgy technology because of the high melting point of platinum (~1760 °C). However, ornamentalobjects made on Pt-Au alloys, and dated at about pre-hispanic times, were found in southernColombia and northern Ecuador. These objects exhibit different geometries, colors, brightness andfinishes that were obtained as a function of alloy composition and thermomechanical treatments. It issurprising how these pre-Columbian cultures managed Pt alloys when there was no evidence of ahigh temperature technology in the region.