Studies in the Use and Distribution of Cinnabar Pigment in the Ancient Andes
By Richard L. Burger. The Charles J. MacCurdy Professor in Yale’s Department of Anthropology, and Curator in the Division of Anthropology at the Peabody Museum of Natural History
Studies in the Use and Distribution of Cinnabar Pigment in the Ancient Andes by Richard L. Burger Cinnabar (mercury sulphide) was one of the raw materials widely traded over long distances in the prehispanic Andes. This is not surprising since one of the world’s largest cinnabar deposits exists in the Huancavelica region of the central Peruvian highlands. However, breakthroughs in the analysis of mercury isotopes has provided us with a tool to track this prehistoric trade for the first time. In this talk, I will summarize collaborative ongoing studies of the ancient cinnabar trade and consider how this remarkable red pigment was utilized prior to its role in the amalgamation process during Colonial times. I will also consider claims that the toxicity of cinnnabar precluded its use as face and body paint as reported in the Colonial chronicles and that Ecuadorian deposits were an important source of cinnabar for sites of the Lambayeque culture in northern Peru
Professor Burger is the author of Chavin and the Origins of Andean (Thames and Hudson), The Life and Writings of Julio C. Tello: America’s First Indigenous Archaeologist (University of Iowa Press)the edited books: Civilization Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas (Yale University Press), Variations in the Expressions of Inka Power (Dumbarton Oaks) and recently Early New World Monumentality (University of Florida) and others.
When: Friday, October 9, 2015 12:30 PM-2:00 PM. Location: 1208H Turlington.
Department of Anthropology. Any questions please contact caycedo@ufl.edu