Archeometric characterization of pre-hispanic beads and ceramics from huanchaco by physical techniques and methods

© 2020, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. All rights reserved. The present study is concerned with the characterization of archaeological materials of beads and ceramics, from the archaeological sites “Iglesia Colonial” and “Pampa La Cruz” of Huanchaco, respectively. The beads of “Iglesia Colonial” were recorded in funerary contexts of the Chimu Inca Period (1450-1532 A.D.) and Early Colonial Period (1532-1650 A.D.). The importance of studying this site lies in understanding the evolu-tion of human occupation between the Inca transition and the arrival of the Spaniards to the north coast of Peru. In the “Pampa La Cruz” site, tombs containing beads and ceramic vessels prepared with the decorative technique of “the negative” were discovered. In this work fragments of the ceramics of this site were investi-gated, its mineralogical composition was determined qualitatively and quantitatively. This information would help to identify the possible source of clays used for the preparation of the vessels, which, in turn, could help determine if the vessels came from various places, or if the site’s inhabitants themselves processed them. The characterization of the samples was carried out by the X-ray diffraction technique. The measurements were analyzed by the modeling of the experimental diffracted intensity, applying the Rietveld method, in order to quantify the weight percentage of the crystalline mineral components of the samples.