Do Plundered Tombs Still Speak? Archaeometric Evidence from the Pre-Hispanic site of Siete Ventanas de Cochapetí, Peru

Abstract Chullpas are among the most distinctive and culturally significant architectural structures associated with funeral rites in the central Andes. This paper summarises archaeological research at the multi-chamber chullpa of Siete Ventanas de Chochapeti, which, despite having been emptied many years earlier, preserves evidence that contributes to the reconstruction of metal production processes and the identification of ore sources. Materials science analysis of fragments of two copper artefacts and two silver artifacts indicates variation in the production of individual metals. The copper artefacts were only cast, while the silver artefacts were also forged to varying degrees of sophistication. Lead isotope results obtained for the silver artefacts indicate that the ore source was most likely the Cerro de Pasco deposit, or one of several deposits. The presented results show that geochemical examination of chullpa artefacts can provide a lot of new data to determine the socio-economic and cultural connections of different cultures.