Lecture by María Florencia Becerra
Research on beads and crushed copper minerals in pre-Columbian, Northwestern Argentina
Green and blue minerals and rocks played significant roles in multiple dimensions of pre-Columbian Andean societies. Their extraction and circulation shaped human–environment interactions in the region since ancient times. Among these minerals, copper held a particularly important place due to its role in metallurgical and mining traditions. Yet, despite its significance, many aspects of its use remain poorly understood—especially which minerals were selected and worked for lapidary purposes.
This presentation synthesizes research carried out to date in the Southern Andes, focusing on several case studies from different sites and contexts in pre-Columbian Northwestern Argentina, particularly during the Late and Inka Periods (10th–16th centuries). Part of this research has been developed in collaboration with the Archaeometallurgy and Materials Science departments of the Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum.
María Florencia Becerra, Forscherin am Nationalen Wissenschaftlichen und Technischen Forschungsrat (CONICET), Argentinien, wird im Januar 2026 im Rahmen eines Humboldt Linkage-Projekts Bochum besuchen und zwei Vorlesungen und einen Workshop zu Andenarchäologie und präkolumbianischem Bergbau und Metallurgie anbieten.
Anmeldung und weitere Informationen unter hier: reform.ressourcencampus-bochum.de/humboldt-fellow-visitor-maria-florencia-becerra/