SOUTHERN
CONNECTICUT CHAPTER William Michels
ASM INTERNATIONAL
203-356-5729
MEETING NOTICE
|
The Southern Connecticut Chapter of ASM International will hold its January technical and Spouses Night dinner meeting Thursday, January 22, 2004. The metallurgy developed by Andean peoples followed its own distinctive path, quite different from any in the Old World, with its use of gold before copper, emphasis on fashioning artifacts from thin sheet, and the technique of depletion gilding. The Inca, in the culmination of Andean pre-Columbian metallurgy, assembled artisans from their empire stretching through present-day Ecuador to Bolivia, to produce decorative, ceremonial and utilitarian metal goods. Beginning in mid-fifteenth century, they built Machu Picchu as a sort of “Camp David” for their ruling elite. The 1912 Bingham expedition sent 165 metal artifacts from Machu Picchu to the Peabody Museum for study. (Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas) Metallographic examination of these artifacts reveals the use of sophisticated last-wax casting, alloying and mechanical working to achieve desired physical properties, and extensive use of depletion silvering. The recent discovery of the metallurgical workshop at Machu Picchu has revealed the stone hammers and anvils used by the Inca artificers to shape their products. The accumulating evidence from Machu Picchu shows us both the remarkable accomplishments and limitations of pre-Columbian metallurgy in South America. |
DATE: Thursday, January 22, 2004
TIME: Social: 5:30 PM; Dinner ($25: Students $10): 6:30 PM; Presentation: 7:30 PM.
PLACE: Rapp's Paradise Inn, 557 Wakelee Avenue (Exit 19 off Route 8),
Ansonia, CT
TOPIC: "The
Artificers of
SPEAKER:
Robert
Gordon, Yale University
Robert Gordon studied metallurgy at Yale, served on the faculty of Columbia
University, and is now professor with the department of Geology and Geophysics
and the Council on Archaeological Studies at Yale. He is the author of eight
books and over 130 research papers. His current research is in industrial
ecology and archaeometallurgy.
RESERVATIONS:
Analytical Consulting Tech., Inc., Waterbury, CT:(203)
757-3960 Attention: Don or Jean
Members and Guests who are unable to join us for dinner are more than welcome to attend the technical presentation (free of charge).