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Battle axe blade

The interesting thing about this axe blade is the material used: copper. There is evidence of mining in the Andean region since at least the fourth century AD. Usually the desired material - mostly gold - was collected near the surface of the earth or washed from the rivers. Copper was extracted by mining, but the galleries driven into the earth were not very deep. The ore was smelted in tower-shaped furnaces, the huayrachina. The Inca Empire operated several major mining centres, including one in northern Chile, where copper was mined. Today Chuquicamata in the north of Chile is the largest copper mine in the world.

Data Provider
Linden-Museum Stuttgart Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Cultural attribution
Inka-Kultur
Object type
Beil
Dimensions
Length: 8.6 cm
Width: 7.3 cm
Material/Technique
Copper moulded
Current location
Linden-Museum Stuttgart
Inventory number
M 32673

Provenance and sources

  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    Hagmann; 3668
  • Production
    when
    15th - 16th century AD.
  • Change of physical control or legal title
    where
    Peru
Provenance
There is no confirmed provenance for this object.

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED
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