Ancient Iron Ore Mine Discovered in Peruvian Andes

February 12th, 2008

An article by Kelly Hearn, appeared today in National Geographic News, reports about the descovery of a 2,000-year-old mine in the Peruvian Andes. This, according to archaeologists, offers proof that pre-Inca cultures mined hematite iron ore centuries before the Inca Empire. Hearn points out:

The discovery, reported by a U.S. archaeologist, was made in southern Peru in the region once inhabited by the ancient Nasca (often spelled “Nazca”) culture. The rare find adds to a slim body of evidence about New World mining practices, said Kevin J. Vaughn, an anthropologist at Purdue University who reported the find. The discovery sheds light specifically on how hematite was used by the Nasca, who flourished along the Pacific coast from about 100 B.C. to around A.D. 600. The culture is known for etching giant drawings in the Nasca desert [the Nazca Lines, ndr], as well as making textiles, designing irrigation systems, and creating colorful pottery adorned with images of plants, animals, and complex religious symbols. “Our hypothesis is that the Nasca people used the red-pigmented mineral primarily for ceramic paints,” Vaughn said.

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