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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 1 1 



by the prehistoric inliabitants of the Patzcuaro 

 Basin. However, most of it must have been 

 brought in from the south since no copper ores 

 are known from the basin, and the nearest deposits 

 at Nahuatzen and Acuitzio apparently were not 

 worth working. A few deposits of lead, tin, and 



English Taratean 



Metal Tiamu 



Gold Tiripeti 



Silver Tayacata 



Tin Itzi tayacata 



Lead Pacapeti itzi tayacata. 



Iron Pacapeti tiamu 



Copper Charapeti tiamu 



Certain rocks, earths and clays are the most 

 important mineral resources of the area, other 

 than the arable soils. An enormous amount of 

 vmshaped basalt rock has been used in fences, and, 

 to a lesser extent in house walls in the ranchos. 

 A few structures in the municipio (churches, 

 municipal palace, fountains, houses of the well- 

 to-do, sidewalks, tombstones, etc.) are constructed 

 in whole or in part of quarried stone. Most of 

 this cut stone is derived from local quarries or 

 canteras. The chief source is an andesitic outcrop 

 on the southern flank of Tzirate. However, 

 several closer quarries of andesite and andesitic 

 tuff have been worked in the past. Also, reddish 

 vesicular basalt and basaltic tuffs are quarried at 

 times for cut stones to be used in masonry, or in 

 crushed form as road metal. Most of the basaltic 

 material has come from the scarp of the Cerro 

 Huarapo and from pits and cuts in the Cerro 

 TucuruUo and the Cerro de la Muneca (CeiTO de 

 la Mina). The prehistoric grinding stones (me- 

 tates, manos, mortars, pestles) may have been 

 made from local basalts, but now the elaborated 

 stones are purchased in Morclia and Patzcuaro, 

 and locally from peddlers who bring their products 

 from the Pueblo de San Nicolas Obispo at the foot 

 of the Cerro del Aguila. In the local archeologic 

 sites are found idols, maces, hammers, picks, and 

 axes which are predominantly of basalt. Lami- 

 nated or slabby dike rocks provide some flagging, 

 and may have been used also for prehistoric hoes. 



Obsidian loiives, arrowheads, mirrors, and orna- 

 ments are found frequently over the municipio, 

 but all of the obsidian must have been brought in 



iron exist to the east and south, outside of the 

 Patzcuaro Basin. 



The Tarascans had a fair knowledge of metals 

 and metallurgy, including the art of gilding 

 copper. They recognized at least six metals for 

 which we have the following names: 



Meiicano SpanUh 



Tepuztli Metal. 



Cuztic teocuitlatl Oro. 



Iztac teocuitlatl, or Temetztli Plata. 



Amochitl Estaflo. 



Temetztli Plomo. 



Tliltic tepuztli Hierro. 



Chichiltic tepuztli Cobre. 



from such sources as Zinap6cuaro and Zinaparo. 

 The salt mentioned in the Relaci6n de MichoacS,n 

 probably came from Lake Cuitzeo (Arar6) or else 

 from Salinas in M6xico, Guerrero, and Jalisco. 

 Turguesas (turquoise) and charchuis (possibly 

 jadeite) are mentioned in the Relaci6n de Michoa- 

 can, and ornaments of jadeite, turquoise, and ser- 

 pentine are found archeologicaUy in and around 

 Quiroga. However, there are no known deposits 

 of these minerals in the Patzcuaro Basin. The 

 most probable sources are in the Ucareo-Mara- 

 vatlo area and in the Balsas Basin. Various forms 

 of quartz occur in the local lavas, but probably 

 aU of the flints, jaspers, agates, and opals found 

 archeologicaUy or mentioned in the literature for 

 the Patzcuaro Basin were brought in from Mara- 

 vatio, Guanajuato, and Quer6taro. The chief 

 source of sulfur, since before the Conquest, has 

 been the Ciudad Hidalgo-Volcan San Andr6s area. 

 Lime is now obtained chiefly from merchants in 

 MoreUa and Patzcuaro. Small quantities are 

 produced in the municipio of Acuitzio. Some 70 

 years ago a deposit of niter or saltpeter (potassium 

 nitrate, KNO3) somewhere on Tzirate was re- 

 portedly worked for use in fireworks. We were 

 unable to locate this "mina de salitre de cohetes" 

 or "tierras impregnadas de sales nitrosas," which 

 probably was a thin crust or efflorescence on 

 the walls of some cave such as is known near 

 Jerecuaro in Guanajuato. 



All of the above-mentioned rocks and muierals 

 are Itnown locally by one or more names (Spanish, 

 Tarascan, Mexicano). Among the more important 

 terms are: 



