THE 



AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE 



[FOURTH SERIES.] 



Akt. XLI. — A Metallographic Description of Some Ancient 

 Peruvian Bronzes from Machu Picchu; by C. H. Mathew- 

 son. 



[Contribution from the Hammond Laboratory of the Sheffield Scientific 

 School, Yale University.] 



Introduction. 



I am indebted to Professor Hiram Bingham for an oppor- 

 tunity to examine the ancient Peruvian bronzes collected at 

 Machu Picchu by the National Geographic Society-Tale Uni- 

 versity Peruvian Expedition of 1912 (1).* The structures 

 exhibited by objects of this character are of interest not only 

 to metallographists but also in archaeological circles, inasmuch 

 as certain definite facts concerning the methods used in shaping 

 the objects can be learned from the structural examination. 

 Such work, however, necessitates some mutilation of the speci- 

 mens, which doubtless accounts for the scarcity of metallo- 

 graphic work devoted to rare objects. Collectors frequently 

 submit their specimens for chemical analysis, since this merely 

 involves the preparation of a small sample by drilling, while 

 the scope of the forthcoming information is known in advance 

 and the undertaking can be intelligently provided for. Metal- 

 lographic examination, on the other hand, may yield much or 

 little information and generally necessitates subsequent restora- 

 tion of the object. 



As to the character of the information likely to be obtained 

 by the use of metallographic methods, the following general 



* For references here and on later pages, see the Bibliography at the 

 end of this article. 



Am. Jour. Sci. — Fourth Series, Vol. XL, No. 240 — December, 1915. 

 36 



