Archaeologist mines discovery for history

Publication Date: 02/01/2008

An iron ore mine in the Andes Mountains is one Purdue archaeologist's gateway to human history.

Archaeology is the link to history before it was written down, said Kevin Vaughn, an assistant professor of anthropology. Vaughn and his team of archaeologists have been studying minerals from an iron ore mine called Mina Primavera, that they found in 2004, in Peru. The team's findings were published in December's "Journal of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society."

The team of archaeologists have been working for five years on the excavation of Mina Primavera, one of the few iron ore mines left intact. The mine is from the Nasca civilization, which existed from A.D. 1 to A.D. 750.

Vaughn, who has been researching in Peru for 10 years, has made discoveries in the past, but none compare to this find.

"You never know what you're going to find," he said.

As an anthropologist, Vaughn is interested in pottery and the materials used to make pots. The area around Mina Primavera holds some of the finest examples, he said. The iron ore mine serves as one answer to where the ancient civilization found sources of materials to construct pottery.

Studying the mine has changed previous views about how ancient civilizations extracted minerals from the earth, but finding Mina Primavera is not the complete answer.

"It's a piece of the puzzle," Vaughn said.

The revelation of Mina Primavera has lead the team of Peruvian archaeologists and Purdue students to explore how these materials were transported throughout the area in southern Peru.

Sarah Cross, a graduate student, is one of the members of the team. Since the find, researchers have been analyzing the collected materials to gain an understanding of the whole picture of the ancient civilization.

"It's not an answer," Cross said. "It's the beginning of a question."