Coal and cremation in ancient Peru

After my visit to the adobe-walled archaeological site of Chan Chan, near Trujillo in northern Peru in the summer of 2000 (Geotimes, August 2003), my guide asked if I would like to see the metallurgical furnaces used by the Chimú, ancient residents and master metalsmiths of the region. Chan Chan was the capital of the Chimú Empire (A.D. 1100-1400) and the largest pre-Columbian city in the Americas. These furnaces, my guide explained, were where Andean gold, silver and copper ores were smelted and fabricated into jewelry, masks and plates sought by the Spaniards. We left the main part of the complex, followed a dusty trail, and arrived at a site marked by fresh-looking, redbrown, clinker-like debris.