TITLE:
Pre-Columbian Gold Assay Spoons from El Brujo, Perú
AUTHORS:
William E. Brooks
KEYWORDS:
Horn Spoon, Alluvial Gold, Assay, Moche
JOURNAL NAME:
Archaeological Discovery,
Vol.5 No.2,
April
30,
2017
ABSTRACT: A horn spoon is a modern gold prospector’s field assay tool that is used to determine the amount of gold in an alluvial or crushed gold ore sample. The modern horn spoon is ～16 cm long, concave, flared at one end, and is made from a black ox-horn. The rough, black interior of the horn spoon holds and shows the gold “colors” or chispitas. Four Pre-Columbian ceramic spoons recovered from the El Brujo archaeological site in northern Perú are similar in length, concave form, flared lip, and most importantly, have post-firing, black-painted interiors. The similarities in size, form, shape and especially the interior color indicate that these ceramic spoons are consistent with use as ancient gold assay tools.