Moche gilding by chemistry: gold plated onto copper from solution (Loma Negra, northern Peru; study 1982)

SUMMARYMoche gilding by chemistry: gold plated onto copper from solution (Loma Negra, northern Peru; study 1982) [Connections: Tech of the Americas, Nov 5, 2026]

RECORDHeather Lechtman, Antonieta Erlij and Edward J. Barry Jr. (Society for American Archaeology, 1982) describe an "electrochemical replacement plating process in which gold and silver are dissolved in an aqueous solution of corrosive minerals," after which "The precious metals are then plated from solution onto the copper objects." The objects were found at Loma Negra in 1969; the lab work ran 1976–1978

PATTERNThis is wet chemistry, dissolving gold and plating it, not just hammering

LENS (WW9)Our ancestors ran chemistry labs with minerals and water

OPENJournal volume and date range for the Moche objects (not on the fetched page). Whether an electric current was involved is not stated in the abstract; do not claim "ancient batteries."

SOURCELechtman, Erlij & Barry 1982, American Antiquity, abstract.