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El Tesoro Quimbaya . ALICIA PEREA , ANA VERDE CASANOVA , and ANDRÉS GUTIÉRREZ USILLOS , editors. 2016. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) and Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte , Madrid . ix + 371 pp. [euro]45, $52.00 (paper), ISBN 978-84-00-10136-7 .
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Book Reviews
In this volume, Alicia Perea, Ana Verde Casanova, and Andrés Gutiérrez present the results of a three-year project (2010-2013) focused on a detailed study of the Quimbaya Treasure, an impressive assemblage of 135 precolumbian gold artifacts kept in the Museo de América in Madrid. These artifacts are part of a large group of pottery, textiles, gold, and lithic grave goods looted in 1890 from two Quimbaya burials in the Department of Quindío, Colombia; they were donated to the Kingdom of Spain by the Colombian Government in 1893.
The aim of the project was to produce a holistic archaeological and archaeometric study, considering both the history and materiality of the assemblage to contribute to our understanding of the society that produced it. The materials, among the finest examples of Quimbaya goldwork, were studied by an international team whose comprehensive work included technical, iconographic, and contextual aspects of the gold objects. Dating, bioanthropological studies, acoustic studies of musical instruments, and a broad discussion of the Quimbaya culture are also included in this volume.
The book, written in Spanish, comprises three sections divided into sixteen chapters, ending with a catalog of the assemblage and nicely illustrated with high-quality images. The first section is the main body of the book. It covers four different topics: a biography of the assemblage; manufacturing techniques; archaeological contexts and iconography; and analysis of the musical instruments. Missing in this section is a good map of the region with the places mentioned in the text.
The...