Metal production in the prehistoric Andes entailed an array of political, economic, and ritual relationships that are increasingly the focus of archaeological investigation. One theme directing recent research is the link between metallurgy and political organization, including the origins of metal production, its relationship to sociopolitical complexity, and how shifts in the organization of metal production reflect and shape diachronic political transformations. A second theme is the use of metals to identify and interrogate interregional connections. Patterns in the circulation of different alloys and metal isotopes, as well as the transfer of technology, provide insight into the shifting constellations of economic and political connections maintained by prehispanic Andean populations. A final theme is ritual and meaning in Andean metallurgy, where I explore how the stages of mining, extractive metallurgy, and the production of metal objects added multivalent layers of meaning and value to metal artifacts. Operating in distinct ways across time and space, metallurgy in the ancient Andes could stimulate political complexity, drive geopolitical expansion and the integration of new subject populations, differentiate individuals and groups, connect people to one another and to the landscape, and harness the power of the numinous.

中文翻译：

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从史前安第斯冶金学中提取见解：政治组织，区域间联系和礼节意义

史前安第斯山脉的金属生产需要一系列政治，经济和仪式关系，这些关系越来越成为考古研究的重点。指导近期研究的主题之一是冶金与政治组织之间的联系，包括金属生产的起源，金属与社会政治复杂性的关系以及金属生产组织的变化如何反映和塑造历时性的政治转变。第二个主题是使用金属来识别和询问区域间连接。不同合金和金属同位素的流通模式以及技术转让，为洞悉西班牙前安第斯人口所维持的不断变化的经济和政治联系提供了见识。最后一个主题是安第斯冶金学中的仪式和意义，在这里，我探讨了采矿，提取冶金和金属物体的生产阶段如何为金属制品增加了意义和价值的多价层。在安第斯山脉古代，冶金以不同的方式跨越时空运作，可能会刺激政治复杂性，推动地缘政治扩张和新的主题人群的融合，使个人和群体脱颖而出，使人们彼此之间以及与景观联系起来，并利用无数。