Andean tin bronze
Bronce al estaño andino
- Date
- c. 900 CE · confidence medium
- Place
- Tiwanaku, Ingavi, La Paz, Bolivia
- Credited to
- Tiwanaku; standardised by the Incas
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
An alloy of copper and Bolivian tin, harder than arsenical bronze, used for tools, architectural clamps and weapons. The Incas standardised it across their empire.
Lechtman (1997). Developed independently of Eurasian bronze.
What it led to
- cast bronze clamps in the ashlars of Tiwanaku
- Inca stonemasons' tools