The strange case of the earliest silver extraction by European colonists in the New World

A. M. Thibodeau; D. J. Killick; J. Ruiz; J. T. Chesley; K. Deagan; J. M. Cruxent; W. Lyman

doi:10.1073/pnas.0607297104

The strange case of the earliest silver extraction by European colonists in the New World

A. M. Thibodeau, D. J. Killick, J. Ruiz, J. T. Chesley, K. Deagan, J. M. Cruxent, W. Lyman

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35 Scopus citations

Abstract

La Isabela, the first European town in the New World, was established in 1494 by the second expedition of Christopher Columbus but was abandoned by 1498. The main motive for settlement was to find and exploit deposits of precious metals. Archaeological evidence of silver extraction at La Isabela seemed to indicate that the expedition had located and tested deposits of silver-bearing lead ore in the Caribbean. Lead isotope analysis refutes this hypothesis but provides new evidence of the desperation of the inhabitants of La Isabela just before its abandonment.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	3663-3666
Number of pages	4
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	104
Issue number	9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0607297104
State	Published - Feb 27 2007

Keywords

Archaeological science
Historical metallurgy
La Isabela
Lead isotopes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General

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10.1073/pnas.0607297104

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AU - Ruiz, J.

AU - Chesley, J. T.

AU - Deagan, K.

AU - Cruxent, J. M.

AU - Lyman, W.

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AB - La Isabela, the first European town in the New World, was established in 1494 by the second expedition of Christopher Columbus but was abandoned by 1498. The main motive for settlement was to find and exploit deposits of precious metals. Archaeological evidence of silver extraction at La Isabela seemed to indicate that the expedition had located and tested deposits of silver-bearing lead ore in the Caribbean. Lead isotope analysis refutes this hypothesis but provides new evidence of the desperation of the inhabitants of La Isabela just before its abandonment.

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KW - Historical metallurgy

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KW - Lead isotopes

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The strange case of the earliest silver extraction by European colonists in the New World

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