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Science 10 February 1984:
Vol. 223. no. 4636, pp. 585 - 586
DOI: 10.1126/science.223.4636.585
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Articles

Bismuth Bronze from Machu Picchu, Peru

ROBERT B. GORDON 1 and JOHN W. RUTLEDGE 1

1 Kline Geology Laboratory, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511

The decorative bronze handle of a tumi excavated at the Inca city of Machu Picchu, Peru, contains 18 percent bismuth and appears to be the first known example of the use of bismuth with tin to make bronze. The alloy is not embrittled by the bismuth because the bismuth-rich constituent does not penetrate the grain boundaries of the matrix phase. The use of bismuth facilitates the duplex casting process by which the tumi was made and forms an alloy of unusual color.

Submitted on October 27, 1983
Accepted on December 15, 1983

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)