The process of studying heavy metal concentrations in lake sediments in order to reconstruct pollution history has been used in a variety of environments and locations. Laguna Pacucha is one in a series of metal pollution studies from Peru and Bolivia, an area with a rich history of metallurgy. Laguna Pacucha lies in the Andahuaylas region of Peru, 145 km west of Cuzco, the Inca capital, and 20 km west of Curamba, a presumed ancient smelting site. The sediment record of Laguna Pacucha reveals a metal record that dates beyond 1225 AD. A major density change ~1225 AD, concurrent with a known period of drought, inhibits the possibility of a reliable age model below this point. Increases in Zn, As, and Cu after ~1225 AD could be indicative of local copper smelting, which supports separate evidence of the Curamba archeological site (near Laguna Pacucha) as a potential copper smelting site. These concentrations drop around the time of the Spanish conquest, and then the concentrations of a number of different metals increase after ~1600 and decrease by ~1850 AD, which could indicate smelting, but more likely indicates a change in land use. Our results provide a complex record of a changing Andean environment, and indicate a need for further study in the Andahuaylas region.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-04202011-163303 |
| Date | 03 June 2011 |
| Creators | Kane, Molly Mae |
| Contributors | Mark Abbott, Colin Cooke, Mark Collins, Charles Jones |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04202011-163303/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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