Pigmentos y pinturas de mineral de cobre en la región de Tarapacá, norte de Chile: Nuevos datos para una tecnología pigmentaria prehispánica

La explotacion de los recursos minerales de cobre en el norte de Chile implico la produccion de pigmentos azules y verdes identificados, hasta ahora, en pintura rupestre, en nodulos y en estado de polvo al interior de contenedores de cuero provenientes de distintos cementerios de la cuenca del rio Loa, region de Antofagasta, desierto de Atacama. En este articulo se presentan los primeros resultados de analisis fisico-quimicos de pintura verde aplicada sobre distintos soportes de cuero: mascaras, tocado y carcajes, de la region de Tarapaca, situada mas al norte. Comparados a nuestros resultados previos, estos nuevos analisis nos permiten ampliar la discusion relativa a la produccion e intercambio de estos pigmentos a base de minerales de cobre para periodos tardios en el norte de Chile. The extraction and use of copper ore in northern Chile enabled the production of blue and green pigments identified to date in rock paintings. These pigments have also been found as nodules and in powdered form inside leather pouches that were discovered in several cemeteries in the Loa River basin in the Antofagasta region of the Atacama Desert. This article presents the initial results of physical-chemical analyses performed on selected samples of green paint found further north, in the Tarapaca region. The paint had been applied to different supports made of animal hide, including masks, headdresses and quivers. When compared to our previous results, these new analyses allow us to expand the discussion of the production of these copper-ore based pigments during late periods in northern Chile and the interactions their presence implies.