International cooperation researches pre-Columbian metallurgy and ore deposits in Costa Rica

An international research team led by Prof. Dr. Sabine Klein (Ruhr University Bochum/German Mining Museum Bochum) and Prof. Dr. Andreas Schäfer (University of Bamberg) is currently investigating the origins of metallurgy in pre-Columbian Costa Rica. The aim of the transdisciplinary project is to trace the metallurgical process chain from ores to metal objects.

Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the project combines geoscientific, archaeological, and geochemical methods to reconstruct the metallurgical techniques and raw material sources of the pre-Columbian era. The investigations include fieldwork in the gold and copper mining areas of the Tilarán and Talamanca mountains as well as laboratory analyses at the German Mining Museum in Bochum.

Alongside project leaders Prof. Klein and Prof. Schäfer, Dr. Katrin Westner (German Mining Museum Bochum) and Prof. Annika Dziggel (RUB) are also involved in the project. Collaboration with Costa Rican geologist Dr. Guillermo Alvarado (University of Costa Rica) is a central element of the research project. 

The Bochum team's expertise lies in particular in the geochemical analysis of ores and artifacts, which can be used to draw conclusions about trade routes, workshops, and technological decisions. The project thus makes an important contribution to interdisciplinary research into early metal production in Central America.

The project also resulted in a master's thesis at the Institute of Geosciences at RUB: Mathias Abagna investigated the placer gold deposits in southern Costa Rica, which were probably already in use in pre-Columbian times, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Annika Dziggel and Dr. Katrin Westner. The title of the thesis is “Reconstructing the possible origin of fossil placer gold mineralizations at the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.”

The project was mentioned in the international GOAL-DAAD network (Geo-Network of Latin American–German Alumni) and strengthens scientific exchange between Germany and Central America. 

_{Vereinfachte geologische Karte Costa Ricas mit den verschiedenen Typen gold- und kupferführender Lagerstätten und bedeutenden archäologischen Fundstätten: 1 - Finca 4, 2 - El Géneral, 3 - Las Mercedes, 4 – Palo Campano, 5 – St. Elena}