Ancient Iron Ore Mine is Found in Peru

A Purdue University archaeologist has discovered an intact ancient iron ore mine in South America, suggesting pre-Incan civilizations were mining the ore.

Purdue Assistant Professor Kevin Vaughn, who studies the Nasca civilization that existed from A.D. 1 to A.D. 750, said the newly discovered mine is the only hematite mine recorded in South America prior to the Spanish conquest. Hematite is a type of iron also known as ochre.

Vaughn said the discovery of the 2,000-year-old mine in the Ingenio Valley of the Andes Mountains in southern Peru demonstrates iron ores were important to ancient Andean civilizations.

Vaughn hypothesized the Nasca people used the red-pigmented mineral primarily for ceramic paints but might also have used it as a body or textiles paint or to paint adobe walls.

The research was published in the December issue of the Journal of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society.