Tupu (pin) 1400–1533 Inca This metal object is a pin typically referred to as a tupu (also spelled “topo” or “topu”), a Quechua term (“pithu” in Aymara). It is made of copper or an alloy of copper given the green patina on some of the surface. This patina is a product of natural corrosion. Tupus consist of two parts: the head (“cuerpo” or “cabeza” to use the Spanish terms of Fernández 2015, 10) and the stem (“alfiler” or “espiga”). The head of this particular tupu is semi-circular, its lower edges pointing slightly downward. In profile, the head is especially thin. There is a circular per
Tupu (pin) 1400–1533 Inca This metal object is a pin typically referred to as a tupu (also spelled “topo” or “topu”), a Quechua term (“pithu” in Aymara). It is made of copper or an alloy of copper given the green patina on some of the surface. This patina is a product of natural corrosion. Tupus consist of two parts: the head (“cuerpo” or “cabeza” to use the Spanish terms of Fernández 2015, 10) and the stem (“alfiler” or “espiga”). The head of this particular tupu is semi-circular, its lower edges pointing slightly downward. In profile, the head is especially thin. There is a circular perforation at the center of the head, in the lower half. Significantly thicker than the head of the tupu, its stem is broad near the top and then narrows to its end point. The stem features a circular cross section. Besides natural corrosion, the surface shows encrusted soil and pitting. The edges of the head are relatively rough, especially along the top. To make this object, metalworkers would have cast the metal likely by creating a refractory ceramic mold, shaping clay to create a cavity in the basic form of the tupu. In the process of casting, the metalworkers filled this space with molten metal. After the metal solidified, the workers then removed the refractory material from the cast metal object. Further shaping of the tupu would have been accomplished by chiseling, especially around the edges of the head, with hammering and annealing to thin the head region and to shape the stem.[1] There does not appear to have been major hammering in the head region because the porosity that resulted from the casting is still prevalent on both sides. To make the perforation in the head, metalworkers likely chiseled out the metal in this region after casting.[2]Tupus of this form have been documented from the highlands of Ecuador to North Central Chile and Northwest Argentina, based on a sample of 89 such tupus (Burger and Salazar 2012, fig. ). The lac
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