IBA analysis of some precolumbian gilded-copper samples

The elemental composition and depth profiles obtained by IBA techniques on some gilded-copper fragments from the Moche site of Loma Negra, in the Piura Valley, on the Northern Coast of Perú are presented in this article. A previous radiocarbon dating of a wooden fragment indicated that Loma Negra was occupied around 295 AD. A PIXE analysis using a 2.6 MeV external proton beam, was used to obtain the concentration of trace elements in the samples. RBS analyses using 2.72 MeV ⁴He⁺ and 12.0 MeV ¹²C³⁺ were used to obtain the Au, Ag, Cu atomic profiles. NRA with a 1.02 MeV deuteron beam was used to measure the oxygen and carbon concentrations through the ¹⁶O(d,p) ¹⁷O, ¹⁶O(d,α) ¹⁴N and ¹²C(d,p₀) ¹³C reactions.