by Mildred Boyd

      Compared to the riches of Peru, gold was relatively rare in meso-America and, though quills filled with gold dust were sometimes used as a medium of exchange and the glittering metal was called the "excrement of the gods", it was far less valued than jade or even plumes for personal adornment or ritual offerings. Nevertheless, when Fray Bartolome de las Casas first viewed the treasures Cortez had sent to Charles V, he judged them "So rich, and made with such artistry they seemed a dream and not fashioned by the hands of men."
     The goldsmiths who produced the cartwheel sized golden sun and the jewelry and figurines in the form of ducks, shrimp, monkeys and tiny bells were as skilled as any European artisan. They knew how to "marry" gold and silver, weld precious metals and plate copper with gold. They also worked exquisitely in repousse, inlay and filigree and were familiar with the sophisticated technique of lost-wax casting.
     The Mixtec artisans of the 15th and 16th centuries raised the craft to new heights. The tombs of Monte Alban have yielded many treasures, which, by happy accident, escaped being melted down to satisfy Spanish greed. Their artistic value far exceeds their intrinsic worth as mere gold.

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