Tarascan Copper Smithing

Timeline

1. c. 600–1300Mining districts of western Michoacán · MichoacánTarascan craftsmen mastered extracting metal from copper oxide ores and adding arsenic to form alloys, relying mainly on hammer forging rather than lost-wax casting, producing goods of moderate hardness suited to tools and weapons.
2. 1421–1430Tzintzuntzan · Tarascan KingdomThe capital Tzintzuntzan had dedicated smelting and casting workshop districts, with rising output of copper axes and bells to equip the army and supply noble ceremonies; in border conflicts with the Aztecs, copper weapons were one element of Tarascan military advantage.
3. 1431–1530Tarascan Kingdom · MichoacánIn the mid-to-late 15th century the kingdom successfully resisted Aztec eastward expansion, and copper production maintained its independence; in the 1520s the Spanish used local metallurgical techniques to mine silver, and traditional copper forging gradually gave way to colonial metal industry.