IBA analysis of some precolumbian gilded-copper samples

Abstract 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 Peru 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 4 He + and 12.0 MeV 12 C 3+ 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 16 O(d,p) 17 O, 16 O(d,α) 14 N and 12 C(d,p 0 ) 13 C reactions.