At 6000 years old, this copper amulet is the earliest lost-wax cast object known. Now, researchers have finally discovered how it was made, using a novel UV-visible photoluminescence spectral imaging approach.
All the parameters of elaboration process, such as the purity of the copper, and melting and solidification temperatures, are now accurately known. This work has enabled the scientists to solve the mystery of the invention of lost-wax casting, a technique that led to art foundry. Resulting from a collaboration between researchers from the CNRS, the French Ministry of Culture and Communication and the SOLEIL synchrotron, the work is published on 15 november 2016 in the journal Nature Communications.
Figure 1 : Photographic view of the archaelogic site MR2 at Mehrgarh, occupied between 4 500 and 3 600 before J.-C., where the amulet was found. © Cliché C. Jarrige, Mission archéologique de l’Indus
