Show beeping U P cien e n science service service icador indians ere skillful in idling P platinum latin tull py ily 1 EMILY 0 DAVIS bavis one prehistoric bew r york mastered the difficult ale elal tal platinum and they indians of northern ore e lador cuador they were part ot of great golden incan em CM although last to be ab abed 3 ed into the best indian machine before conquest ended its a zing izing progress ancients ot of ecuador made bese ese num bum jewelry apparently they the only ones to use this metal nen tally until recent times made rings and tools of tt it costly they plated gold with it fam m dangling shiny plate platelets ets to 0 6 i the light ite extraordinary point though at they could blend the soft burn imn with other metal tc to make ader der alloy it took our civilize about a century to master that blem em we force the platinum melt ailt by inte intense nse heat only pos with modern technical apall el AHOY luy of platinum and gold at t ind indians I 1 ans actually achieved a urn alloy was discovered by paul aul bergsjoe Berg soe vice president of danish anesh association s s 0 c lation tor for metal ca al re research r c h lie ile found a clue M ne e halt finished work aban A avor ve r 4 0 years ago he deit es compels modern science bave e new respect tor for indian met gy rhe indian method was to mix binum tinum im grains with gold dust and I 1 until tit the gold ran and plated a rt I 1 grains th then an they tead it anjum further t u tri lher by blowpipe until ad and nd platinum mingled enough r m n a pasty a t y mass that could bo be ered when hot so by alter ute 1 forging or ging and heating theydon they con lan e a an alloy not up to modern es aut good enough for modern metallurgists to think it was pure iati num im chemical analysis re baled the artificial blend the indians apparently took their ecret to the grave had treasure g spaniards observed the technique we says dr bergstoe Berg soe soc the tory of at platinum in europe might ave taken aken a different turn |