| Show Keeping Up UpA len A k O C Science Service tj Service Ecuador Indians Were Skillful ul in iii Handling I Plat Platinum By Ily EMILY C C. C DAVIS nAVIS New Y York or one One prehistoric I people mastered the difficult metal platinum and they were Indians of northern Ecuador They were part of the great golden Incan mean empire em cm- pire although last to be absorbed absorbed ab ab- ab into the best Indian political machine before Spanish conquest ended its amazing progress These ancients of ot Ecuador made platinum Jewelry Apparently they were the only ones to use this metal ornamentally until recent times They made rings and tools of it but mostly they plated gold with it to form torm dangling shiny platelets to catch the light The extraordinary point though Is that they could blend the soft platinum with other metal to make a harder alloy It took our civilization civilization civilization tion about a century to master that problem We force the platinum to melt by intense heat only possible possible possible pos pos- sible with modern technical ances Alloy of Platinum and anti Gold That Indians actually achieved a platinum alloy was discovered by Dr Paul vice president of the Danish Association for Metallurgical Metallurgical Metal Metal- Research He lIe found a clue in some half finished work abandoned abandoned aban aban- over years ago lie He declares declares de de- de- de clares dares it compels modern science to have new respect for Indian met The Indian method was to mix platinum grains with gold dust and heat it until the gold ran and plated the platinum grains Then they heated it further by blowpipe until gold and platinum mingled enough to form torm a pasty mass that could be I hammered when hot So by alternately alternately alter alter- forging and heating they contrived contrived contrived con con- an alloy not alloy not up to modern ones but good enough for tor modern metallurgists to think it was pure platinum Chemical analysis revealed revealed revealed re re- the artificial blend The Indians apparently took their secret to the grave Had treasure treasure- I hunting Spaniards observed the technique says Dr the story of platinum In Europe might have taken a different turn |
