FUEGOS SAGRADOS: EL TALLER METALúRGICO DEL SITIO 15 DE RINCóN CHICO (CATAMARCA, ARGENTINA)

several lab analyses conducted on andean metal objects contributed abundant and valuable data on features acquired by technology and the symbolic fabric in which it was embedded. research has been less abundant on the contexts of metallurgical production that offered direct evidence about the methods used to transform materials and the social role of the producers. the article reviews the metallurgical workshop of the rincón chico 15 site (yocavil valley in northwest argentina), with some focus on the techniques developed there and their possible symbolic content. it proposes that the way in which the ancient metalworkers planned their operations, the persistency of some procedures, and certain innovations they introduced were related to the dynamics of an increasing social complexity of which the workshop itself was part, as well as to the particular interests of the artisans in that process.