Date/Time
Date(s) - 05/11/2017
5:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Location
Berkleigh Country Club
DATE: Thursday, May 11, 2017
LOCATION: Berkleigh Golf Club
TIME: Registration – 5:30 – 6:30 P.M.
Dinner – 6:30 P.M.
Presentation – 7:30 P.M.
MEAL CHOICES: Broiled Crabcake
Pork Tenderloin wrapped with bacon with a rosemary maple sauce
Stuffed Peppers (Vegetarian)
COST: Students/Retirees $20
Members/Guests $25
SPEAKER: Professor Mike Notis
TOPIC: Pre-Columbian Metals and Casting Technology
DEADLINE: Tuesday, May 9th
ABSTRACT AND BIO:
Composition, Microstructure and Casting Technology of Moche Pre-Columbian Arsenical Bronze Objects
Michael Notis, Laura Moyer and Arlan Benscoter
A group of Pre-Columbian Moche cast arsenical bronze objects were investigated with focus on three main areas: alloy composition; microstructure and corrosion effects; and the casting technology. These complex artifacts often have thin connective linkages between major segments, a situation that would be very difficult to cast in one piece. In order to determine the nature of the casting process, some of the artifacts were cross-sectioned and mounted in their entirety allowing for complete micro-structural and micro-chemical analysis. In addition, in some cases, gigapixel x-ray spectrum imaging was undertaken to explore the alloy composition and the solidification process across the entire sample. The variation in alloy composition and the microstructure study were used to better understand the technological capability of these ancient metal casters.
Professor Michael Notis graduated with B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Lehigh University. He was a Product Engineer with A.T.T.-Westem Electric Co. in Allentown, PA from 1960 to 1969, where he participated in the manufacture of the first commercial and military integrated circuits. He joined the faculty of the Materials Science and Engineering Department in 1969. He retired in 2005, just a few years after starting the Archaeometallurgy Lab at Lehigh. He now does research in this area related to Roman and Tyrian silver coins, Judean maceheads, Japanese swords, Islamic Astrolabes, marine corrosion of Roman bronze, 19th century welded iron sculpture, ancient Chinese Bronze casting, and Pre-Columbian copper casting.