Metallurgy in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica

[3] The latter two categories comprise the bulk of distinctly Mesoamerican artifacts, with metals playing a particularly important role in the sacred and symbolic cultural realms.

The earliest and most diverse finds of metal artifacts are from West Mexico stretching in a belt along the Pacific coast from Guerrero to Nayarit.

There is recent evidence that suggests that the Aztec civilization was a distinct locus of metallurgy,[6] though gold objects from this area had previously been attributed to the Mixtec.

[7] West Mexican smiths worked primarily in copper during the initial period, with some low-arsenic alloys, as well as occasional employment of silver and gold.

Lost-wax cast bells were introduced from lower Central America and Colombia during this phase, along with several classes of cold-worked ornaments and hand tools, such as needles and tweezers.

Excavated assemblages from the initial phase indicate that lost-wax cast bells also occupied a substantial portion of West Mexican artisans' efforts.

[12] Metallic colors, gold and silver, might have been connected with solar and lunar deities while bell sounds have been associated with fertility rituals and protection in warfare.