SIFT DESK

SDRP Journal of Earth Sciences & Environmental Studies(ISSN: 2472-6397)

On the reddish, glittery mud the Inca used for perfecting
their stone masonry
DOI:10.25177/JESES.3.1.2 Research

Author: Helmut Tributsch December 2017

Received Date: 02nd Dec 2017

Copy rights: © This is an Open access article distributed under the
Accepted Date: 28th Dec 2017
terms of Creative Commons Attribution 4. 0 International License.
Published Date:30th Dec 2017

CORRESPONDENCE AUTHOR
Carinthia University for Applied Sciences, Bio-mimetics program, Europastrasse 4, 9524 Villach, Austria,
www.helmut-tributsch.it
Retired from: Free University Berlin, Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie, Pharmazie, Takustr. 3, 14195 Berlin,
Germany.
Email: helmut.tributsch@alice.it

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
There are no conflicts of interest for any of the authors.

ABSTRACT: additional hot sulphuric acid. Where the stone to

Due to its impressive appearance, Inca masonry, stone contact transmitted weight, pressure dissolu-
which mostly consists of volcanic, silica contain- tion in the acidic environment removed material,
ing rock material, has received much attention. A and silica precipitation regenerated material in
high level of understanding has consequently been cracks and pores elsewhere. It is attempted to re-
reached of the diverse working steps and tools ap- construct how the Inca builders applied the silica
plied. An exception is the reddish mud, “llancac gel technology for shaping stones, for polishing
alpa” in the quechua language, and the “gold”, and fitting them. The appearance of shiny and
mentioned by early chroniclers as mortar which glassy Inca stone junctions and interfaces is ex-
fitted the stones and later disappeared. Such tech- plained via solidification of in-situ generated or
niques were related to folklore and not taken seri- additionally added silica gel. Modern processes
ously. This study tries to understand them and the for conservation of stone monuments against envi-
question was asked: did Inca builders have access ronmental deterioration have independently devel-
to very acid mud? They did, and used the acid oped similar silica gel based technology.
mud from their mines, which generated sulphuric
acid through bacterial oxidation of pyrite (fools Key words: Inca masonr y; sur face tr eatment;
gold). It reaches an acidity of up to pH = 0.5, silicate dissolution; acid mine water; bacterial
which is 104 times more acid than humic acid leaching; stone restoration; pyrite
which is known to weather silica containing rocks
via silica gel to the clay mineral kaolin. This acid
mud allowed dissolving and softening the rock 1. INTRODUCTION
material superficially to a viscoelastic silica gel. 1. Inca Stone masonry
The process could be further enhanced more than Since its discovery by the Spanish conquerors the
tenfold by addition of (oxalic acid containing) masonry of royal Inca buildings, which frequently
plant sap, a skill suggested from popular tradition. is megalithic and with a fitting which is so exact,
In special cases moderate heating of crushed py- that a thin blade can seldom be inserted into a
rite in gaps between chiselled stones generated crack between adjacent stone blocks, has been

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staggering the imagination of visitors and scien- dressing and transporting stones was not very so-
tists. The Inca art of fitting stones is widely con- phisticated. Most jobs were carried out with stone
sidered one of the most astonishing technical es- hammers of quartzite and of different size and a
thetical accomplishments of stone workmanship lot of patience. On well dressed stones larger pit
which deserves the more attention, since iron tools scars are found in the interior of the faces and
were not known to the Inca civilization. Much of small ones towards the rim. According to experi-
the respect for the Inca culture stems from its im- mental studies the Inca occasionally also used pol-
pressive architecture and inducing respect was ap- ishing techniques. However they were not applied
parently also the motivation for developing this on the faces, but in the joints to improve the fit-
masonry technique. Since the conquest by the ting. Apparently flat stones were used in linear and
Spaniards the highly elaborated Inca stone mason- rotating movement using a slurry of water and soil
ry has generated admiration and stimulated many rich in clay. (Protzen & Nair, 1997, 2000). It has
attempts to understand the techniques, which had been suggested, that in new built walls the upper
been applied (e.g. (Cieza de León, 1553) stone faces were initially left uncut. New stones
(Garcilaso de la Vega, 1609) (Watkins,1990)). were then carved on their bedding face and one
Nevertheless, today many researchers concerned lateral faces. The shape of these faces were then
with ancient Peru agree in the opinion that there is cut out on the already set stone which was then fit
no secret formula beyond a primitive working into the generated concave depressions. The re-
technique based on stone tools for hammering, quired threedimensional contours were pounded
polishing with fine sand and an incredible amount out and adapted by hammering via many trials.
of patience and diligence (Mason,1979) Footprints of stones that once occupied the spot
(Thompson,1980) (Protzen,1986,1993). can be recognized on dismantled Inca walls (see
below).
When analysing the stonework done more in detail
it has to be considered that its nature and quality is However fitting a large stone into an irregular
highly variable. There exist polygonal masonry stone gap is nevertheless a major challenge and an
with smaller blocks, cyclopean polygonal masonry interesting technique has been suggested using
with large blocks, encased coursed and sedimen- templates (Andrea, 2002). Another explanation
tary coursed masonry. In the latter two cases the was, that the masons suspended the second boul-
stones are either not aligned or laid out in horizon- der on scaffolding next to the first one and traced
tal rows. Also the level of perfection may vary sig- the shape of the first onto it.
nificantly in dependence of the location and the
political and spiritual relevance of the buildings. Inca walls are typically inclined inwards by 3°-5°,
which makes them, together with their indented
Inca masonry of important monuments are well and interfacially matched stone pattern highly sta-
known for the perfect joining of differently shaped ble and earthquake resistant. Many stones show
stones. Polygonal stones have often convex, pillow pecks or percussion marks, coarser in the centre of
-like faces and sunken joints, with edge angles the face, finer at the rim and junction with the
typically in excess of 90°. The Inca builders seem neighbouring stone. They confirm the experimen-
to have enjoyed the effect of irregularity and the tally supported strategy of shaping stones by
play of shadow and light on their walls. But there pounding them with increasingly smaller hammer-
is also no doubt that such dovetailed stonewalls stones (Protzen, 1986, 1993).
much better resisted earthquakes.
It may be that the perfect fitting of uneven rock
Inca masonry is also famous for the manufacturing faces in selected places was not only aimed at
and transport of stone blocks of up to more than demonstrating superiority but also at securing lon-
100 tons. The Inca walls sometimes give the im- gevity in an earthquake prone territory. During a
pression that the stones have been handled with stronger earthquake the fitted stones are vibrating
unexplainable transport and rock softening tech- and dancing around, but most then find their origi-
niques, which already gave rise to unconventional nal place again because gravity favours their posi-
interpretations. However J. Protzen (Protzen, tion with perfectly matched interfaces. Similar in-
1986, 1993) made a careful experimental study dented stone masonry against earthquakes was al-
and came to the conclusion that the technology for so used by other civilizations, e.g. Egyptians

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(Gizeh), Greeks (Delphy), Iranians (Persepolis). By mostly relying on gravity and friction Inca builders
however accomplished an impressing technical standard.

Fig. 1. Machu Picchu has become a symbol of the auster ity, functionality and pr ecision of Inca masonr y and ar chitectur al
style. It is really cut and fitted into the mountain rocks and contrasted by the playful integration of agricultural areas and the sight
and sound of water streams, cascades and fountains (all photos in this paper are from the author)

Fig. 2. The Sacsayhuaman for tr ess near Cusco became a symbol of power , expr essed thr ough impr essive ar r angements of
huge fitted stone blocks. Polygonal stones show often convex faces and sunken joints providing attractive patterns in sunlight.

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The Inca builders used different rock materials. and Raqchi. The Diorites (magmatic origin),
The rock mineral quality, which the Inca worked which have also been used by Inca builders, are
for the fabrication of their walls varied from loca- largely equivalent with Andesite (volcanic origin),
tion to location depending on the availability of but were formed slower and show larger crystals.
suitable stone quarries. The softest stone used was The wall with the famous stone with 12 edges in
limestone (CaCO3). It was, for example applied Cusco belonging to the Palace of Inca Roqa was
for the foundations of the Sacsayhuaman fortress, constructed with Diorite.
but not for the impressing facades (fig. 2), which
were of andesite, igneous stones obtained from a Granite, as it was used in Machu Picchu (fig. 1),
quarry 35 km distant. Andesite, an in the region also contains mainly quartz and K-Feldspar
abundant and excellent volcanic rock was fre- (KAlSi3O8) with some additional minerals. Rhyo-
quently used by Inca builders. It contains 57-63% lite (porphyry) is the volcanic equivalent of granite
quartz (SiO2) besides of a mixture of Na- and Ca- and has smaller crystals. It has been mainly used
Feldspars (NaAlSi3O8, CaAl2Si2O8) and additional by Inca builders for the construction of Ollantay-
minerals. It was, for example also used in Cusco tambo (fig. 3) besides of Andesit and Diorite.

Fig. 3. Tightly fitted Rhyolite boulder s in Inca walls at Ollantaytambo, additionally showing a char acter istic
uneven surface shape. The process of cutting them from solid volcanic rock and shaping them to such perfection
with stone hammers and grinding movements, as presently explained, remains an admirable achievement.

Fig. 4. This wall fr om the Pisac r uins gives a good impr ession of the appar ent easiness and elegance, with
which Inca stone blocks appear to have been laid down. They seem to have been soft, adjusting and settling them-
selves to perfect fitting via their weight.

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Fig. 5. This dismantled wall fr om Pisac clear ly shows on the upper face of stones the ir r egular “impressions”
of the overlying stone blocks taken away. How were they produced?

All together it can be said that the rock minerals 1. 3. What did the early chroniclers say about
which the Inca builders used for their most promi- finishing stones?
nent walls were of magmatic and volcanic origin There are two early chroniclers of the Inca empire
and their composition is characterized by a high and its collapse, who gave comments on the way
content of feldspars and quartz. Inca builders worked and perfected their elaborate
masonry: Garcilaso de la Vega (1609) and Cieza
1. 2. Detailed observations on fitted stone blocks de Leon (1553). The first had a Spanish father, but
Many interesting details can be learned from stud- his mother was an Inca princess, a niece of Inca
ies of fitted stone blocks in Inca walls. First, it has ruler Huayna Capac. Though born illegitimate he
to be noted that when looking at the cross section enjoyed a very good education both in Quechua
of such a wall, often only the front (visible) stone and Spanish language and had on-going contact
junctions show a perfect fit. In the stonework with previously influential Inca personalities until
mostly the load-bearing faces are closely fitted emigrating to Spain at age 20. There he wrote his
throughout the surfaces. Vertical joints are typical- Inca history from memory, from Spanish docu-
ly fitted only to a depth of few centimetres. The mentation and correspondence with Peruvian con-
leftover space is filled with small stones. On the tacts. Cieza de Leon was a Spanish
rear side of the wall the fitting is in these cases not “conquistador”, who got involved in the wars
perfect and often accomplished via a filling materi- among Spaniards on the domination of Peru.
al. However there are also places, where the per- Though of modest education he became very inter-
fect fit extends into the inside and in some cases ested in history and turned out to be a quite relia-
all the way through to the opposite side (e.g. ble chronicler.
Sacsahuaman, Sacred plaza in Machu Pichu, Pisac
(fig.4)). In many other cases the joints are only on Both chroniclers admire Inca buildings and mason-
the rim of the stones but go all the way through on ry and the big effort developed to fabricate and
the bearing bottom face. Inside, the adjacent stones transport the stones. They confirm that they used
have nearly no contact. In well constructed walls, hard stone tools to chip and grind stones. The Jesu-
such as in Ollantaytambo, the imprint of the entire it priest Barnabè Cobo (1653) reports that the Inca
irregular upper face of the upper stone can be seen used obsidian working tools for dressing stones
matching the contour of the face of the lower and applied large construction teams for cutting
stone. Another Inca monument where this is ob- and grinding. In addition to these now well under-
served is Pisac (fig. 5). stood techniques Garcilaso de la Vega wrote in his

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6th book, chapter 1: “..they were of beautifully cut fined as a combustible mineral (see an explanation
masonry, and each stone was so perfectly fitted to further below).
its neighbours that there was no space for mortar.
It is true that mortar was used, and it was made of Summarizing the main information from both ear-
a reddish clay, which they call in their language ly chroniclers of the Inca empire: both confirm
“llàncac allpa”, sticky clay, which was made into a that a mortar or bitumen was used, described to be
paste. No trace of mortar remained between the reddish and sticky by Garsilaso de la Vega, and
stones, and the Spaniards therefore state they combustible (bitumen) by Cieza de Leon. In an-
worked without mortar..”. In book 7 he continues: other description, confirmed by both authors, gold
“..Many of them (the stones) are so closely set that (lead and silver) was poured in between stone
the seam is scarcely visible. To lodge them in this boulders in certain cases. Strangely nothing re-
way it would have been necessary to lift each mained visible in the joint between stone blocks.
stone and lower it many times, for they had no set- And Garsilaso de la Vega confirmed this. He said:
square or even a ruler to help them to put it in “No trace of mortar remained between the stones”.
place and see if it fitted. Neither did they know
how to make cranes or pulleys or any other device Informative is, last not least, also the Quechua
to help them raise and lower masonry, though the name for the reddish clay or bitumen used for fit-
pieces they handled are terrifyingly large..”. Later ting together the stones, and which left no trace:
he continued: “They did not indeed use mortar “llàncac allpa”. “Allpa” has the significance of a
made of sand and lime, for they were unacquaint- brittle earth or powder or a yellowish-gray clay. It
ed with lime. They did however employ a mortar is also the name for powdered garlic or crushed,
consisting of a paste of sticky reddish clay, which dried vegetable. “llàncac” means “of sticky prop-
was used to fill up gashes and pits caused in work- erties”, it describes something one would not like
ing the stones…”. (Garsilaso de la Vega describes to touch with the hands, because it interacts with
the colour of the mud with “colorado” and I trans- the skin.
late it with “reddish”. Other translators (e.g. Liver- 2. RESULTS
more, 1966) translate it with “red”. The real Span- 2. 1. Is there a need to invoke chemical treat-
ish word for red is however “rojo”. The expression ment of Inca masonry?
“colorado”, in fact means “coloured”, but shows In spite of the quite convincing reconstruction and
the tendency towards the colour red. In Spanish it experimental verification of Inca stone masonry
is used in context of “turning red”, “going red” or technology (Protzen et al., 1997, 2000), which
“blushing”, where a real “red” is not obtained. places claims of chemical treatments of the fitted
There is a convincing example: Spaniards named stones into the realm of folklore some open ques-
the Colorado river in the US after the colour of the tions remain:
table mountains around. Their colour is definitive-
ly not red but “reddish”). On numerous volcanic or magmatic, highly silica
containing Inca stones a glazed appearance of
Cieza de Leon writes: “ it is said to be certain that stone junctions and sometimes of entire stone sur-
in these buildings of (Ollantay)Tambo or others faces is visible, which suggests a special surface
which had that name, molten gold was found in- treatment. Sites where this is obvious on part of
stead of mortar in a certain area of the royal palace Inca stones are: inside the city of Cusco: the walls
or the son temple, with which, together with the of Koricancha and Loreto Street, Sacsayhuaman,
bitumen, which they apply, the stones remain fit- Kenko, Tetecaca, Templo de la Luna (or Amaru
ted to each other”, Garcilaso (6th book, chapter1) Machay), Tambo Machay, Puca Pucara, Pisac,
confirms this statement by Cieca de Leon and fur- Ollantaytambo, Chinchero, Machu Picchu, and
ther specifies the technique: “ In many of the royal Raqchi.
palaces and temples of the sun they poured in mol-
ten lead and silver and gold for mortar. Pedro de Fig. 6 shows such a glace appearance from the
Cieza also reports this and I am glad to adduce the Ollantaytambo site in the stone junctions of the
evidence of Spanish historians in support of what I wall of the 4 meters high, six standing monoliths
know”. In two occasions Cieza de Leon, when ex- within the unfinished Sun Temple, when looking
plaining Inca masonry, explicitly talks of a upside against the sky. Only the joints are highly
“bitumen” (Spanish betùn), which is clearly de- reflecting and seem to be vitrified. The surface of

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the monoliths and the connecting junction stones themselves appear only to be hammered. This sug-
gests that there was a special treatment of the joints and an intention behind.

Fig. 6. When looking up the near ly 4 m long stone joints between the standing stone blocks of the Wall of the
six Monoliths in Ollantaytambo one recognizes, that only these joints seem to have received a special treatment,
which is generating a high light reflection.

Fig. 7. These joints of stones fr om Inca walls in Cuzco clear ly show, that in their neighbour hood the sur face
properties of the stone material is different in colour and structural composition from the rest of the stone material.

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The reflection of light from some stone joints or stone surfaces is significant. Sometimes the apparent
layer even refracts and diffracts light what means that it is to some extent transparent for light. On
damaged stone surfaces occasionally a distinct layer with very smooth surface is also discernible (e.g.
in Sacsayhuaman). The Peruvian Alfredo Gamarra started to study this “vitrifications“ longer time
ago. An identification and cataloging of these intriguing stones has been carried on by Alfredo’s son
Jesus Gamarra. These efforts and questions around “vitrified” stone surfaces are discussed in (de Jong
and Jordan, 2012) where also the diffraction effects can be seen in a video of ‘the Inca Throne’ at
Sacsayhuaman. In this blog a valuable survey of different aspects of “vitrified” Inca stone surfaces is
given.

Fig. 8. In this stone junction fr om Sacsayhuaman (compar e fig. 2) par t of upper stone is missing and this gives
visual access to the surface of the original stone junction, which is much more elaborate and shiny, compared to the
rest of the stone surfaces, which were hammered or maybe also polished.

Fig. 9. Sulfide oxidizing bacter ia gr own in pyr ite mud, left: Leptospir illum fer r ooxidans together with Aci-
dothiobacillus caldus. Right: Leptospirillum ferrooxidans, within an organic, catalytically acting capsula, attached to
a pyrite interface. The dark spots are pyrite nanoparticles (determined by EDX), liberated from solid pyrite and in
the course of being oxidized for energy consumption (Rojas-Chapana & Tributsch, 2004)

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The preliminary conclusion from the present But what evidence for sulphide mining exists
study should therefore be that a partial and selec- from the Inca territory from pre-Spanish times?
tive chemical treatment of Inca stone joints and The Incas based their metallurgical activities on
surfaces appears to have occurred. What tech- experience dating back 2000 to 3000 years to pre-
niques were applied and did Inca masonry build- Inca civilizations (Lara Monge, 1906)(Lechtman,
ers have the materials and knowledge to do it? 1991). They concentrated their own mining inter-
ests on the exploitation of essentially four differ-
2.2.Strategy and guiding hypothesis: ent metals, gold, silver, copper and tin. However
knowledge transfer from mining industry they knew and used also lead or platinum. Most of
What chemistry would be needed for leaching and the mines were deposits of sulphides or associated
superficially softening the hard Inca stones of with sulphides. Inca miners could well distin-
mostly volcanic or magmatic origin? guish between gold and pyrite (fools gold). But
they did not know or use metallic iron (Keatinge,
It is well known that silica minerals, and specifi- 1988). Mining was a government activity and or-
cally Feldspars ((KAlSi3O8 – NaAlSi3O8 – dinary people had to offer their work as part of
CaAl2Si2O8), which originated from acid mag- their tribute obligation. They were organized for
mites such as Rhyolite or granite or crystallized work in mines in a similar way as for constructing
from magma, are slowly weathered by humic ac- masonry for sacral or administrative buildings. So
ids to kaolin (Chinese clay) (Huang and Keller, it could happen that workers with mining experi-
1970). One is dealing with a process of partial hy- ence ended up building masonry. This way the
drolysis forming alumosilicates, which consist of notion of the corroding effect of mine water on
submicroscopically small silicate crystals. Im- stones could have reached the construction sites
portant kaolin deposits were formed like that (e.g. for Inca buildings. While gold and silver was
in Central Europe: Germany, Czech Republic). mainly used for representation and rituals, bronze,
Humic acids may reach an acidity of pH 4.5. the alloy of copper and tin became increasingly
Their protons replace potassium ions in the sili- important for tools and weapons. In addition cop-
cate mineral structure, which weakens Si-O-Al per was also alloyed with gold. This way the min-
bonds liberating aluminium hydroxide and silicic ing technology for copper gained more and more
acid. The proton concentration is rate limiting for strategic relevance, so that numerous sulphide
this process. It is also known that certain com- mines were operating in the vast Inca dominated
plexing acids like salicylic and tartaric acids dis- territory. And sulphide mines produced acid mine
solve silicate minerals ten times faster than other water, especially when sulphur rich minerals (e.g.
acids. pyrite) were present. The process is basically acti-
The question to ask is: did Inca stone wall build- vated by autotrophic, acidophyllic, sulphide oxi-
ers have access to highly acid liquid or mud, so dizing bacteria, which are gaining their energy
that they could accelerate the weathering process from sulphide oxidation and are typically present
by orders of magnitude? in mine environments.

The investigation based on this question produced 2. 3. The pyrite mud and its properties
a positive answer: Pyrite is a quite stable mineral. But when crashed
pyrite (fools gold) crystals in moderately acidic
It is suggested here that, during their mining activ- solution are inoculated with sulphide oxidizing
ities Inca miners learned to know acid mine water, bacteria (e.g. Acidothiobazillus ferrooxidans, Lep-
arising from the oxidation of sulphur rich metal tospirillum ferrooxidans, Acidothiobacillus cal-
sulphides like FeS2, pyrite or fools gold. Acid dus, compare Fig. 9, left), these bacteria recognize
mine water is an unavoidable problem of environ- the sulphide as energy source and start oxidizing
mental pollution in sulphide containing mines, for it gaining energy for carbon dioxide fixation and
example in mines in which copper is produced multiplication. Within days the pH value of the
from copper sulphides in presence of iron sul- solution may drop to a value between pH = 0.5
phide. The aggressive leaching effect of acid mine and pH=1 while iron sulphate is formed and 3+
Jaro-
water on rocks and wooden equipment in mines is sites (e.g. KFe 3 (SO )
4 2 (OH)6 ) and Fe oxide-
readily visible in mine installations and well hydroxides (such as Goethite, Lepidocrocite (a-,g-
known to miners. FeOOH)) precipitated. The colour of Jarosite and

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Goethite is yellow-brown to brown, of Lepido- construction sites for Inca buildings. With a pH
crocite red (compare fig. 9). value as low as 0.5 the acid, and thus proton con-
centration in pyrite oxidation mud is 104 higher
The bacteria, using catalytic intermediates, are than the acid concentration in humic acid, which
extracting and using both, sulfide sulfur and Fe2+ is known to slowly degrade silica containing rocks
as chemical energy sources from pyrite. The over- such as Rhyolites or Feldspars via silica gel into
all reaction of bacterial pyrite oxidation is: Kaolin and clay. The question is now, in what
form, at what occasions and how was the acid
mud applied. There are several relevant questions:
the logistics of transport of the acid mud from the
(1) mines (or was it already produced locally?), the
possible addition of other substances to the pyrite
mud and its handling around the stones for condi-
From this formula it can be seen that acid is gener- tioning and optimizing their interfaces. Only spec-
ated while Fe3+ and sulfate are the final oxidation ulations can, at present time, be made on the first
products. Many details of the complicated interac- subject. Concerning the addition of other sub-
tion of sulfide oxidizing bacteria with pyrite stances to the pyrite mud there is an interesting
(fig.9, right) during this biological leaching pro- trace to be followed from popular tradition in the
cess have been published (Tributsch & Rojas- Andean highlands.
Chapana, 2000, 2006 )(Rojas-Chapana &
Tributsch,1999, 2000, 2004). Acid production is a 2. 4. The story of the Pito and his skill in soften-
side product of the bacteria`s strategy to harvest ing rocks with a herb
chemical energy from solid pyrite for carbon diox- Very old legends from Peru, collected by the
ide fixation at environmental temperatures. During priest Jorge Lira (e.g. Blázquez, 2003) tell that
that process crushed metal sulphide particles are gods once gave people two gifts of valuable herbs.
transformed into a reddish mud containing oxi- One was “a plant, which, mixed with other com-
dized metal complexes (fig. 10). ponents converted the hardest rocks into a soft and
formable mass”. This gift was apparently commu-
Due to their mining activities of sulfide minerals, nicated via an Andean woodpecker, Colaptes rupi-
Inca miners knew acid mud since they were regu- cola, locally called Pito, a bird of the size of a pi-
larly confronted with it and saw its effect on geon, that uses to drill a nest hole into quite rocky
stones and structural installations in the mines. facades (but also into adobe walls). Doing that he
Since the Inca administration demanded work ser- is told to use a herb to soften the rock material.
vice in varying projects as part of people’s obliga- The Inca stone masons are said to have known the
tions, such information must also have reached the secret.

Fig. 10. Labor ator y made, bacter ially oxidized pyr ite (FeS 2) mud and mine water. As long as the not yet com-
pletely dissolved pyrite (fools gold) crystals are visible, they glitter like gold (left side of individual pictures). The
Quechua term “allpa” is a perfect word for describing such crushed metal sulphide particles. The describing word
“llàncac”, sticky, not pleasant for touching, may refer to the high sulphuric acid content. When dissolved a brown-
red mud is obtained (the colour depends on volume of solution and optical conditions, compare left and right). It can
well be described with “reddish”.

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Already the explorer Percy H. Fawcett (1867- containing juice for addition to acid pyrite mud for
1925) and Hiram Bingham (1875-1956), the re- treatment on Inca masonry. If this addition really
discoverer of Machu Piccu, learned from and re- happened during Inca time and was known to
ported the strange story of the Andean woodpecker some people, and since the hole drilling Andean
and his “rock softening” plant, which in folklore is woodpecker Pito, Colaptes rupicola, also was sus-
occasionally identified with a bush from the high pected to use the juice from a plant, this could
Andean vegetation, Ephedra andina or with a larg- have been the origin of the widespread myth of a
er flower, Ageratina (Eupatorium) cuzcoensis. Sci- stone softening plant. In fact, if it was applied, the
entific fact is that neither the skill of the Andean plant juice, with its oxalate content, just supported
woodpecker in using rock softening plant sap nor and enhanced the dissolution of silicate rock via
the rock softening ability of plant sap themselves acid pyrite mud by allowing oxalate to form chem-
could be confirmed. ical complexes.
But something may still be true in this legend, that 2. 5. Did Inca masonry workers apply heating?
“plant matter mixed to other components soften Cieza de Leòn two times mentioned the use of a
stones” because it is so deeply rooted in Andean “bitumen” for fitting Inca stones together. Bitumen
folklore. is a combustible mineral. And he mentioned that
“molten gold” was used together with it. Since real
And the possible explanation is simple. Witnesses gold was never found between fitted Inca stones
of Inca masonry work may have seen that crushed the “gold” of Cieza de Leòn was apparently “fools
plant material was added to the reddish clay, the gold”, pyrite, which has a very similar appearance,
acid pyrite mud (fig. 10), used for treating Inca and fits to the “reddish” acid pyrite mud, which is
stone surfaces. And there would have been a rea- in the centre of attention here. But a bitumen and
son for doing this: published experimental work “molten” material suggest a process involving heat
shows that silicate mineral dissolution works via a turnover. Did Inca masonry builders apply heat?
combined action of chemical complexation and
acid attack (Barman et al., 1992) and that organic Pyrite, FeS2, is indeed a fuel, and, when finely
complexation can significantly increase dissolu- grained subject to self-heating. Its temperature can
tion (Bennett & Casey, 1994). Below pH 5 disso- rise from 30 to 90 °C in three hours, 16 times fast-
lution of silica containing rocks itself increases er than with finely divided coal. The same amount
with decreasing pH value and thus increasing acid- of pyrite powder would rise the temperature three
ity. Organic complexing acids accelerate this pro- times as much compared to the same amount of
cess. When interacting with aluminosilicate miner- coal powder. Many accidental fires have been gen-
als organic acids can complex aluminium, and to a erated by finely divided pyrite (Bowes, 1952).
lesser degree silica. This decreases their chemical This is a well known fact in mining environments
activity. The result is an increase of dissolution and in Peru, for example, an always present prob-
rate independent of solubility constraints. Oxalate lem in heaps of the mine Cerro del Pasco. The rate
is especially active because it efficiently complex- of self-heating, of course, depends on the ability of
es aluminium and increases silicate dissolution by the system to release heat into the environment.
a factor of 15 for a concentration of 1 mM oxalate The process requires moisture and proceeds ac-
(Drever & Stillings, 1997)(Drever, 2005). Oxalate, cording to the following two subsequent reactions
(Burke & Downs, 1938):
, is a very frequently encountered chemical
agent in green plants. It is in fact, as calcium oxa-
late, distributed among all taxonomic levels of
photosynthetic organisms and the level of accumu- (2)
lation can be substantial (Franceschi & Nakata,
2005). Examples are spinach, buckwheat, parsley, followed by the reaction
beets, chart, poppy, beans, fat hen, or rhubarb, am-
aranth, beets, potatoes, tomatoes, cereal, celery,
chicory.
(3)
Many Andean plants could have provided oxalate

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 SIFT DESK

Thereby 340,2 kcal/Mole are liberated as heat. superficially soften and dissolve hard volcanic or
Oxidation occurs proportional to the pyrite surface magmatic rock material. Stone workers may have
exposed and, at moderate temperatures above am- also discovered that heating the acid mud and add-
bient temperature, its rate doubles with each 10 °C ing additional crashed pyrite could significantly
rise in temperature (Winmill, 1916). It drastically improve its ability to dissolve silicate rock.
increases further near 330°C, where real ignition
starts. In Inca stonework masonry the load-bearing faces
are closely fitted throughout the surfaces (fig. 5).
According to Cieza de Leòn it was obviously Vertical joints are typically fitted only to a depth
known to the Inca masonry workers that the mud of few centimetres. This may indicate that apply-
used was a bitumen, a combustible mineral. When ing load was an important strategy towards obtain-
gold was applied and seen together with the bitu- ing optimized interfaces.
men, the “gold” was apparently “fools gold”, larg-
er particles of pyrite. The fact that “molten” gold, An important phenomenon which Inca builders
lead and silver was mentioned by him and con- apparently empirically applied in their wall tech-
firmed by Garcilaso de la Vega also suggests that nology was “pressure dissolution” and “viscous
heat was involved in the process. There was steam compaction”. These phenomena were studied in
involved and this gave the impression that the ap- some detail in relation to geochemical and geolog-
plied material was heated. It simply makes sense. ical processes. Pressure dissolution concerns the
If, in special applications, crushed pyrite (in addi- dissolution of minerals into an aqueous pore fluid
tion to some other (accidentally contained) sul- at grain- to -grain contacts in presence of high
phide minerals) would have additionally been add- stress. Where pressure between grains builds up
ed to the reddish mud and sufficiently heated, self- the rock material cracks and degrades. It is com-
oxidation would have started and accelerated itself pacted because material is consequently dissolved
with increasing temperature. The result would and chemicals and particles are transported away
have been hot sulphuric acid (according to equa- to induce new material growth at stress free loca-
tions (2) and (3)). This would have definitively tions (Rutter, 1976,1983). The so-called Fowler-
supported and improved the silica gel forming ac- Yang equations give an adequate description of
tion of the reddish mud in the gaps between ham- this phenomenon (Fowler & Yang, 1999). This
mered stone blocks. Because of the comparatively phenomenon has also been studied with Biotite
small amounts of pyrite in the narrow stone gaps and Feldspar (Barnett & Kerrich, 1980) and with
in relation to the large volume of the adjacent quartz Arenites, which can serve as appropriate
stone blocks the heating effect of pyrite oxidation models for the highly quartz containing volcanic
on the volcanic or magmatic stone blocks will and magmatic stone material used in Inca walls.
have remained small, probably within 50 to 300 Pressure solution occurs at stressed individual
degrees. Only colour changes may be expected as grain contacts. Dissolved quartz then precipitates
a consequence within the stone junctions (iron on free adjacent grains. Pore fluid migrates and
containing rocks would be reddening, which could porosity is significantly reduced (Angevine &
explain the brown colouration in the stone joints Turcotte, 1983). This is exactly what one would
of fig. 7. left). Characteristic high temperature ef- expect to have happened, when looking at smooth,
fects and thermal shock (cracks, disintegration) shiny, “vitrified” interfaces or surfaces of Inca
should therefore typically not be seen on Inca stone blocks (Fig. 6, 8)
stone surfaces. An exception may be the Inca ru-
ins of Chinchero, which were burned down by the This gives an idea of one special technique, which
followers of Manco Capac II during war activities. could have been applied by Inca masonry work-
ers: Acid mud, possibly heated, could have been
2. 6. Application of acid pyrite mud technique placed between two building stones and the
during Inca time weight of the upper one would have gradually lev-
Stone workers in the Inca empire may have used elled the unevenness of the beforehand chiselled
plant material for transport and handling the and scraped interface and redistributed dissolved
chemically aggressive pyrite mud. This way they silicate particles for fresh crystallization. This
may have discovered that plant juice is signifi- would have helped modelling the shape of the
cantly increasing the ability of the pyrite mud to weight producing stone onto the lower one (Fig.
5). Such chemically attacked and “softened” sur-

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 SIFT DESK

faces with irregularly distributed gel-type surface lution and formation of superficial silica gel. In
layers could also have been treated and modelled addition the pyrite mud could have been heated or
subsequently with mechanical tools. A similar, oxalate containing plant sap could have been add-
but modified strategy could have been applied to ed. This could have increased solubility of silicate
vertical interfaces between stone blocks. rock material by another one to two orders of mag-
nitude. All together this suggests that a chemical
2. 7. Evidence for chemical treatment of Inca dissolution and transformation technique would
stone walls have been applicable and could provide the basis
It is obvious that in-situ archaeometric studies of for explaining the degree of perfection of stone
shiny, ”vitrified” layers on worked Inca stones work reached in part of Inca stone masonry. For
will be needed to further support the concept of confirming these ideas and for actually reaching a
the here given material technology. This will need high level of understanding experimental archaeo-
the cooperation with archaeological authorities. logical research will be nevertheless unavoidable.
Fortunately for the present study one experiment
has already been made and published (De Jong & It is important here to have again a look at the
Jordan, 2012): A small sample from the Peruvian comments given by the early chroniclers of the
Inca site called Tetecaca has been collected from a Inca civilization, which gave the impulse for this
limestone block showing a smooth overlayer. This study. The reddish clay, “llàncac allpa”, men-
smooth layer has been analized by the University tioned by Garcilaso de la Vega (1609), which was
of Utrecht, Holland. The surface layer, approxi- made into paste for application, however finally
mately 10 micrometer thick on top of the lime- disappeared, is well represented by the acid pyrite
stone (besides of Ca, C, and O showing only low mud shown in fig. 9. It has the right brown-
amounts of trace elements) showed high concen- reddish colour and macroscopic solid particles (the
trations of Si, Al and Mg. This indicates that a “allpa”) disappear with growing oxidation
special material layer on silica-basis has been su- (compare formula (1)). Garcilaso de la Vega also
perposed. explains its application. He speaks of a “paste of
sticky red clay, which was used to fill up gashes
If acid mud on the basis of bacterially or chemical- and pits caused in working the stones…”. This
ly oxidized FeS2 was used, iron, Fe, and sulphur, exactly describes how the acid pyrite mud should
S, from the final products, jarosite, [KFe33+[(OH)6| have been applied.
(SO4)2], and Fe3+ oxide-hydroxides should be de-
tected, even though most of these product could Also the observations of the informants of Cieza
have been washed out. In the mentioned element de Leon (1553) seem to make sense. By stating
analysis of a „vitrified“ layer on limestone these “besides of the commonly used bitumen in certain
elements, Fe and S, actually show up. Of course, parts of the palace and the temple of the sun they
more detailed studies are necessary to confirm used instead of mortar also molten gold” he first
such findings, but it seems that a silica containing confirms the “commonly used bitumen or mortar”,
layer has intentionally been superposed onto a a which later obviously disappeared. It can only be
limestone material to make the interface more re- the reddish clay “llàncac allpa” of Garcilaso de la
sistant and perfect. The here given explanation: a Vega. Pyrite, contained in it is actually a combus-
silica gel was produced by treating finely pounded tible bitumen. But then he also speaks of molten
volcanic rock material with acid pyrite mud. This gold, which was applied (and obviously also dis-
resulting gel was then distributed onto or between appeared from the joints of Inca stones).
lime stone interfaces for precipitation and harden-
ing (compare modern silica based stone preserva- His informants may have seen pyrite particles in
tion techniques explained further below). the reddish mud poured into or handled in the nar-
row gaps between stone blocks. Hot acid mud is
3. DISCUSSION much more reactive and acid concentration will
Volcanic and magmatic rocks, as used in Inca ma- also have increased due to evaporation of water.
sonry, are known to be slowly weathered by humic Only a relatively moderate local heating to accel-
acids to kaolin and clays. Pyrite mud from mines, erate the dissolution action of sulphuric acid on
which has been oxidized by sulphide oxidizing the silicate rock material or to activate the pyrite
bacteria can reach acid concentrations 104 times oxidation was required (to below 100 °C or below
higher, facilitating a correspondingly faster disso- 330°C respectively; the boiling point of sulphuric

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 SIFT DESK

acid is 338°C). And when the informants looked at sis of a silica based layer on a limestone from the
what was poured in between stone blocks they Inca ruins in Tetecaca (De Jong & Jordan, 2012) it
may have seen glittering pyrite particles (fig. 9) – can be deduced that actually a silica layer, polluted
fools gold. Most Inca stones are of volcanic or by some iron and sulphur from the acid pyrite
magmatic origin, are quite heat resistant and do mud, was generated above a lime underground.
not show signs of elevated heat treatment. Modern stone restoration would have yielded the
same result.
Garcilaso de la Vega, while describing the reddish
clay, also confirms that “molten lead and silver If the here proposed silica gel based technology
and gold were poured in for mortar”. Acid pyrite can be further confirmed for Inca masonry this
mud from mines may typically contain additional would raise the level of their work from “no secret
sulphide minerals (e.g. besides of pyrite (FeS2, formula beyond a primitive working technique
golden) also Marcasite (FeS2, tin-white to bronze- based on stone tools” (Protzen,1986,1993) to an
yellow), Molybdenite (MoS2, lead-silvery-grey), astonishing chemical-technical engineering stand-
Covellite (CuS, blue), Bornite (Cu5FeS4, copper ard. This would be justified, considering the large
red to purple)). From occasionally seeing such di- expertise with metals and minerals which pre-Inca
verse crystals in the applied reddish mud it may and Inca mining experts had reached including the
have been concluded that molten lead, silver and processing of platinum with a melting temperature
gold is poured between the stone blocks. of 1768 °C to ceremonial and utilitarian jewellery,
The effect of the described chemical Inca stone The author expects that Inca strategies to perfect
technique for the interface and surface treatment stone junctions in stone masonry will be better
of silicate blocks for optimized masonry is the fol- and better understood, when more will be learned
lowing: First solid silicate material is broken down about ambient temperature silica technology. This
in undesired (pressure stressed) location (by acid, field of knowledge is still poorly developed, but
complexing agents or thermal pyrite oxidation) has been applied with great success in biology.
and transformed into small liberated particles and Attention is pointed to the large family of diatoms,
a silica gel. Then the silica particles are settling belonging to light collecting phytoplankton, with
down in desired (unstressed) locations and al- their elaborate microscopic silica structures,
lowed to solidify again. which, in contrast to our high temperature glass
technology, are produced at very low energy cost.
Interestingly this empirical Inca silica gel strategy Also the elegant structures of glass sponges (e.g.
applies similar principles as modern techniques Euplectella aspergillum) in deep sea environments
aimed at repairing weathered stones in historic should be mentioned. They apply ambient temper-
monuments and buildings. The difference is that ature glass of high optical quality and even elastic
the silica species leading to the gel are typically glass fibres, made up of concentric thin silica
not generated from the stone material but supplied sheets linked by proteins (Aizenberg et al, 2003).
from outside. (Zornoza-Indart & López-Arce,
2016)(Zendri et al., 2007)(Aggarwal et al., 2015). Inca masonry builders may have had esthetical and
Two main strategies are applied. One consists in psychological reasons to aim at such perfection
choosing organic silicide compounds composed of with silicate stone junctions and developed their
silicic acid and alcohols. They penetrate cracks, silica technology empirically. We should learn
dissociate and form amorphous silica particles, a more about it, should undertake experimental ar-
silica gel, which gradually leads to a superficial chaeology to understand it properly.
solidification of the stone material. The other tech-
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