What did the ancients know about prospecting for gold ?

TheNewCatfish

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Mar 4, 2011
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Let me say from the start i'm not some whacko selling a miraculous new devise. I am however curious to know how ancient people managed to find huge deposits of gold without the benefit of modern technology and geology. When the Spanish arrived in the New World, they found the Incas had rooms piled to the ceiling with gold treasure. Where'd all that gold come from ? How was it found ? Several hundred years later, the Conquistadores also discovered several Indian tribes in the Southwest that had been mining gold for a long, long time. But how did these stoneage people locate such rich deposits ? Makes you wonder, doesn't it ? Having lived in the mountains, i've noticed lightening often strikes repeatedly in the same location during thunderstorms. Almost like it's been attracted by something on the ground. I read up on lightening and learned that it actually originates at ground level, (Not in the sky). Technically speaking, lightening actually travels UP before it travels DOWN. Could it be that a sizeable gold deposit underground might act as a conductor of electricity ? Actually pinpointing an area where gold exists. Did ancient people use simple observation to locate gold deposits ? Better yet, doesn't the National Weather Service keep detailed records of how often and where lightening strikes the earth ? What if you overlayed this lightening strike information in areas where gold is already known to be found. Would a cluster of lightening strikes on a mountainside indicate a marker ? Maybe the ancients discovered something modern man has yet to figure out. What do you think ?
 

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Rawhide

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Havent seen this subject in a while. Pretty sure sticks were used, pretty sure the Spanish understood a certain amount of geology, there also was the viewing of blue or purple mist being seen. Gold in some areas was so plentiful that it could just be picked up off the ground.
 

dave wiseman

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It's silver that's the best conductor of electricity.The Spanish had the well educated Jesuit priests looking for mineral deposits and yet they never discovered the vast gold deposits of the California motherlode gold country.The native americans in California knew of the gold but it was of no value to them excepting on the rare occasions some tribes used it as a decoration in quills and later on to trade the miners gold for blankets,tools and utensils.
 

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goldenIrishman

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Working with Ren-Faires for many years I became something of a student of medieval history and have often wondered much the same thing. We know that a LOT of knowledge was lost with the fall of Rome, the Black Plague etc etc etc. Even though I've looked high and low I have yet to find anything that covers mining practices during this time period. I've often thought is would be cool to be able to read up on how they did things like this back then.
 

kevin1

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Just a guess on my part, but placer mining almost had to have come first. Ogg was walking along a stream wishing he had a fish when he noticed a shiny pebble along the edge, and thought that if he gave it to Lani she might...well, you know. :laughing7:
 

BIGSCOTT

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down around Hatchita new mexico when they first discovered gold and silver and all the other cool stuff, they found mining dumps with ancient tools for mining, i wished someone had these displyed somewhere or at least some pictures
 

huntsman53

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NESDIS which is NOAA's Satellite and Information Services, tracks and records Lightning Data around the globe and this information is archived at NCDC, the National Climatic Data Center. I also believe that there is a correlation of amount of strikes in any one given location to deposits of electricity conductive metals in the earth! The problem with studying such phenomena is that a lot of the data which is mainly in the form of Satellite images, cover too large of an area to make pinpointing a specific location on the earth to search. In other words, you may notice on a Satellite image of lightning data, that 10,000 or 100,000 strikes were recorded (logged) over a given area in a 1 hour time period or less but that area may actually encompass 10,000 square miles.


Frank
 

Rawhide

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Working with Ren-Faires for many years I became something of a student of medieval history and have often wondered much the same thing. We know that a LOT of knowledge was lost with the fall of Rome, the Black Plague etc etc etc. Even though I've looked high and low I have yet to find anything that covers mining practices during this time period. I've often thought is would be cool to be able to read up on how they did things like this back then.

There is no short answer here. Im sure most mines were simple pit mines, but from King Solomon times mines have been dug. I study every ancient mine I can find. A good example is Victorio Peak, there has been maps of the mountain and how it was constructed. I suspect a natural fissure was found and used by native americans or earlier.
 

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Rawhide

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In hard rock mining they built fires against the face where they were digging/drifting and threw cool water on it,in some cases.

When I first heard of this I was really amazed at how crafty the old times got to get the job done. Kind of makes the gold rush show look like a circus lol. All that equipment and no gold.
 

Rawhide

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down around Hatchita new mexico when they first discovered gold and silver and all the other cool stuff, they found mining dumps with ancient tools for mining, i wished someone had these displyed somewhere or at least some pictures
I seen some somewhere made out of a steel that they couldnt reproduce. I watch a lot of H2 on the cable.
 

Rawhide

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NESDIS which is NOAA's Satellite and Information Services, tracks and records Lightning Data around the globe and this information is archived at NCDC, the National Climatic Data Center. I also believe that there is a correlation of amount of strikes in any one given location to deposits of electricity conductive metals in the earth! The problem with studying such phenomena is that a lot of the data which is mainly in the form of Satellite images, cover too large of an area to make pinpointing a specific location on the earth to search. In other words, you may notice on a Satellite image of lightning data, that 10,000 or 100,000 strikes were recorded (logged) over a given area in a 1 hour time period or less but that area may actually encompass 10,000 square miles.


Frank

I think the large deposits that existed are gone now. But I have heard this before. Now I heard this was a way the aztec looked for gold. But what did they need gold for except ceremonial burials? Another thing those satellites can do is notice growth of certain plants that grow better in say a copper bearing area. Doesnt take too much of a stretch to see they could find a large deposit of gold if any still exist.
 

GarySluicie

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Hey guys, great topic Catfish. Did you know that the Romans did hydraulic mining in Spain in the BC era? how did they know that there was gold below all the dirt they moved? Many scholars today believe we were genetically engineered to mine gold for and by aliens. Im not sold on the idea but it makes sense that we have such an affinity for gold and would also explain our knowledge of gold back to before recorded history.
 

GoldDoozah

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Many scholars today believe we were genetically engineered to mine gold for and by aliens. Im not sold on the idea but it makes sense that we have such an affinity for gold and would also explain our knowledge of gold back to before recorded history.

That is an interesting thought. Any links? I would be interested to see at what stage of our evolution they believe the tendencies were injected into the gene pool. Either way, gold is shiny, and I'm sure they found a lot of it when quarrying stone in some places.

Aliens.jpg
 

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GarySluicie

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They are saying on that show Ancient Aliens that at about 100,000 years ago we may have been either created from an existing species by gene manipulation or by cross breeding with the so called aliens. scientists today still dont know much more than a change occurred in our consiousness about 100,000-80,000 years ago. But there is a possibility that is coincidence. Not sure where to find more info but its out there. The Romans in Spain....check out wikipedia on Hyd. mining.
 

gold tramp

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They just picked it up off the surface the first guys didn't even have to dig !
Its to bad there are no old timers left to tell what it was like to come across a quartz vein covered with gold and lying about on the ground where it had eroded out. I would like to see the look on one face as he told of this.

some of the early finds must have been fabulous, with pounds of gold n ore just laying on top of the ground. I have had the pleasure of finding a placer that was just sitting there on the surface. I couldn't imagine how it was to be the first to walk the placers of the mother load, hittin of those first surface nuggs.

Just dreamin.................
 

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goldenIrishman

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In a nutshell it was pretty stuff that made great jewelery and the laws of "Supply and Demand". Any time something is in great demand and there's very little of it available the prices is inflated (like real estate in Calif ;) )
 

bedrock bubba

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The Spanish Monks could dowse for gold and silver. They found gold in unlikely places, where geologists say there can't be any gold. All the missions they built were near gold or silver strikes.

King Solomon and Cleopatra used dowsers to find untold riches.

Yesterday, a mining buddy told me the Indians near Downieville gathered all the placer gold they could see from the Yuba River, and hid it on a mountain nearby, so as to discourage the 49'ers.

There is evidence a few of the Spaniards did find gold in the Sierras, according to him. He has access to old history that few others have.
 

Hoser John

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The first proven sluices were sheep hides. That's how the myth of the GOLDEN FLEESE was originated way back in the times of Greece. They were rocked into place and with all that hair it gave gold a place to settle and hide in,hench the good ol'golden fleece and the first proven sluicebox of a sorts-John
 

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