Gold winning and working by the pre-1532 Incas are discussed in the light of exhibits in the Lima Museum of Gold. The gold largely washed from river gravels, was blowpipe-melted in baked clay/lime pot crucibles to give a relatively low melting point gold alloy which could be beaten to provide thin plates for covering base metals, etc. Various shades of gold were produced by careful alloying, and some Inca cultures formed gold artifacts by lost-wax casting. -- AATA