Thibodeau A M, Killick D J, Ruiz J, Chesley J T, Deagan K, Cruxent J M, Lyman W
Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Feb 27;104(9):3663-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0607297104. Epub 2007 Feb 21.
La Isabela, the first European town in the New World, was established in 1494 by the second expedition of Christopher Columbus but was abandoned by 1498. The main motive for settlement was to find and exploit deposits of precious metals. Archaeological evidence of silver extraction at La Isabela seemed to indicate that the expedition had located and tested deposits of silver-bearing lead ore in the Caribbean. Lead isotope analysis refutes this hypothesis but provides new evidence of the desperation of the inhabitants of La Isabela just before its abandonment.
伊莎贝拉是新大陆上的第一个欧洲城镇，于1494年由克里斯托弗·哥伦布的第二次远征队建立，但到1498年时已被废弃。定居此地的主要动机是寻找和开采贵金属矿床。在伊莎贝拉进行银提取的考古证据似乎表明，这次远征队在加勒比地区找到了并测试了含银铅矿矿床。铅同位素分析驳斥了这一假设，但提供了伊莎贝拉居民在其被废弃前不久绝望处境的新证据。
