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Nine fragments of gold wire from pre-Hispanic South America are examined by optical microscopy, metallography, scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis, atomic absorption spectrophotometry and optical emission spectrophotometry. The wires examined include examples of hammered gold wire, block-twisted wire and strip-twisted wire. Cast gold wire, made by the lost-wax process, was commonly employed in both the Muisca and the Sinú cultural areas of ancient Colombia. Very fine rectangular gold wire, about l2μ.t by 40μ in section, was made in the La Tolita-Tumaco area and an early example is dated to about 325 B.C. This wire may have been made by cutting fine hammered gold foil. Apart from the cast examples, all the gold wires examined were made in native gold alloys which are typical for the Colombian-Ecuadorian area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]