The metallurgical process of separating precious metals like gold and silver from base metals by heating them in a cupel, causing oxidation of impurities.
From 'cupel' plus the suffix '-ation,' which denotes a process or action. The term became standardized in metallurgical chemistry by the 16th century.
Cupellation is ancient alchemy that actually works—the Phoenicians and Romans used it 2,000 years ago, and it remained the standard method for assaying precious metals until modern chemistry arrived, showing how good techniques endure across millennia.
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