Mesoamerican copper smelting technology aided colonial weaponry
(PHYSorg.com Archaeology & Fossils)

When Spanish invaders arrived in the Americas, they were generally able to subjugate the local peoples thanks, in part, to their superior weaponry and technology. But archeological evidence indicates that, in at least one crucial respect, the Spaniards were quite dependent on an older Indigenous technology in parts of Mesoamerica (today`s Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras).