Early Metal Working in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review of Recent Research

Abstract

Thispaper is a review of the course of research during the past decade into the history of indigenous metal working in sub-Saharan Africa. It comprises three sections: a summary of the chronology of early metallurgy and the spread of metal working; a description of African metal working in terms of mining, smelting and smithing, with particular emphasis on recent interpretations of the iron-smelting technology; and a conclusion summarizing the main developments and some lines of future enquiry. A glossary of technical terms used in this paper is appended.

What Do Science, Technology, and Innovation Mean from Africa?

“…Bowl furnaces consisted of a semicircular depression in the ground lined with refractory materials (Chirikure, Burrett, and Haimann 2009). A variant of this type had a superimposed short shaft aimed at providing high volumes and better draft when compared to the ordinary bowl type (Miller and van der Merwe 1994). The low-shaft furnace type stood between one and 1.5 meters above the ground; the diameter at the base varied (Kense 1985).…”

An Archaeometallurgical Investigation of Iron Smelting Traditions in Southern Rwanda

“…However, limited archaeological evidence means that specific understandings of life during this period remain restricted (see MacLean 1994/5;Reid 1994/5). Exact dating for this period of time is also problematic (Clist 1987;Killick 2004;Miller & van der Merwe 1994;Van Grunderbeek 1992), due to significant error margins within radiocarbon dating, and the integrity of the dates produced.…”

Impressions of Banana Pseudostem in Iron Slag from Eastern Africa

“…Slag found in sub-Saharan Africa generally would have been formed as the waste product of the solid-state, bloomery method of iron smelting (Bachmann 1982, Miller & van der Merwe 1994. During this process, iron ore and charcoal are loaded into a furnace structure (Figure 2).…”