Metal Working in the Northern Lowveld, South Africa A.D. 1000–1890

Miller, Duncan; Killick, David; Merwe, Nikolaas J. van der

doi:10.1179/jfa.2001.28.3-4.401

Cited by 26 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Childs & Herbert 2005, Chirikure 2007, Chirikure & Rehren 2004, Haaland 2004, Killick 2004b, Miller 2002, Miller et al 2001, though there are some Southeast Asian sources (summarised in Bronson & Charoenwongsa 1994). Therefore, the archaeometallurgist must consider that for populations which practiced metallurgy many aspects of their technology may represent choices (e.g.…”

Section: Style and Choice In Metallurgical Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prehistoric copper production and technological reproduction in the Khao Wong Prachan Valley of Central Thailand

Pryce

Pigott

Martinón‐Torres

et al. 2010

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Haeng were analysed in hand specimen, microstructurally by refl ected-light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and chemically by polarising energy dispersive x-ray fl uorescence spectrometry ([P]ED-XRF) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray fl uorescence spectrometry (SEM-EDS). Resulting analytical data were used to generate detailed technological reconstructions of copper smelting behaviour at the two sites, which were refi ned by a programme of fi eld experimentation.Results indicate a long-term improvement in the technical profi ciency of Valley metalworkers, accompanied by an increase in the human effort of copper production. This shift in local 'metallurgical ethos' is interpreted as a response to rising regional demand for copper in late prehistory.4

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Section: Style and Choice In Metallurgical Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prehistoric copper production and technological reproduction in the Khao Wong Prachan Valley of Central Thailand

Pryce

Pigott

Martinón‐Torres

et al. 2010

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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“…Considering the refractory nature of the ceramics from this site, and their consequently small contribution to the melt, and also considering the low silica levels present in the ore sample, it is possible that this sample is a remnant of a flux that was added to the smelt in order to encourage the formation of a slag. The addition of quartzitic sand, although not common in the ethnographic literature, has been documented archaeometallurgically in Phalaborwa, South Africa (Miller et al 2001),…”

Section: Discussion and Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstructing the iron production technologies of western Uganda: reconciling archaeometallurgical and ethnoarchaeological approaches

Iles

2012

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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The local production of iron was an important technology in eastern Africa up until the later twentieth century, when the use and reuse of imported iron overtook vernacular smelting industries and cemented their decline. Prior to this, the utilisation of local ores had produced iron for agricultural implements, household tools and weapons, serving the needs of many generations of farmers and herders across the region.The smelters of western Uganda enjoyed a particularly esteemed reputation in recent history, especially among their neighbours in Buganda, yet prior to this research little was known about the technologies upon which this reputation was fostered. This thesis presents the results of six months of fieldwork in Uganda and subsequent archaeometallurgical analysis, which together revealed the complexities of smelting in western Uganda between the fourteenth and twentieth centuries.Exploring this new archaeometallurgical dataset has indicated that some iron producers in Mwenge (a particularly iron-rich region of western Uganda) were selecting manganese-rich ores with which to supplement the iron ores in the smelt, imparting a tangible effect on the process and outcomes of these smelting episodes, hypothetically increasing the metal yield and improving operating parameters.Although such harnessing of beneficial manganese-rich minerals was an unexpected and unusual finding, technological reconstructions of these smelts highlighted several other interesting features, including the consistent use of grog temper in technical ceramics, the occasional use of banana pseudostems, and variations in furnace style.Combining these discoveries with existing ethnoarchaeological and ethnohistorical data, and building upon social approaches to iron technologies, it was possible to explore some of the possible reasons for this variation, adding colour and time-depth to the understanding of iron production within this region.4

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“…The study was an attempt to establish correspondences between the historical and archaeometallurgical records. Miller et al (2001) have detected the presence of this practice of adding sand among the Ba-Phalaborwa people of northeastern South Africa who fluxed the high-grade magnetite ore. Microscopic results indicated that the Njanja slags were lean and fayalitedominated, implying that most of the FeO had been converted to iron.…”

Section: Getting To Grips With the Full Ancient Metal Production Chaimentioning

confidence: 99%

Geochemistry of Ancient Metallurgy: Examples from Africa and Elsewhere

Chirikure

2014

Treatise on Geochemistry

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Metal Working in the Northern Lowveld, South Africa A.D. 1000–1890

Cited by 26 publications

References 21 publications

Prehistoric copper production and technological reproduction in the Khao Wong Prachan Valley of Central Thailand

Prehistoric copper production and technological reproduction in the Khao Wong Prachan Valley of Central Thailand

Reconstructing the iron production technologies of western Uganda: reconciling archaeometallurgical and ethnoarchaeological approaches

Geochemistry of Ancient Metallurgy: Examples from Africa and Elsewhere

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