African Iron Working, Ancient and Traditional
African Iron Working, Ancient and Traditional

Author: Randi Haaland

Publisher:

Published: 1985

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13:

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Iron working has a long and rich history in Africa--it was decisive for the development of many African cultures and states, and its study is now yielding results of great significance. This book, a collection of articles by archaeologists and enthnographers from the USA, Africa, and Europe, explores the development of the iron working processes, the reasons for local variation, the role of iron workers in ancient and modern societies, and the way in which iron production changed society.

The Culture and Technology of African Iron Production
The Culture and Technology of African Iron Production

Author: Peter Ridgway Schmidt

Publisher:

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 9780813013848

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Archaeological and ethnographic investigations in western Tanzania in the 1970s revealed remarkable evidence for a complex and highly advanced iron technology that existed there several thousand years ago. Still, Western scientific and historical practice continues to obscure the history of iron technology and its accomplishments in Africa. Weaving together myth, ritual, history, and science, this work describes the systems of smithing and iron smelting, some of which arose 2,000 to 2,500 years ago. Revealing the world of African technological achievement, the contributors to this work demonstrate that iron production there is a socially constructed activity and that its cultural and technological domains cannot be understood separately.

Ancient African Metallurgy
Ancient African Metallurgy

Author: Michael S. Bisson

Publisher: AltaMira Press

Published: 2000-08-16

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 1461705924

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Gold. Copper. Iron. Metal working in Africa has been the subject of both public lore and extensive archaeological investigation. Here, four of the leading contemporary researchers on this topic attempt to provide a complete synthesis of current debates and understandings: Where, how, and when was metal first introduced to the continent? How were iron and copper tools, implements, and objects used in everyday life, in trade, in political and cultural contexts? What role did metal objects play in the ideological systems of precolonial African peoples? Substantive chapters address the origins of metal working and the technology and the various uses and meanings of copper and iron. An ethnoarchaeological account in the words of a contemporary iron worker enriches the archaeological explanations. This book provides a comprehensive, timely summary of our current knowledge.

The Origins of Iron Metallurgy in Africa
The Origins of Iron Metallurgy in Africa

Author: Hamady Bocoum

Publisher: Unesco

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13:

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The work of specialists archaeologists, historians, ethnologists, metallographs and sociologists gathered in this volume show the vitality of research being carried out on iron processing in Africa since as early as the third millennium B.C.

African Civilizations
African Civilizations

Author: Graham Connah

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2001-03-29

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 9780521596909

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This edition of African Civilizations, first published in 2001, re-examines the physical evidence for developing social complexity in tropical Africa.

Pride of Men
Pride of Men

Author: Colleen E. Kriger

Publisher:

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13:

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Presents a systematic, comprehensive and region-wide study of central African ironworkers as a distinct group. Integrating material on culure and social history, Kriger provides detailed descriptions of the labour process and the items that the smiths produced.

Iron, Gender, and Power
Iron, Gender, and Power

Author: Eugenia W. Herbert

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 1994-01-22

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 9780253115966

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"[Herbert] has constructed a model of power relationships structured upon gender and age, and derived from male transformative processes, and in so doing has written a notable, and most enjoyable, book." -- African History "Herbert examines with great care and thoroughness the relationships between gender and power and the rationales that give them social form.... [Her] analytical ability is outstanding." -- Patrick McNaughton "This book is a well-written and essential study of the place of belief in African material culture." -- International Journal of African Historical Studies Herbert relates the beliefs and practices associated with iron working in African cultures to other transformative activities -- chiefly investiture, hunting, and pottery making -- to propose a gender/age-based theory of power.

The African Iron Age
The African Iron Age

Author: P. L. Shinnie

Publisher: Oxford : Clarendon Press

Published: 1971

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13:

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"The advance in knowledge of the archaeology of the Iron Age in Africa during the last twenty years is one of the most significant developments of archaeology anywhere. Going hand in hand with new historical research there is now a large and growing body of information on the subject. This book endeavours to give in concise but accurate form a summary of what is known. The authors, most of whom are still actively at work in the field, are all authorities in their own areas and several of them have been pioneers in developing archaeology in Africa. It is hoped that the book may prove of use to nonspecialists who would like to know of recent developments as well as to the growing number of students of the subject"--