Movatterモバイル変換


[0]ホーム

URL:


Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Early West African Metallurgies: New Data and Old Orthodoxy

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of World Prehistory Aims and scope

Abstract

The debate on West African metallurgies cannot be properly understood without reference to the colonial template that featured Africa as the receiving partner in all crucial social, economic, and technological development. The interesting debate that took place in West Africa during the Colonial Period was more meta-theoretical than factual. These conflicting glosses, despite their lack of empirical foundations, have constrained the nature of archaeological research and oversimplified the dynamics of the many facets of technological innovation. The relative boom in archaeological research that took place from the 1960s onwards resulted in an exponential growth of factual information. Challenging evidence has emerged from Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Togo, and Senegal. The picture that emerges from this survey calls for more sophisticated explanations for the origins of West African metallurgies away from the single non-African source hypothesis.

This is a preview of subscription content,log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles, books and news in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

References

  • Adams, R. Mc C. (1996).Paths of fire: An anthropologist’s inquiry into western technology. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alpern, S. (2005). Did they or didn’t they invent it? Iron in Sub-Saharan Africa.History in Africa,32, 41–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnold, D. E. (1985).Ceramic theory and cultural process. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aubet, M. E. (2001).The Phoenicians and the West: Politics, colonies, and trade. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Barros, P. (2003). Recent early Iron Age research in Bassar, Togo.Nyame Akuma,59, 76–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Barros, P. (2006). The surprising early Iron Age site of Dekpassanware (Togo).Paper presented at the Society of Africanist Archaeologists, Calgary, 22–26 June 2006.

  • Benoit, P., Coulibaly, E., & Fluzin, P. (2004). Le laboratoire, lieu de coopération. In A. Bazzana & H. Bocoum (Eds.),Du nord au sud du Sahara: Cinquante ans d’archéologie française en Afrique de l’Ouest et au Maghreb (pp. 325–330). Paris: Editions Sepia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernus, S., & Echard, N. (1992).La Region d’In-Gall-Teggida-n-Tesemt (Niger) V: Les Populations actuelles. Niamey: Etudes Nigeriennes No 52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernus, S., & Gouletquer, P. L. (1976). Du cuivre au sel: Recherches ethnoarchéologiques sur la région d’Azelik (Campagnes 1973–1975).Journal des Africanistes,46(1–2), 7–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bisson, M. S., Childs, S. T., de Barros, P., & Holl, A. F. C. (2000).Ancient African metallurgy: The sociocultural context. Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bocoum, H. (2000).L’Âge du fer au Sénégal: Histoire et archéologie. Dakar/Nouakchott: IFAN/CRIAA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bocoum, H. (2006).Histoire technique et sociale de la métallurgie du fer dans la vallée moyenne du Sénégal. Doctorat d’Etat thesis. University Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar.

  • Bocoum, H. (ed.). (2002).Aux origines de la métallurgie du fer en Afrique: Une ancienneté méconnue. Paris: Editions de l’ UNESCO.

  • Bourdieu, P. (1979).La distinction: Critique sociale du jugement. Paris: Editions de Minuit.

    Google Scholar 

  • Childs, S. T., & Herbert, E. W. (2005). Metallurgy and its consequences. In A. B. Stahl (Ed.),African archaeology: A critical introduction (pp. 276–300). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Childs, S. T., & Killick, D. (1993). Indigenous African metallurgy: Nature and culture.Annual Review of Anthropology,22, 317–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clist, B. (1989). Archaeology in Gabon 1986–1988.The African Archaeological Review,7, 59–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, A. C., Southon, J. R., & Wadsworth, J. (2003). Using radiocarbon dating to establish the age of iron-based artifacts.http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/0205/Cook-0305.html.

  • Coulibaly, E. (2006).Savoir et savoir-faire des anciens métallurgistes d’Afrique. Paris: Karthala.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deme, A. (2003).Archaeological investigations of settlement and emerging complexity in the Middle Senegal Valley. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Rice University, Houston.

  • Deme, A., & McIntosh, S. K. (2006). Excavations at Walalde: New light on the settlement of the Middle Senegal Valley by iron using peoples.Journal of African Archaeology,4(2), 317–347.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dupuy, C., Fluzin, P., Ploquin, A., Durand, A., & Rolando, C. (2001–2002). Nouvelles données sur l’âge ancien des métaux au Mali.Sahara 13, 61–90.

  • Echard, N. (Ed.). (1983).Métallurgies africaines: Nouvelles contributions. Paris: Mémoire de la Société des Africanistes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Essomba, J. M. (1993).Le fer dans le passé des sociétés du sud Cameroun. Paris: L’Harmattan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Essomba, J. M. (2002). Bilan de l’archéologie de l’âge du fer au Cameroun méridional. In H. Bocoum (Ed.),Aux origines de la métallurgie du fer en Afrique (pp. 133–146). Paris: Editions de l’UNESCO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eze-Uzomaka, P. (2008). New dates for iron smelting in Lejja, Nigeria. Paper read at the biannual conference of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists, September 2008, J.W. Goethe Universitat, Frankfurt, Germany.

  • Eze-Uzomaka, P. (2009). Iron and its influence on the prehistoric site of Lejja. Paper read at the world of iron conference, February 16–20, 2009, University College London, United Kingdom.

  • Fluzin, P. (2002). La chaîne opératoire en sidérurgie: Matériaux archéologiques et procédés. Apport des études métallographiques. In H. Bocoum (Ed.),Aux origines de la métallurgie du fer en Afrique (pp. 59–92). Paris: Editions de l’UNESCO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fluzin, P. (2007a). Les analyses métallographiques. In E. Zangato (Ed.),Les ateliers d’Oboui: Premières communautés métallurgistes dans le nord-ouest du Centrafrique (pp. 72–77). Paris: Recherches sur les Civilisations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fluzin, P. (2007b). Les analyses métallographiques. In E. Zangato (Ed.),Les ateliers d’Oboui: Premières communautés métallurgistes dans le nord-ouest du Centrafrique (pp. 60–67). Paris: Recherches sur les Civilisations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grebenart, D. (1983). Les métallurgies du cuivre et du fer autour d’Agades (Niger) des origines au début de la période médiévale: Vues générales. In N. Echard (Ed.),Métallurgies africaines: Nouvelles contributions (pp. 109–125). Paris: Mémoire de la Société des Africanistes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grebenart, D. (1985).La région d’In-Gall – Tegidda-n-Tesemt (Niger), II: Le néolithique final et les débuts de la métallurgie. Etudes nigériennes 49, Niamey.

  • Grebenart, D. (1988).Les premiers métallurgistes en Afrique occidentale. Paris: Editions Errance.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herbert, E. W. (1993).Iron, gender, and power: Rituals of transformation in African societies. Bloomington/Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holl, A. F. C. (1997). Metallurgy, iron technology and African late holocene societies. In R. Klein-Arendt (Ed.),Traditionelles Eisenhandwerk in Afrika (pp. 13–54). Koln: Heinrich Barth Institut.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holl, A. F. C. (2000). Metal and precolonial African society. In J. O. Vogel (Ed.), Ancient African metallurgy (pp. 1–83). Walnut Creek: Altamira Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holl, A. F. C. (2004).Holocene Saharans: An anthropological perspective. New York/London: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holl, A. F. C., & Kote, L. (2000). Settlement patterns, food production, and craft specialization in the Mouhoun Bend (NW Burkina Faso: Preliminary results of the MOBAP 1997–1999 field seasons.West African Journal of Archaeology,30(1), 69–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiethega, J. B. (2006).La métallurgie lourde du fer au Burkina Faso. Une technologie à l’époque précoloniale. Paris: Karthala.

    Google Scholar 

  • Killick, D. (2001). Science, speculation and the origins of extractive metallurgy. In D. R. Brothwell & A. M. Pollard (Eds.),Handbook of archaeological sciences (pp. 479–488). London: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Killick, D. (2004). Review essay: What do we know about African iron working?Journal of African Archaeology,2(1), 97–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Killick, D., van der Merwe, N. J., Gordon, R. B., & Grebenart, D. (1988). Reassessment of the evidence for early metallurgy in Niger, West Africa.Journal of Archaeological Science,15, 367–394.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lambert, N. (1975). Mines et métallurgie antiques dans la région d’Akjoujt.Annales de l’Institut Mauritanien de la Recherche Scientifique,1, 6–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambert, N. (1983). Nouvelle contribution a l’étude du chalcolithique mauritanien. In N. Echard (Ed.),Métallurgies africaines: Nouvelles contributions (pp. 63–87). Paris: Mémoires de la Société des Africanistes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Latour, B. (1993). Ethnography of a ‘high-tech’ case: About Aramis. In P. Lemonnier (Ed.),Technical choices (pp. 372–398). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lavachery, P., MacEachern, S., & Gouem Gouem, D. (forthcoming). The Chad export project: Archaeological report.Journal of African Archaeology Monograph Series.

  • Lemonnier, P. (1992).Elements for an anthropology of technology. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lemonnier, P. (1993). Introduction. In P. Lemonnier (Ed.),Technical choices (pp. 1–35). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levy, T. E., & Holl, A. (1988). Les premières chefferies de Paléstine.La Recherche,203, 1166–1174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lhote, H. (1952). La connaissance du fer en Afrique occidentale. Encyclopedie Mensuelle d’Outre-Mer, 269–272.

  • MacDonald, K. C. (1998). Before the Empire of Ghana: Pastoralism and the origins of cultural complexity in the Sahel. In G. Connah (Ed.),Transformations in Africa: Essays on Africa’s later past (pp. 71–103). London: Leicester University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacEachern, S. (1996). Iron Age beginnings north of the Mandara mountains, Cameroon and Nigeria. In G. Pwiti & R. Soper (Eds.),Aspects of African archaeology (pp. 489–496). Harare: University of Zimbabwe Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Maret, P. (2002). L’Afrique centrale: Le ‘savoir-fer’. In H. Bocoum (Ed.),Aux origines de la métallurgie du fer en Afrique (pp. 123–132). Paris: Editions UNESCO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mauny, R. (1952) Essai sur l’histoire des métaux en Afrique occidentale. Bulletin de l’IFAN, 14(2), 545–595.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mauny, R. (1953).Autour de l’introduction du fer en Afrique occidentale. Encyclopédie Mensuelle d’Outre-Mer, pp. 109–110.

  • McIntosh, S. K., & McIntosh, R. J. (1988). From stone to metal: New perspectives on the later prehistory of West Africa.Journal of World Prehistory,2(1), 89–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, P. (2005).African connections: Archaeological perspectives on Africa and the wider world. Lanham: AltaMira Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Okafor, E. (1993). New evidence on early iron-smelting in Southeastern Nigeria. In T. Shaw, P. Sinclair, B. Andah, & A. Okpoko (Eds.),The archaeology of Africa: Food, metals, and towns (pp. 432–448). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Okafor, E. E. (2002). La réduction du fer dans les Bas-Fourneaux—Une industrie vieille de 2500 ans au Nigeria. In H. Bocoum (Ed.),Aux origines de la métallurgie du fer en Afrique (pp. 35–48). Paris: Editions UNESCO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Okafor, E. E., & Phillips, P. (1992). New14C ages from Nsukka, Nigeria and the origins of African Metallurgy.Antiquity,66, 686–688.

    Google Scholar 

  • Person, A., & Quechon, G. (2002). Données chronométriques et chronologiques de la métallurgie a Termit—Matériaux graphiques pour l’étude des âges anciens du fer. In H. Bocoum (Ed.),Aux origines de la métallurgie du fer en Afrique (pp. 115–122). Paris: Editions UNESCO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prigogine, I., & Stengers, E. (1984).Order out of chaos. New York: Bantam Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pringle, H. (2009). Seeking Africa’s first iron men.Science, 323, 200–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quechon, G. (2002). Les datations de la métallurgie du fer a Termit (Niger): Leur fiabilité, leur signification. In H. Bocoum (Ed.),Aux origines de la métallurgie du fer en Afrique (pp. 105–114). Paris: Editions UNESCO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quechon, G., Paris, F., Saliège, J.-F., & Person, A. (1992). Les débuts de la métallurgie au Niger septentrional.Journal des Africanistes,62, 55–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saliège, J.-F. (2007). Apport de la chronologie14C, la méthode et ses limites. In E. Zangato (Ed.),Les ateliers d’Oboui: Premières communautés métallurgistes dans le nord-ouest du Centrafrique (pp. 131–135). Paris: Recherches sur les Civilisations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, P. R. (Ed.). (1996).The culture and technology of African iron production. Gainesville: University Presses of Florida.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, P. R. (1997).Iron technology in East Africa: Symbolism, science, and archaeology. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, P. R. (2006).Historical archaeology in Africa: Representation, social memory, and oral traditions. Lanham: AltaMira Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shinnie, P. L. (1985). Iron working at Meroe. In R. Haaland & P. L. Shinnie (Eds.),African iron working: Ancient and traditional (pp. 28–35). Oslo: Norwegian University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tainter, J. A. (1988).The collapse of complex societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tamari, T. (1995). Linguistic evidence for the history of West African ‘castes’. In D. C. Conrad & B. E. Frank (Eds.),Status and identity in West Africa: Nyamakalaw of Mande (pp. 61–85). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trigger, B. G. (1969). The myth of Meroe and the African Iron Age.African Historical Studies,2, 23–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Der Merwe, N. J. (1980). The advent of iron in Africa. In T. A. Wertime & J. D. Muhly (Eds.),The coming of the age of iron (pp. 463–506). New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vansina, J. (1990).Paths in the rainforests: Toward a history of political tradition in equatorial Africa. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.

  • Welsby, D. A. (1998).Soba II: Renewed excavations within the metropolis of the Kingdom of Alwa in Central Sudan. British Institute in Eastern Africa Memoir 15. London: British Museum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Welsby, D. A., & Daniels, C. M. (1991).Soba: Archaeological research at a medieval capital on the Blue Nile. Memoir 12. London: British Institute in Eastern Africa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zangato, E. (1999).Sociétés préhistoriques et mégalithes dans le nord-ouest de la République centrafricaine [BAR International Series 768]. Oxford: BAR.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zangato, E. (2007).Les ateliers d’Oboui: Premières communautés métallurgistes dans le nord-ouest du Centrafrique. Paris: Editions Recherches sur les Civilizations.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The fieldwork conducted in the Mouhoun Bend in Burkina Faso from 1997 to 2000 was funded by the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) France, National Geographic Society Research Grant #6378–98, and the University of California Start-up funds. The illustrations were cleaned and improved by Kay Clahassey of the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Michigan.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 943 Lennox Court, Ann Arbor, MI, 48103, USA

    Augustin F. C. Holl

Authors
  1. Augustin F. C. Holl

Corresponding author

Correspondence toAugustin F. C. Holl.

Rights and permissions

About this article

Access this article

Advertisement


[8]ページ先頭

©2009-2026 Movatter.jp