| dc.creator |
Lyaya, Edwinus Chrisantus |
|
| dc.date |
2016-08-29T10:20:17Z |
|
| dc.date |
2016-08-29T10:20:17Z |
|
| dc.date |
2011 |
|
| dc.date.accessioned |
2018-03-27T08:42:11Z |
|
| dc.date.available |
2018-03-27T08:42:11Z |
|
| dc.identifier |
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11810/3591 |
|
| dc.identifier.uri |
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11810/3591 |
|
| dc.description |
Amongst the features of ironworking of sub-Saharan Africa can be counted: (1)
the critical incorporation of rituals, symbolism, and medicines; (2) that some
societies produced bloomery iron through two stages - namely, iron smelting and
smithing - while others, employed a three-stage process where an iron refining
process was situated between the former two stages; (3) that while iron smelting
activities were generally secluded from the general population, iron refining
and smithing were more often carried out in or near villages. The purpose of
the current work is to examine the available archaeometallurgical remains of
ironworking in order to investigate how the Mjimwema ironworking technology
in Tanzania relates to these three features of the African ironworking process.
To this end, methods including macroscopic examination of the remains, ethnohistorical
exploration of the process, and botanical classification of the bioarchaeometallurgical
samples have been used. The results indicate that the ironworking
at Mjimwema followed the two-stage process, and that the ironworking
process symbolised the process of pregnancy and child-birth. With regard to the
latter finding, it is argued that in order to fully understand the justification of
the incorporation of rituals and medicines in the technology, we ought to give
equal research attention to the socio-cultural contexts within which the technology
operated. It is also argued that the same socio-cultural conditions explain
the seclusion of both smelting and smithing activities from residential areas. |
|
| dc.language |
en |
|
| dc.publisher |
UCL |
|
| dc.relation |
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/pia.380; |
|
| dc.title |
Bio-archaeometallurgy, Technology, and Spatial Organization of Ironworking at Mjimwema, Njombe Tanzania |
|