Abstract
This research explores the networks of technological knowledge that influenced changes in the iron production practices of western Uganda in the second half of the second millennium AD. Temporal and spatial variability in technological processes were observed within the research area, in terms of the style and construction of the furnaces, the use of a manganese-rich flux, and the configuration of tuyères. These shifts were considered in relation to the social dimensions of iron production, specifically the protection of technical knowledge. Informed by ethnographic data from the study area, variations were noted in the participation in, or exclusion from, iron production activity on the basis of gender and clan affiliation. This stands in contrast to ethno-historic accounts that speak of a strongly regulated production environment.This paper considers that an uncritical emphasis on conservatism provides an inadequate framework for addressing long-term change in iron production technologies. It suggests that constellations of knowledge in western Uganda fostered the potential for innovation and experimentation, resulting in dynamic technological practice. This paper urges a more nuanced discussion of how complex metallurgical technologies transform and move within cultural and physical landscapes, with ramifications for how we conceptualize the emergence and adoption of early technologies.
Highlights
Variability and change in iron metallurgyArchaeometallurgical research in Africa continues to illustrate the extensive technological diversity that dominated the pre-industrial iron smelting landscapes of the African continent
Schoenbrun (2016: 216-7) asks how a community reconciles political transformation alongside maintaining fidelity to their ancestors. In both circumstances the question asks, how does traditionalism accommodate change? Where does the balance between these competing forces lie in different societies, past and present?. With these questions in mind, this paper considers the temporal changes apparent in the iron production technologies of western Uganda in the second millennium AD, in relation to different smelting communities and the ‘networks of knowledge’ (Kodesh, 2008, 2010) that may have linked them and influenced their technological trajectories
This paper argues that new technological elements moved through western Uganda during the mid-second millennium AD due to the interactions of different communities of practice in a period of substantial reorganisation of the socio-cultural landscape
Summary
Archaeometallurgical research in Africa continues to illustrate the extensive technological diversity that dominated the pre-industrial iron smelting landscapes of the African continent (many examples to be found in Cline, 1937; Childs, 1991; Killick, 2016). European travellers to sub-Saharan Africa in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were fascinated by ritual aspects of African life, drawn to exotic, repetitious and choreographed performance This has arguably influenced modern anthropological and archaeological interpretations of iron production activity, 2 and it is feasible that more elaborate technological behaviours were given prominence in early accounts, overshadowing smelting activity that did not involve explicit ceremonies and rituals, and entrenching a perception of rigid and inflexible gestures and routines (see Iles, 2013a). The research set out to explore the cultural landscape of iron smelting in western Uganda by combining archaeological, archaeometallurgical and ethnographic approaches It identified shifts in smelting technology over time, which in turn inspired a discussion of the identity, relationships and behaviour of those who made and worked with iron. A greater understanding of how past iron production was organised in this part of the Great Lakes region can be formed, and the mechanisms of socio-economic activity that result in spatial and temporal variability in technological practice can be examined
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
