TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 671 methods. In the first, two hollow hemispheres were cast, then soldered together with an internal backing ring. Seamless globes were made either by cire-perdu casting or by hammering the sheet metal around a series of spherical anvils. The engraving of the various markings is also described in detail. These included constellations, stars, ecliptic circle, equator, latitude circle, and so on. In order to make full use of a globe, it was necessary to mount it with a meridian and a horizon ring, set to the latitude of the observer. Globes could be used for didactic purposes in much the same way as armillary spheres, but they were also used by astronomers and astrologers as analog instruments for deriving astronomical data such as the risings and settings of the sun and the stars, altitudes of those bodies at given times, and so forth. Somewhat analogous procedures were used with the astrolabe. In deed, some useful comparisons are made between globes and astro labes—both plane and spherical. The third, fourth, and fifth chapters are concerned mainly with a detailed description of the Smithsonian globe. Chapter 3 discusses the attribution of the globe from its technical and astronomical features, while chapter 4, contributed by art historian Andrea P. A. Belloli, ex amines the globe as an art-historical document. Both approaches yield the specific attribution to a certain Qa’ im Muhammad, who worked in Lahore in the early decades of the 17th century. Chapter 5 is a history of star names based on the Smithsonian globe. Classical Greek and other pre-Islamic sources, traditional Bedouin names, and classical Arabic terminology are adduced in order to provide a comprehensive ances try for the names of lunar mansions, constellations, and major stars. This is an exhaustive study of a useful—and often beautiful—ar tifact. It will be of great value to historians of science and technology. Although other information may come to light to supplement the data presented by Savage-Smith, it is likely that this book will remain the standard work on the subject for many years to come. Donald R. Hill Dr. Hill is Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of the History and Phi losophy of Science, University College, London. His publications include translations of the major Arabic machine treatises; Arabic Water-Clocks (Aleppo, 1981); A History of Engineering in Classical and Medieval Times (La Salle, II!., 1984); and numerous papers on Islamic technology. Currently he is working on Mechanical Engineering in Islam for Cambridge University Press. Tin in Antiquity: Its Mining and Trade throughout the Ancient World with Particular Reference to Cornwall. By Roger David Penhallurick. Lon don: Institute of Metals (1 Carlton House Terrace SW1Y 5DB), 1986. Pp. xiii + 271; illustrations, maps, notes, appendix, bibliog raphy, index. £29.95; $59.00. Available from Institute of Metals 672 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE North American Publications Center, Old Post Road, Brookfield, Vermont 05036. Roger Penhallurick has undertaken an enormousjob of research— to describe the occurrences of tin in Africa, Asia, and Europe, and to determine when and how tin was first used and how it continued to be exploited. Fulfillment of this task requires knowledge of all the geological literature on Old World tin and all the archaeological and archaeometallurgical literature on early sites from Britain to China. That Penhallurick does not successfully accomplish this in all cases is not surprising, but he does bring extraordinary insights into tin win ning in Cornwall, his home. His intimate knowledge of all aspects of Cornish tin—geology, mining and miners’ tales, historical and anti quarian literature, associated artifacts and their find circumstances— makes this book an important contribution to the understanding of tin in antiquity. Penhallurick clarifies the nature of the tin deposits accessible to the ancient Cornish miner. He believes that alluvial or placer tin was never very important and that shode tin (surface outcroppings) was signif icant only as a guide to the tin grounds buried at depths of as much as 10 meters during geological history. The popular (among archae ologists) misconception of Cornish tinners panning streams for allu vial cassiterite—similar to our view of the California ’49ers (which also...
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Aug 30, 2022
Chris Carey + 5
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