A technological and anthropological study of iron production in Venda, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Mathoho, Eric Ndivhuwo; Bandama, Foreman; Moffett, Abigail Joy; Chirikure, Shadreck

doi:10.1080/0067270x.2016.1177937

Cited by 6 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…In studies of past iron production technologies of sub-Saharan Africa, ethnography has been a profitable approach in understanding and interpreting the social contexts within which iron related practices emerged and changed over time (Chirikure, 2005;Cline, 1937;David et al, 1989;Herbert, 1993;Humphris, 2010;Killick, 1990;Mathoho et al, 2016;Peter R Schmidt and Mapunda, 1997). Archaeologists have used some or all of the different approaches found within ethnography such as oral traditions, direct historical testimonies, detailed observations, interviews as well as primary and secondary documents to explore the societies' worldviews, beliefs and cultural values.…”

Section: Ethnography and Written Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technology, ideology and environment. The social dynamics of iron metallurgy in Great Zimbabwe, AD 900 to the present

Mtetwa

2018

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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This thesis provides insights into the nature and organization of iron technology associated with past and present communities of Great Zimbabwe in southern Africa. Written accounts, ethnographic enquiries and, results of archaeological field surveys and excavations are combined to provide the first detailed account of Great Zimbabwe's iron production technologies. The existence of a considerable iron industry in Great Zimbabwe with complex and innovative designs and processes of iron smelting is established. Evidence includes tap slags, natural draft furnaces, one with a unique rectangular morphology, and the exploitation of manganese-rich iron ores or fluxes. Moderate to low levels of iron oxide in slag samples point to large-scale production of good quality iron for an extensive market at some time in the past of Great Zimbabwe. Iron slags, possible bloom pieces and broken tuyeres are examined using standard archaeometallurgical laboratory techniques to establish the decisions and choices underlying technology and pyro-metallurgical processes in and between sites. The results are explained using theoretical concepts of social practice and agency to address the worldviews, social values and beliefs of iron related practices in Great Zimbabwe over time. The study provides an alternative angle for approaching the social complexity of Great Zimbabwe (with its peak in the 12 th-16 th centuries AD), previously understood from the perspective of its spectacular architecture. Evidence of primary and secondary production activities in domestic and specialized settings outside settlements suggests a greater spatiotemporal complexity and ambiguity of the organization of technology than previously thought. Iron production in domestic contexts provided an inclusive space, creating the possibility for transformation of not just materials, but also women and children into social agents of technology, adding an alternative and more socially embedded perspective of technology in Africa.

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Section: Ethnography and Written Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technology, ideology and environment. The social dynamics of iron metallurgy in Great Zimbabwe, AD 900 to the present

Mtetwa

2018

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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“…This concentration of metal production sites around ore sources is not unique to Phalaborwa. Numerous furnace precincts were documented in close proximity to the 'Iron Mountains' in Tshimbupfe (Mathoho et al 2016) and Mamadi (1940) discussed a similar phenomenon in Musina, with copper production taking place in close association with the copper mines. Further afield on the Highveld the 19th-century town of Marathodi (Hall et al 2006) was similarly located adjacent to the nickel-copper sulphide pipes that were exploited by the copper producers in the town.…”

Section: Shankare Craft Productionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…3.1), an area well known for iron production (Miller et al 2002). Various historical records suggest that iron was smelted by specific people in the community who practiced that craft, and who made a living out of it, retaining some iron for their services (Stayt 1931a(Stayt , 1931bMamadi 1940;Miller et al 2002;Mathoho et al 2016). Differential task distribution was an important feature of iron working in this region.…”

Section: Resource Distribution: Control Supply and Demandmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As in other parts of Africa, smelting technology and metalworking in southern Africa were historically also deeply embedded in the social realm. Historians and ethnographers in the Venda regions documented taboos and prescriptions around metalworking processes (Stayt 1931a;Mamadi 1940;Miller et al 2002;Mathoho et al 2016). Iron working was facilitated by kinship structures, with production closely associated with lineages of particular groups in the Tshimbupfe area, whose political identity was linked to their status in relation to iron production (Mathoho et al 2016: 5).…”

Section: Resource Distribution: Control Supply and Demandmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Exploration of the historical record indicates the variable ways production was organised within the Lowveld. In particular differential task distribution was historically an important feature of metalworking, with different people collecting ore, smelting and smithing (Stayt 1931a(Stayt , 1931bMamadi 1940;Miller et al 2002;Mathoho et al 2016). Although the Lemba, baPhalaborwa, Musina and Tshimbupfe metalworkers clearly produced more metal on a specialised scale, production was not only limited to point sources, but also took place on smaller scales in the wider region.…”

Section: Shankare Craft Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Phalaborwa where the hammer is heard’: crafting together the political economy of Iron Age communities in southern Africa, AD 900–1900

Moffett

2017

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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In Africa and elsewhere, producers form a critical dimension to archaeological reconstructions of the political economy. However, few studies address the relationship between producers and the political economy from the vantage point of production sites. This study addresses the position of metal producers in the regional political economy of Iron Age (AD 200-1900) communities in southern Africa through an in-depth analysis of one production locale, Shankare. Shankare is a production and habitation site located in close proximity to the Lolwe mineral body in Phalaborwa. Studying the organisation of production, identity of producers, mechanisms of exchange and evidence of consumption at Shankare provided an important platform to assess producers in the context of the domestic and regional economy. Research at Shankare and surrounding sites revealed that production was characterised by a community of homestead based producers located in proximity to the ore source. Metal production took place in domestic contexts in conjunction with other activities, and with clear evidence of scheduling and cross-crafting overlaps. Producers acted independently and were well connected within a regional exchange system that facilitated the flow of local products and imported items such as glass beads and cowrie shells (Cypraea annulus). The study of producers at Shankare indicates the presence of a decentralised political economy resulting in a high degree of autonomy of producers and consumers in the region. Comparisons between the organisation of metal production at Shankare through time indicate that in both occupational periods, AD 900-1300 and AD 1700-1900, production strategies were contextually negotiated, with no clear correlation between political centralisation and specialised production. This research challenges existing models of control and the enactment of power in the political economy of the Iron Age. It has further potential implications for reconsidering the parameters for identifying power relations utilised in global archaeological theory. I would like to acknowledge a number of individuals and institutions that have made this research possible. Funding for my studies was provided through a grant-holder linked National Research Foundation (NRF) bursary facilitated by Associate Professor Shadreck Chirikure. Additional funding from the Erasmus-Mundus Association allowed me to spend five months at K.U. Leuven in Belgium from which I greatly benefited. Access to Shankare for fieldwork was granted by the Palabora Mining Company. Special thanks to Tim Paxton and the heritage officers Johannes Malatji, Adam Mhlongo, Thembani and Mandla who facilitated our research at Shankare and also contributed towards our understanding of the site. Guy Thomas,

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Board games and social life in Iron Age southern Africa

Mathoho

Chirikure

Nyamushosho

2022

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

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A technological and anthropological study of iron production in Venda, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Cited by 6 publications

References 29 publications

Technology, ideology and environment. The social dynamics of iron metallurgy in Great Zimbabwe, AD 900 to the present

Technology, ideology and environment. The social dynamics of iron metallurgy in Great Zimbabwe, AD 900 to the present

‘Phalaborwa where the hammer is heard’: crafting together the political economy of Iron Age communities in southern Africa, AD 900–1900

Board games and social life in Iron Age southern Africa

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