Cairo to Cape: The Spread of Metallurgy through Eastern and Southern Africa

Killick, David

doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-9017-3_19

Cited by 13 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Second, most of the Shang sites are dated to the second half of the second millennium bc , and so far there is no archaeological or isotopic evidence showing any form of bulk metal transfer between China and Africa during this period. In fact, there is no evidence for the production or use of metals in Southern Africa before ad 200 (Killick ). Ancient Egyptians in North Africa used bronze during the second millennium bc .…”

Section: Shang Bronze From Africa?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Did China Import Metals from Africa in the Bronze Age?

Liu

Chen

Mei³

et al. 2018

Archaeometry

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The origins of the copper, tin and lead for China's rich Bronze Age cultures are a major topic in archaeological research, with significant contributions being made by archaeological fieldwork, archaeometallurgical investigations and geochemical considerations. Here, we investigate a recent claim that the greater part of the Shang-period metalwork was made using metals from Africa, imported together with the necessary know-how to produce tin bronze. A brief review of the current status of lead isotopic study on Shang-period bronze artefacts is provided first, clarifying a few key issues involved in this discussion. It is then shown that there is no archaeological or isotopic basis for bulk metal transfer between Africa and China during the Shang period, and that the copper and lead in Shang bronze with a strongly radiogenic signature is not likely to be from Africa. We call for collaborative interdisciplinary research to address the vexing question of the Shang period's metal sources, focusing on smelting sites in geologically defined potential source regions and casting workshops identified at a number of Shang settlements. KEYWORDS: LEAD ISOTOPES, HIGHLY RADIOGENIC LEAD, SHANG BRONZE, PROVENANCE INTRODUCTIONMost major Bronze Age civilizations developed in the catchments of large rivers that were sustaining a high population density through intensive agriculture. These areas, however, are almost always devoid of mineral resources, which are typically exposed only in mountainous areas, remote from the centres of agricultural civilization. Thus, these centres were dependent on distant areas to provide their strategically important metals, primarily copper, tin and gold, but also lead and silver. Substantive research has identified major copper sources for Egypt, Mesopotamia and Chen et al. 2009Chen et al. , 2016Pollard et al. 2017). Among these, Shang-period bronzes dated between the 16th and 11th centuries BCE stand out due to their highly distinctive isotopic and chemical compositions. The identification of the geological source(s) of this metal is a long-standing issue in Chinese archaeology, which has attracted considerable research interest from many scholars of various disciplinary backgrounds. A recent paper by Sun et al. (2016) is a new, but unconvincing, attempt to answer this question. It not only claims that 'the Yin-Shang people may have learned bronze technology elsewhere and brought it to China ' (Sun et al. 2016, 5), but it also concludes that 'both the Yin-Shang and the Sanxingdui bronzes were obtained in Africa, bearing the highly radiogenic lead isotopic signatures of Africa's Archean cratons. Alternatively, some ancient people might have come to China from Africa, carrying tin and/or bronzes with them' (Sun et al. 2016, 6). These hypotheses are undoubtedly bold and eye-catching, but unfortunately are also fundamentally flawed. In this paper, we offer a brief summary of currently available research on highly radiogenic lead found in ancient Shang bronzes, clarifying a few key issues that were m...

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Section: Shang Bronze From Africa?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Did China Import Metals from Africa in the Bronze Age?

Liu

Chen

Mei³

et al. 2018

Archaeometry

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“…There are still intense debates about the relative importance of independent invention and diffusion, especially with regard to metallurgy. For example, whether iron smelting was introduced to Sub-Saharan Africa or developed indigenously -perhaps on multiple occasions -is as yet unresolved, though the extraordinary diversity of iron-producing techniques has been taken of evidence of `spontaneous generation' (Alpern, 2005;Killick, 2009). Either way, as anthropologist Peter Schmidt observes, by the late 19 th century 'there were hundreds if not thousands of different iron-production systems active on the continent' (cited in Alpern 2005, 85;Schmidt, 1996, 9).…”

Section: Distributions Of the Cruciblementioning

confidence: 99%

Fiery Arts: Pyrotechnology and the Political Aesthetics of the Anthropocene

Clark

2015

GeoHumanities

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The effects of combustion feature prominently in the planetary predicament signalled by the Anthropocene thesis. Historical studies of pyrotechnology-the application of heat to transform earth materials-suggest a wide-ranging inquiry into human fire use might bring new insights to the practical and political challenges of the Anthropocene. Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari, I use the term `pyrotechnic phylum' to refer to the multi-millennial developments of metallurgy, ceramics and related `fiery arts' centred on the enclosed fire of the oven, kiln and furnace. As an engagement with the forces and properties of the Earth, pyrotechnical innovation has a pronounced experimental and playful dimension-opening up possibilities that human geological agency might have aesthetic origins. Pyrotechnic histories also highlight the widely distributed character of innovation, raising questions about a singular `thermo-industrial revolution' centred on Europe. Bringing together a feeling for the creative, worldshaping aspects of the pyrotechnic arts and a sense of the decentred, collaborative nature of their development, it is suggested that the pyrotechnic phylum might be seen as a kind of a shared platform for political action. Though attentive to its current contraction and marginalization, I speculate about the possible role of pyrotechnology in a political aesthetics for the Anthropocene.

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“…Debate about the origin and timing of early iron metallurgy in the Great Lakes region prior to the Bantu migration is ongoing (e.g. Alpern, ; Killick, ); however, the idée fixe of an exclusively Bantu‐related introduction of iron metallurgy between ~800 and 400 BC remains hinted through the discussions. This example of begging the question is possible because of the general scarcity of multi‐proxy archaeological data and their poorly constrained radiometric dating, together with modest palaeoenvironmental evidence of increasing agricultural activity from that period onwards (e.g.…”

Section: East Africa's Environmental History Over the Past 2500 Yearsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This example of begging the question is possible because of the general scarcity of multi‐proxy archaeological data and their poorly constrained radiometric dating, together with modest palaeoenvironmental evidence of increasing agricultural activity from that period onwards (e.g. Schoenbrun, ; Sutton, ; Jolly et al ., ; Taylor, Robertshaw & Marchant, ; Killick, ). Nothing is farther from the truth: methodological deficiencies can unfortunately not be ignored and need to be viewed from a proper perspective, unrestrained by a‐priorisms.…”

Section: East Africa's Environmental History Over the Past 2500 Yearsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Taylor, ; Schoenbrun, ; Jolly et al ., ) and archaeological (e.g. Robertshaw & Taylor, ; Killick, ) evidence has been interpreted to indicate significant anthropogenic deforestation from at least 3000 years ago, concomitant with the spread of farming and iron metallurgy. The discrepancy between both hypotheses reflects the lack of solid evidence regarding the exact timing and relative magnitude of indigenous versus modern anthropogenic land clearances and the severity of past land‐use impacts.…”

Section: The Challenge To Discern Past Human Impact In Palaeoenvironmmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Historical climate‐human‐ecosystem interaction in East Africa: a review

Gelorini

Verschuren

2012

Afr. J. Ecol.

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The palaeoecological visibility of historical human impact on natural ecosystems in tropical East Africa is strongly impeded by an overriding dominant signature of climate change at decadal-to-millennial time scales. Better knowledge of the relative magnitude and timing of present and past human impact and climate variability is, however, instrumental to properly assess the resilience, and recovery potential, of East Africa's natural ecosystems. Here, we briefly review comprehensive previous attempts to assess past ecosystem responses to climate change and human impact. We further discuss some key issues of climate-human-ecosystem relationships in a multidisciplinary framework and address some future challenges and outcomes, which may pave the way to a better understanding of past climate-human-ecosystem interaction-in tropical Africa

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Cairo to Cape: The Spread of Metallurgy through Eastern and Southern Africa

Cited by 13 publications

References 25 publications

Did China Import Metals from Africa in the Bronze Age?

Did China Import Metals from Africa in the Bronze Age?

Fiery Arts: Pyrotechnology and the Political Aesthetics of the Anthropocene

Historical climate‐human‐ecosystem interaction in East Africa: a review

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