Say it in Iron. Symbols of Transformation and Reproduction in the European Iron Age

Abstract

The European research on iron has traditionally focused on the technical and economic aspects of iron production, However, a view of metal working in a wider regional context shows that it is generally entrenched in symbolic meaning and ritual activity. In this paper, the author employs four ethnographic case studies to show the importance of symbolic and ritual aspects of iron working and how these are intertwined with technological factors. What comes across are also the metaphorical links between pottery vessels, food, and furnaces used to produce iron. When looking at the European material, one can discern the same associations in the ftnds of cauldrons used for offerings of food as in the finds of cauldrons used for offerings of iron, such as iron weapons. The former are placed in a context ofnurturing and human reproduction, while the latter are placed in a context of destruction. This indicates the ambiguity of iron as associated with nourishment-fertility and with destruction and death

The Metalworker as Social Agent: Alongue duréeApproach from Northwestern Iberia Atlantic Façade (Ninth–First Centuriesbce)

“…Although it depends on their sociocultural context, metalworking can provide prestige and power in many different ways (Reid & MacLean 1995, 145), by providing symbols (Sassoon 1983), as esoteric and exclusive knowledge (Barndon 2004, 41; Childs 1998, 112), or through the value retained by certain objects (Hingley 2009). However, this relationship between metallurgy and power is usually only explored through the symbolism of iron production (Green 2002, 8; Haaland 2007–8, 203), leaving aside the production of other objects. It is true that, as we will see below, iron production has a symbolic relevance that, in certain conditions, favours a particular cosmogony.…”

“…This approach, commonly used in different anthropological studies (especially in Africa: e.g. Barndon 2004; Childs 1998; Herbert 1993; Schmidt & Mapunda 1997), has not been particularly exploited in archaeological studies of European protohistory, with some exceptions in regions such as the British Isles (Dolan 2016; Giles 2007; Hingley 1997; 2009) or Scandinavia (Barndon 2006; Gansum 2004; Haaland 2004; 2007–8).…”

Social Change and Metalworking in the Early Iron Age: An Approach From North‐west Iberia

“…With regard to the second, and with some regional exceptions (e.g. Hingley 1997; 2009; Haaland 2007–08), metallurgy has usually been studied from a technological perspective, as is also the case in north‐west Iberia.…”