The sustainability of the iron industry based on local wisdom in the Barito watershed

Abstract

Iron has been important in human civilization since the abandonment of stone tools. The traditional technology of iron ore smelting in Indonesia has been known for hundreds of years, but research on the local traditional iron industry is still very minimal. This study aims to explain the iron industry in the southeast Kalimantan before modern times until the present using ethnohistory and experimental archaeological approaches. The research conducted in 2017-2019 at the upstream of Barito watershed, North Barito Regency, Central Kalimantan, has found 19 sites with the findings were furnaces, air pipes, iron ore fragments, charcoal, and slag. The traditional iron-making began with the process of mining, followed by iron ore smelting and forging. The archaeological experiments by smelting furnace produced the raw iron by a percentage of 40-60% from ore. The experiments produced the ingots with Fe content of about 80% (XRF analysis) and showed good ore quality. However, since the early 20th century the iron-making industry has been abandoned because of the arrivals of cheaper iron from China. Recently, the remaining iron industry consists of only the blacksmiths who produce agricultural equipment from scrap iron, some only gild to sharpen machetes and ‘mandau’.

X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis of iron ore at ancient Kedah iron smelting site, Sungai Batu archaeological complex, Bujang Valley, Kedah, Malaysia

“…This shows that the raw material for iron smelting industry at Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex is different from some iron smelting sites in Thailand [ 20 , 21 ] and Indonesia [ 22 ] that use laterite as the raw material for iron smelting. This is due to the low Fe content in the laterite, in addition to the abundance of high-quality iron ore around this complex, which is why it was chosen as the raw material for iron smelting in ancient Kedah.…”

“…This is because the excavation carried out has found iron ore (hematite, magnetite, geotite) and laterite in the site of the iron smelting sites which requires scientific research to be carried out to identify which raw material sources are used in iron smelting activities in this area. This is because archaeological studies in the area of Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex [ 15 ], Jeniang-Sik [ [16] , [17] , [18] ], Santubong [ 19 ] also recorded evidence of iron smelting using iron ore while the Ban Kao Din Tai [ 20 ], Ban Dong Phlong [ 21 ] and Buren Benangin [ 22 ] sites have used laterite as the raw material for iron smelting. This shows evidence the iron smelting process at the ancient time use a hematite, magnetite, biotite and laterite as the raw material for iron smelting activities.…”

The rise of the Metal Age in Sumatra: Evidence from Harimau Cave in South Sumatra

“…Also, in Kalimantan, in the Montalat River region along the Upper Barito River, metal smelting sites were recently found in at least 19 locations. Based on the results of radiocarbon analyses, these smelting activities were dated to the fourteenth to nineteenth centuries AD (Hartatik et al 2021). As well as at Kalimantan, iron smelting sites were found in Matano, central Sulawesi, dating to the eighth century AD (Adhityatama et al 2021).…”

Development of Technology Ferrous Metal Melting Furnace Ancient Times in Indonesia

“…Situs-situs peleburan besi seperti di Hulu Sungai Barito di wilayah Sungai Montalat, Kalimantan Tengah, yang telah di teliti tahun 2017--2019 telah menemukan 19 situs peleburan logam besi, bahkan pada tahun 2019 telah dilakukan penelitian eksperimen untuk melebur besi berdasarkan hasil penelitian yang telah dilakukan. Dari hasil pertanggalan C14 dapat diketahui jika peleburan besi telah dilakukan di Kalimantan setidaknya mulai abad ke 14--19 Masehi (Hartatik et al 2021). Selain di Kalimantan, situs peleburan besi juga terdapat di Matano, Sulawesi Tengah yang terkenal dengan besi yang mengandung nikel setidaktidaknya sejak masa Kerajaan Majapahit yang dikenal sebagai pamor luwu sebagai bahan pembuatan keris telah memproduksi logam besi sejak abad ke 8 Masehi di Situs Pulau Ampat (Adhityatama et al 2021).…”

“…Tungku tempa Kalimantan juga memiliki tuyère sebagaimana yang di temukan di Sungai Batu, untuk bahan bakar tungku tempa Kalimantan menggunakan arang serta bahan baku dari batu laterit dan hematit. Produksi besi pada tungku tempa Kalimantan dilakukan proses pemurnian sebanyak dua kali untuk mendapatkan hasil produksi besi yang murni (Hartatik et al 2021).…”