Iron Technology in East Africa: Symbolism, Science, and Archaeology

by Peter R. Schmidt

Overview

" . . . one of the best books yet written on preindustrial African ironworking." —Geoarchaeology

"Peter Schmidt has written an important synthesis of two decades' work on the iron technology of the Haya people of Tanzania." —African Studies Review

" . . . essential reading for archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians of East Africa . . . " —International Journal of African Historical Studies

"In Schmidt's skillful and sensitive hands . . . the topic comes alive as a vital sociology of knowledge in ways that will interest a great many readers, both in and outside of archaeology and African Studies." —Choice

Peter R. Schmidt distills more than 20 years of research on the technological, historical, and cultural dimensions of African iron production from ancient times to the recent past. His investigation of the rich symbolism surrounding traditional methods of iron production sheds light on the history of iron technology and reveals its central cultural role.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780253211095
Publisher:	Indiana University Press
Publication date:	06/22/1997
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Peter R. Schmidt is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Florida, editor of The Culture and Technology of African Iron Production, and co-editor (with Roderick J. McIntosh) of Plundering Africa's Past.

Table of Contents

1. Remaking Knowledge about African Iron Technology
2. Historical and Cultural Contexts: Excavating History, Myth, and Ritual
3. Ethnoarchaeology and Experiment in Iron Technology
4. Ethnoarchaeology and Bricolage: Engaging Iron Smelting
5. A Technological Model of the Haya Process
6. Comparative Models: Forging a History of Haya Iron Smelting
7. Dynamic Models for an Archaeology of Iron Technology
8. Models for the Interpretation of Space: Smelting and Forging
9. An Archaeology of African Iron Symbolism
10. Reading Ideology in the Archaeological Record
11. A History of Landscape Transformation: Bringing the Past Up to the Present