An Ethnoarchaeological Study of Iron-Smelting Practices among the Pangwa and Fipa in Tanzania

This work is a comparative study of iron smelting practices among the Pangwa and Fipa peoples of Tanzania. The author discusses local concepts of metallurgy by step-by-step observations of the processes involved. Included is a description of the technology observed in several re-enactments of smelting practices and a discussion within a comparative framework of the multiple and shared levels of meaning and experience (symbolic repertoires and symbolic reservoirs) held by technicians during these observed technological processes. The study demonstrates, with a focus on magic and metaphors, the link between perceptions of the body and concepts of the technology. The author shows how a shift in the concepts of the technology is also useful for those studies of iron technology where there are no living exponents to answer questions about the use, or meaning, of specific objects or processes. Front Cover Title Page Copyright Table of Contents List of Figures List of Plates Preface 1. Introduction 2. Multiple worlds and multiple realities 3. A discussion of technology, the concepts and its contents 4. Re-enactments of smelting, how to describe and transcribe? 5. The Pangwa practice of iron smelting 6. The Fipa practice of iron smelting 7. Iron technology and symbolic reservoirs 8. From ethnoarchaeology to archaeology, from recent history to prehistory 9. Masters of metallurgy, masters of metaphors 10. Towards conclusions Appendices Bibliography Monograph Series Randi Barndon. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 163-175). Also Issued Online.