Speaking of African metallurgy 🌍
If you woke up this morning thinking you know what this holiday season is missing? Some juicy archaeo-metallurgical drama. HELLO, HI, I AM HERE TO DELIVER.
In 2014, an archaeometallurgist (wtf why did nobody tell me this was a job growing up) named Manfred Eggert argued that iron metallurgy in sub-Saharan Africa developed independently of outside influence—that is to say, not through the diffusion of existing knowledge based in Tunisia and Sudan.
Now, there is no proof that this technology was taken across the Sahara into sub-Saharan Africa—nor is there proof of independent invention, as Eggert surmises. You would think this would make for a boring academic debate, but oh, you ignorant fool. Check out the spicy title of this article by Dr. Shadrek Chirikure in the Journal of African Archaeology, in which he questions his peers’ radiocarbon dating. THE SHADE.
This is an actual photo of him! I pulled it straight from his Twitter bio! Those of us without a PhD in archaeology can only aspire to this swagger!
Chirikure’s work seeks to disrupt the hegemonic approach to African technologies, and their roles in society, using African philosophies to revise historically accepted concepts and reflect on the significance of African technology in the long durée. In his work, Chirikure reflects on how this affects Africa's place in the world now, and the place of the world in Africa.
This was the rabbit hole that kept on giving. Along the way, I came across this vastly underrated Wikipedia page. Iron smelters and smiths were literally thought to posses magic powers for real.
Their powerful knowledge allowed them to produce materials on which the whole community relied. In some communities, they were believed to have such strong supernatural powers that they were regarded as highly as the king or chief.
Ironworkers became experts in rituals to encourage good production and to ward off bad spirits, including song and prayers, plus the giving of medicines and even sacrifices.
Some cultures associated sexual symbolism with iron production. Smelting is integrated with the fertility of their society, as with natural reproduction the production of the bloom is compared to the conception and birth. The furnaces are often extravagantly adored to resemble a woman, the mother of the bloom.
Just, I cannot with all this. I wish I had spent less time at BYU learning about America as a City on a Hill®️ and more time learning about AFRICAN METALLURGY.
In January, the Met is unveiling a new exhibit on the art of the Sahel. Perfect timing with my new obsession! I can’t wait to go!
Thanks for reading Gemini Mind! Elsewhere, you can find me as @yokizzi 💫