An Archaeometallurgical Investigation of Iron Smelting Traditions in Southern Rwanda

Bibliographic Data

ID6042380
AuthorsJane Humphris (0000-0001-6963-2143, University College London Qatar, corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume47
Issue1
Pages131-132
Publication date2012-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAzania Archaeological Research in Africa (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0067-270X • E-ISSN: 1945-5534
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0067270x.2011.647955
OpenAlexW2039731674
LanguageEN
Citations received11

From the 1950’s to the 1980’s, research in Rwanda highlighted the country’s significant \narchaeological potential, including some of the earliest evidence for iron production in \nsub-Saharan Africa. However, years of civil war culminated in the 1994 genocide and \nthe country was left devastated. Further archaeological research to develop the potential \nalready indicated was inappropriate. \nIn 2006 this research project, to explore Rwanda’s past iron smelting traditions, was \naccepted by the Institute of National Museums in Rwanda. Six months of fieldwork \nfollowed, including survey and the excavation of six newly located iron production \nsites. Archaeometallurgical samples collected in the field have been analysed at the \nInstitute of Archaeology using a variety of different analytical techniques, and the \nresults generated have been interpreted. Thus, aspects of the production techniques \nrepresented at each of the smelting locations investigated during this research have been \nilluminated. \nThis first systematic exploration of diachronic change within iron smelting traditions in \nSouthern Rwanda has revealed two and a half millennia of dynamic technologies \nembedded within wider society. A chronological framework has been defined to provide \na sound basis for the consideration of the results, which include a high-resolution \nunderstanding of Early Iron Age smelting techniques and an appreciation of smelting \ntraditions during the Middle Iron Age. Technological traditions have been \ncontextualised within broader Great Lakes, and specifically Rwandan, history, and the \nsignificant potential for such high-resolution studies has been demonstrated

Ancient history · Archaeology · Geography · Metallurgy · Smelting · African history and culture analysis · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Geology · History · Materials Science · Metallurgy and Cultural Artifacts

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