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

At one time, iron was a highly valued commodity in Africa and ironworkers were both admired and feared for their knowledge and skills. This study presents the results of ethnoarchaeological fieldwork carried out among the Pangwa and Fipa peoples of south west Tanzania and their re-enactment of smelting practices. The author is looking for aspects of the technological processes of transforming iron ore into bloomery iron which may be relevant to Africa's past. What he finds is that the ideology behind the process was complex and involved magic and was associated metaphorically with sex, sexual taboos, abstinence, fertility and gender issues.