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Fiko bloomery site: excavation of the northern crater of heap 3, with a pair of bloomery furnaces in the centre (2005 season).
Source publication
Discussion of the difference between the various iron smelting traditions evidenced in the dogon area, Mali. Archaeological criteria (furnace building, wastes assemblages and spatial organisation of the semlting site) are presented. Some aspects of the socio-economical organization are also presented.
Citations
... 42 Childs 1991, 332. 43 Robion-Brunner 2010Robion-Brunner et al. 2013. raw iron. ...
... Distinct surplus production is evidenced for the Fiko tradition operating for at least during 900 years and only ceasing in the early 20th century AD. Site locations and production levels far exceeded local needs, thus, the produced iron was distributed outside the Dogon Country, presumably in the Inland Niger Delta (Robion-Brunner et al., 2013). Anthracological analyses at these sites have indicated distinct vegetation changes in the course of occupation (Eichhorn, 2012;Eichhorn et al., 2013a a,b). ...
Local iron production played a major role in the pre-colonial West African economy and certain
metallurgical centres operated on an industrial magnitude. One of them is the Bassar area in central Togo
where the onset of iron metallurgy is considered to date back to the 3rd-4th century BC, even though only
from the 14th century AD onwards the area experienced distinct production intensification. High-level
iron production lasted as late as the early 20th century.
Bassar iron metallurgy was often considered to have caused massive deforestation and vegetation
degradation, mainly due to wood exploitation for charcoal production, specifically to fuel iron smelting
furnaces. The study presented here is the first to test this assumption using anthracological methods,
supplemented by ethnohistorical interviews and archaeometallurgical investigations.
The focus of our investigations is on two sites, Tchogma and Tatré. The charcoal assemblages at both
sites and during all production periods are dominated by trees and shrubs with dense wood. According
to our ethnohistorical interviews, hard wood species were considered particularly suitable for iron
smelting, including several species with a strong capacity to re-sprout after coppicing.
The taxon composition of the charcoal assemblages from metallurgical waste heaps generally corresponds
to the oral traditions. In addition to the taxa mentioned by the interviewees, useful fruit trees
such as the shea butter tree (Vitellaria paradoxa) were regularly used as fuel for ironworking. This
demonstrates the exploitation of agroforestry parklands, which is providing evidence that arable land
was already occupying a vast land surface of the Bassar area.
The results of our study seem inconsistent with the previous idea of massive vegetation degradation
due to the impact of wood exploitation for iron metallurgy in Bassar. Three main factors contradict
previous general deforestation assumptions: 1. The anthracological results indicate the use of taxa with
the ability to re-sprout, which probably allowed for fast woodland regeneration; 2. We consider the area
to possess a higher biomass reproduction capacity in comparison to areas further north investigated in
our previous studies; 3. The development of local craft specialisation scattered the impact of wood use on
the Bassar landscape, thereby, preventing complete local deforestation.
Our re-evaluation of Bassar slag amounts indicates fuel consumption was higher than previously
thought. The over-exploitation of certain preferred taxa, particularly species with a restricted capacity to
re-sprout, and local vegetation changes around the smelting sites is likely, although such modifications
are not unequivocally reflected in the charcoal data.
... While furnace types changed archaeologically, optical microscopic and compositional data suggest that the extractive technology was fairly stable through time. Interestingly, despite being historically known as a landscape of intensive iron production, no significantly large-scale production waste in quantities similar to those seen at 'industrial' production locations such as in Mali or Sudan (de Barros 2013;Robion Brunner et al. 2013) was noted in the survey area. This suggests that specialisation, or at least intensity of production, has to be understood as relative to the specific social contexts in which iron production occurred. ...
This study investigates the technology and sociology of indigenous iron production in Venda, northern South Africa, within a framework of ethnographies, historical documents and archaeometallurgical analyses. Investigations revealed that indigenous iron production in the study area, like elsewhere in southern Africa, was based on the direct process in which high-grade iron ores were reduced to metallic iron in charcoal fuelled low-shaft furnaces. The technology exploited at the sites under study used high-grade haematite and magnetite ores, which were extracted from open shaft mines within the vicinity of the smelting precincts. Although new furnace types appeared in the mid-second millennium AD, evidence suggests that the technology of iron smelting was relatively stable during the Early (AD 200-900) and Late (AD 1000 to 1900) Iron Ages. Iron smelting in this area was accompanied by rituals and taboos that connected the smelters to the living and the dead. A comparative study of such rituals and taboos with those invested in other categories of practice, such as male initiation, identified notable similarities and differences. This indicates that material culture production and use broadcast ideas and beliefs applicable to both technical and quotidian practices.
... Distinct surplus production is evidenced for the Fiko tradition operating for at least during 900 years and only ceasing in the early 20th century AD. Site locations and production levels far exceeded local needs, thus, the produced iron was distributed outside the Dogon Country, presumably in the Inland Niger Delta (Robion-Brunner et al., 2013). Anthracological analyses at these sites have indicated distinct vegetation changes in the course of occupation (Eichhorn, 2012;Eichhorn et al., 2013a a,b). ...
Local iron production played a major role in pre-colonial West African economy and early voyagers
report the industrial magnitude of certain metallurgical centres. One of them is the Bassar Region in
central Togo where iron production operated on a high level until the early 20th century and ceased
completely only in the 1950s. Its onset is considered to date back before Christ, but only from the 14th
century onwards, the area experienced production intensification within four distinct periods. Bassar
iron metallurgy has early been in the focus of scientific research and was often accused to have caused
massive deforestation and vegetation degradation mainly due to wood exploitation for charcoal
production for the iron smelting furnaces. In the local population, there is still a lively and detailed
memory of the metallurgical chaîne opératoire, the related charcoal production and involved local
specialisation of skills. A number of trees and shrubs are considered suitable for iron smelting, among
them several species with a strong ability to re-sprout after coppicing. In periods of strong demand,
iron smelters could buy pre-fabricated wood charcoal from specialised charcoal producing villages at
least in the last two production periods. In turn, processing of the raw iron – demanding additional fuel
– was the task of further villages. We argue that the development of local crafts specialisation in
combination with the use of regenerating species and the Sudano-Guinean area’s high biomass
reproduction capacity is inconsistent with the idea of massive vegetation degradation due to iron
metallurgy in the Bassar Region. The taxa composition of charcoal assemblages from the enormous
metallurgical waste heaps of site complexes throughout the region is coherent with the oral traditions
and is regularly dominated by trees and shrubs able to re-sprout. Distinct changes during the four
production periods are not yet visible but a focus on few site complexes will help us to establish local
long-term charcoal sequences in order to better separate spatial from temporal differences.
deBarros, P., 1986. Bassar: A quantified, chronologically controlled, regional approach to a traditional
iron production center in West Africa. Africa 56, 148-174.
Eichhorn, B., Robion-Brunner, C., Perret, S., Serneels,V. Iron metallurgy in the Dogon country (Mali):
"deforestation" or sustainable use? In: Damblon, F. (ed.), Proceedings of the 4th International
Meeting of Anthracology, Brussels 8-13 September 2008, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural
Sciences. BAR International Series 2486: 57-70.
Goucher, C. L., 1981. Iron is iron ‘til it is rust: trade and ecology in the decline of West African ironsmelting.
Journal of African History 22, 179-189.
Key Words: West Africa, Bassar, Sudano-Guinean area, crafts specialization, biomass regeneration
... Distinct surplus production is evidenced for the Fiko tradition operating for at least during 900 years and only ceasing in the early 20th century AD. Site locations and production levels far exceeded local needs, thus, the produced iron was distributed outside the Dogon Country, presumably in the Inland Niger Delta (Robion-Brunner et al., 2013). Anthracological analyses at these sites have indicated distinct vegetation changes in the course of occupation (Eichhorn, 2012;Eichhorn et al., 2013a a,b). ...
Local iron production played a major role in pre-colonial West African economy and early voyagers
report the industrial magnitude of certain metallurgical centres. One of them is the Bassar Region in
central Togo where iron production operated on a high level until the early 20th century and ceased
completely only in the 1950s. Its onset is considered to date back before Christ, but only from the 14th
century onwards, the area experienced production intensification within four distinct periods. Bassar
iron metallurgy has early been in the focus of scientific research and was often accused to have caused
massive deforestation and vegetation degradation mainly due to wood exploitation for charcoal production for the iron smelting furnaces. In the local population, there is still a lively and detailed memory of the metallurgical chaîne opératoire, the related charcoal production and involved local specialisation of skills. A number of trees and shrubs are considered suitable for iron smelting, among them several species with a strong ability to re-sprout after coppicing. In periods of strong demand, iron smelters could buy pre-fabricated wood charcoal from specialised charcoal producing villages at least in the last two production periods. In turn, processing of the raw iron – demanding additional fuel – was the task of further villages. We argue that the development of local crafts specialisation in combination with the use of regenerating species and the Sudano-Guinean area’s high biomass reproduction capacity is inconsistent with the idea of massive vegetation degradation due to iron
metallurgy in the Bassar Region. The taxa composition of charcoal assemblages from the enormous metallurgical waste heaps of site complexes throughout the region is coherent with the oral traditions
and is regularly dominated by trees and shrubs able to re-sprout. Distinct changes during the four
production periods are not yet visible but a focus on few site complexes will help us to establish local
long-term charcoal sequences in order to better separate spatial from temporal differences.
References
deBarros, P., 1986. Bassar: A quantified, chronologically controlled, regional approach to a traditional
iron production center in West Africa. Africa 56, 148-174.
Eichhorn, B., Robion-Brunner, C., Perret, S., Serneels,V. Iron metallurgy in the Dogon country (Mali):
"deforestation" or sustainable use? In: Damblon, F. (ed.), Proceedings of the 4th International Meeting of Anthracology, Brussels 8-13 September 2008, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. BAR International Series 2486: 57-70.
Goucher, C. L., 1981. Iron is iron ‘til it is rust: trade and ecology in the decline of West African iron-
smelting. Journal of African History 22, 179-189.
Key Words: West Africa, Bassar, Sudano-Guinean area, crafts specialization, biomass regeneration
... In order to write a history of iron production, we require more systematic regional surveys to be carried out (de Barros 1985(de Barros , 1986Robert-Chaleix & Sognane 1983;Fowler 1990;Robert-Chaleix 1994;Robion-Brunner 2010;Serneels et al. 2012;Robion-Brunner et al. 2013;Serneels et al. 2013). This is one of the aims of the "Crossroads of Empires" project (Haour et al. 2011;Haour 2013). ...
In the context of the “Crossroads of Empires” project led by Anne Haour, one strand of enquiry aims to understand the history of blacksmith groups and the development of iron production in Dendi country, in the northern Republic of Benin. Numerous remains of iron production have been discovered, showing a great variability in furnace design and waste assemblages. At least three smelting traditions can be distinguished. In this paper, we present the smelting site of Kompa Moussékoubou (10th/11th c. AD) which has been investigated by archaeological and archaeometric methods. Beyond the archaeometallurgical results, the excavation of a 1 x 2 m trench on a settlement mound nearby and survey work, which place the site within its wider context, are also discussed. In particular, we offer a detailed analysis of the ceramics recovered during test pitting and within one of the furnaces itself. This paper thus offers a rare opportunity to combine archaeometallurgical and ceramics data
... Similar systematic palaeoecological approaches which might help to prove or disprove the often assumed degradation through wood exploitation for iron metallurgy have so far not been applied to West African iron smelting sites. In a multidisciplinary approach integrating archaeological, ethnohistorical and charcoal analytical data, we have tried since 2006 to document woody species use for iron bloomery, to establish anthracological sequences and to evaluate the direct ecological consequences of wood exploitation for iron metallurgy in a large-scale West African iron production district, the Fiko Tradition on the western margins of the Dogon (= Bandiagara) Plateau in Mali (Huysecom et al. 2009;Robion-Brunner 2010;Robion-Brunner et al. submitted;Eichhorn submitted;Eichhorn and Neumann submitted;Eichhorn et al., submitted). Possible ecological consequences related to atmospheric and soil pollution (cf. ...
Anthracological assemblages originating from slag heaps attributed to different metallurgical traditions in the Dogon Country (Mali, West Africa) evidence the predominant use of charcoal made from wood with high burning value for iron bloomery. In spite of this, at most sites, there is no indication of exceptional selectivity for single species and the Sahelo-Sudanian woody vegetation of the area is reflected clearly in the charcoal spectra. Sites associated with the Fiko Tradition on the western margin of the Dogon Plateau are characterised by the presence of enormous metallurgical waste dumps indicating surplus iron production.
Charcoal analyses at these long-term sites were carried out to reconstruct possible vegetation changes during the period of
occupation. Due to the obvious mass production and changes in the charcoal record, the ecological sustainability of wood
exploitation for this technology came into question, just like in other West African iron production centres before. In order to take
both exploitation and natural regeneration into account, raw mass balance estimates and literature-derived data on woody biomass
reproduction were combined with a timeframe based on radiocarbon dating series and oral traditions. This paper critically discusses the attempt to quantify wood use and reproduction and tries to extrapolate the results obtained in the Dogon Country to other major West African iron production sites.
Discussions of spatial relationships are persistent features of research on the organization of craft production. Despite the centrality of spatial issues, the correspondence between spatial patterning and economic organization remains relatively under-theorized, especially around questions of power and control. Drawing from the literature on craft ecology, specialization and landscape archaeology, I develop an approach that considers spatial scales of patterning, the power projection of elites and institutions and the articulation between elements of the crafting landscape. This approach recognizes the complex sets of factors affecting spatial patterning and ultimately produces a more robust understanding of how ancient economic systems were organized. These ideas are explored through a case study on Late Bronze and Early Iron Age metal production in the Caucasus, clarifying the organizational logics of the metal economy and highlighting how this industry differed in significant ways from other contemporary metal-producing regions in the ancient Near East.
Iron production has played a part in the history of Africa for more than 2,500 years. The study of this specific human activity has demonstrated its exceptional significance, its historical continuity and an astonishing variability of practice. In Sub-Saharan Africa, metallurgists developed different ways to produce the same material: iron. They multiplied the technical choices to a degree unequalled on other continents. But what is the significance of such extreme diversity? In this chapter, four case studies representing different situations are detailed: in Dendi Country/Benin, where the question of the nature of the raw materials is considered; in Dogon Country/Mali, seven contemporaneous smelting traditions in a limited geographical area; at the Korsimoro site/Burkina Faso, five successive smelting traditions in the same place; and in the Bassar region/Togo, the impact of ancient and intensive iron production on the environment and on the technology. Based on these examples the chapter discusses the interpretation of diversity in terms of the history of technology and population dynamics.
