copper metallurgy in Africa
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Copper metallurgy in Africa encompasses the study of
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
production across the
continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...
and an understanding of how it influenced aspects of
African archaeology Africa has the longest record of human habitation in the world. The first hominins emerged 6-7 million years ago, and among the earliest anatomically modern human skulls found so far were discovered at Omo Kibish, Jebel Irhoud, and Florisbad. Eur ...
.


Origins

Scholars previously believed that
sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
ns either did not have a period of using
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
until the nineteenth century (going from the
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
directly into the
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
), or that they started smelting
iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
and copper at the same time (Herbert 1984). Copper smelting is thought to have been practiced in Nubia, during the early
Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth ...
c. 2686–2181 BC (Childs and Killick 1993). The principal evidence for this claim is an Egyptian outpost established in
Buhen Buhen ( grc, Βοὥν ''Bohón'') was an ancient Egyptian settlement situated on the West bank of the Nile below (to the North of) the Second Cataract in what is now Northern State, Sudan. It is now submerged in Lake Nasser, Sudan; as a resul ...
(near today's Sudanese-Egyptian border) around 2600 BC to smelt copper ores from Nubia. Alongside this, a crucible furnace dating to 2300–1900 BC for
bronze casting Lost-wax casting (also called "investment casting", "precision casting", or ''cire perdue'' which has been adopted into English from the French, ) is the process by which a duplicate metal sculpture (often silver, gold, brass, or bronze) is ...
has been found at the temple precinct at
Kerma Kerma was the capital city of the Kerma culture, which was located in present-day Sudan at least 5,500 years ago. Kerma is one of the largest archaeological sites in ancient Nubia. It has produced decades of extensive excavations and research, in ...
(in present-day northern Sudan), however the source of the
tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
remains unknown. Over the next millennium Nubians developed great skill in working copper and other known metals (Childs and Killick 1993). Discoveries in the
Agadez Region Agadez Region is one of the seven regions of Niger. At , it covers more than half of Niger's land area, and is the largest region in the country, as well as the largest African state subdivision. The capital of the department is Agadez. Histo ...
of
Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesmetallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
as early as 2000 BC. This date pre-dates the use of iron by a thousand years (Herbert 1984). Copper metallurgy seems to have been an indigenous invention in this area, because there is no clear evidence of influences from
Northern Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...
, and the Saharan wet phase was coming to an end, hindering human interactions across the Saharan region. It appeared to not be fully developed copper metallurgy, which suggests it was not from external origins. The people used native copper at first, and experimented with different furnace styles in order to smelt the ore between 2500 and 1500 BC (Ehret 2002). Copper metallurgy has been recorded at
Akjoujt Akjoujt (Arabic: أكجوجت) is a small city in western Mauritania. It is the capital of Inchiri region. "Akjoujt" (ɑk'ʤuʤt) means 'wells'. The city's main industry is gold and copper mining. History Archeologists have discovered that as ea ...
in western
Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
. The Akjoujt site is later than Agadez, dating back to around 850 BC. There is evidence of mining between 850 and 300 BC. Radiocarbon dates from the Grotte aux Chauves-souris mine shows that the extraction and smelting of
malachite Malachite is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral, with the formula Cu2CO3(OH)2. This opaque, green-banded mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal, fibrous, or stalagmitic masses, in fractures ...
goes back to the early fifth century BC. A number of copper artifacts—including arrow points, spearheads, chisels, awls and plano-convex axes as well as bracelets, bead and earrings—were collected from
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
sites in the region (Bisson et al. 2000). Collecting dates from
Tropical Africa Although tropical Africa is mostly familiar to the West for its rainforests, this biogeographic realm of Africa is far more diverse. While the tropics are thought of as regions with hot moist climates, which are caused by latitude and the tropi ...
has been extremely difficult. No dates are available for the copper mine in pre-colonial
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, and the earliest dates available south of the equator are around 345 AD at Naviundu springs near
Lubumbashi Lubumbashi (former names: ( French), (Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katanga ...
in the
Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
(DRC). Kansanshi mine in
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
and Kipushi mine in the DRC date to between the fifth and twelfth centuries. Sites further south have produced later dates, for example the Thakadu mines in
Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
date to between 1480 and 1680; other major mines in Botswana,
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
, and
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
remain undated (Bisson et al. 2000).


Ore sources

The mineralization of copper is restricted to a few areas in western, central and southern Africa, and some have the richest deposits of copper in the world. In the west, copper has only been found in the arid regions of the
Sahel The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...
and southern
Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
. The main sources of copper are: #
Akjoujt Akjoujt (Arabic: أكجوجت) is a small city in western Mauritania. It is the capital of Inchiri region. "Akjoujt" (ɑk'ʤuʤt) means 'wells'. The city's main industry is gold and copper mining. History Archeologists have discovered that as ea ...
in
Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
#
Nioro du Sahel Nioro du Sahel, often referred to as simply Nioro, is a town and urban commune in the Kayes Region of western Mali, 241 km from the city of Kayes. It is located 275 miles (by road) north-west of the Malian capital Bamako. As of 1998, the co ...
to Sirakoro in Northern
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
# The Aïr Massif near Azelik and Agadez in Niger There are not any known mines in tropical West Africa, however copper and lead workings have been in the
Benue Trough The Benue Trough is a major geological structure underlying a large part of Nigeria and extending about 1,000 km northeast from the Bight of Benin to Lake Chad. It is part of the broader West and Central African Rift System. Location The t ...
in southeastern Nigeria. With the exception of a few areas near Kilembe in
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
and
Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
, there are no sources of copper in East Africa. The largest concentration of copper found in Africa is the
Lufilian Arc The Lufilian Arc (or Lufilian Belt) is part of a system of orogenic belts in southern Africa formed during the Pan-African orogeny, a stage in the formation of the Gondwana supercontinent. It extends across eastern Angola, the Katanga Province of ...
. It is an eight hundred kilometer crescent shaped belt, which extends from the
Copperbelt The Copperbelt () is a natural region in Central Africa which sits on the border region between northern Zambia and the southern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is known for copper mining. Traditionally, the term ''Copperbelt'' includes the ...
in
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
to the southern
Shaba Province Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914. It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika, Haut-Lomami, Lualaba, ...
in Congo (Bisson et al. 2000).


Mining and processing

Early African miners used copper
oxide An oxide () is a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion of oxygen, an O2– (molecular) ion. with oxygen in the oxidation state of −2. Most of the E ...
s and
carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word ''carbonate'' may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate g ...
s rather than
sulfide Sulfide (British English also sulphide) is an inorganic anion of sulfur with the chemical formula S2− or a compound containing one or more S2− ions. Solutions of sulfide salts are corrosive. ''Sulfide'' also refers to chemical compounds lar ...
s, because they were able to reduce oxides and carbonates to copper metal, but not sulfides. Sulfides were more complex to reduce to metal and required multiple stages. Complex deep-mining methods and special tools were not needed, because oxides were structurally weakened by decomposition processes and contained the most desirable ores, and although the techniques used seemed to be simple, Africans were very successful in extracting large quantities of high-grade ore (Bisson et al. 2000). The copper mines themselves were most frequently open stopes or open stopes with shafts. Shafts were rare in African
copper mining Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. The conversion of copper consists of a series of physical and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, loca ...
. There are several ethnographic accounts of African copper mining techniques, and they all seem to be on the same technological level. Any variation depended upon different geological circumstances and capabilities of the miners (Bisson et al. 2000). There are more variations of copper smelting than there are of mining, and most of the observations and photos that were taken are in major copper producing areas. There is a lack of evidence of smelting in West Africa; however casting continued to be present and is well documented. The most common ore in Africa is malachite and it was used mainly with
hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...
charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...
the smelting process (Bisson et al. 2000).


Copper throughout Africa


Central and South Africa

In
West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
copper was used as medium of exchange, symbols of status and
kingship King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
,
jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...
, and ritual purposes; this was a part of
Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle *Black Association for National ...
tradition prior to their expansion into
Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, ...
. The use of copper in the Iron Age of Central Africa was produced because of indigenous or internal demand rather than those from outside, and it is thought to be a sensitive sign of political and social change (Bisson 1975). Copper appeared to be a prestigious metal in Central and Southern Africa. In Central Africa copper has been found in places where copper is not produced, implying some sort of commerce. Also the majority of artifacts found suggest that the primary use for copper in the area was for decorative purposes. The available evidence shows that prior to fifteenth century
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
an Iron Age site also placed higher value in copper than
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
, though the date may have to be pushed with recent carbon dates (Herbert 1984). It is thought that through trade with
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and later
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
Zimbabwe started to value gold as prestige metal, however it did not replace copper. Archaeological and documentary sources may skew the record in favor of nonperishable elements of culture and not give enough credit to pastoral and mixed
farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
activities that were needed to sustain these Iron Age populations. They do make it clear that copper was an important part of the exchange economies of Central and Southern Africa (Herbert 1984). The site of
Bosutswe Bosutswe is an archaeological site at the edge of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana on top of Bosutswe Hill. The site can be dated back to around 700 AD. The location of Bosutswe makes it easy for Archaeology, archaeologists to study as the record ...
is evidence that copper and other precious metals were vital to trade in the area. Tswana towns of the pre-colonial period in South Africa, such as the Tlokwa capital at Marothodi near the Pilanesberg National Park, demonstrate a continuation of native copper production into the early nineteenth century. In this period, archaeological research suggests that copper production had intensified significantly to meet growing regional demands (Anderson 2009).


East Africa

Copper is almost non-existent for the interior of
East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...
with a few exceptions particularly
Kilwa Kilwa Kisiwani (English: ''Kilwa Island'') is an island, national historic site, and hamlet community located in the township of Kilwa Masoko, the district seat of Kilwa District in the Tanzanian region of Lindi Region in southern Tanzania. K ...
and medieval sites in Nubia and
Fostat Fusṭāṭ ( ar, الفُسطاط ''al-Fusṭāṭ''), also Al-Fusṭāṭ and Fosṭāṭ, was the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule, and the historical centre of modern Cairo. It was built adjacent to what is now known as Old Cairo by t ...
, and there is not enough information yet to reconstruct copper on the Swahili Coast (Herbert 1984).


West Africa

In sub-Saharan West Africa there were only two known source of copper that were commercially viable: Dkra near Nioro,
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
and
Takedda Takedda was a town and former kingdom located in present-day Niger. The archaeological site at Azelik wan Birni is believed to be the ruins of ancient Takedda. History Takedda was founded by the Sanhaja, a Berber tribal confederation inhabitin ...
in Azelik, Niger. Akjoujt was a significant source of copper, but due to the lack of
timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
it lost its significance in early historic times. The sources for West Africa's copper came from southern
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, northwestern Mauritania, the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
and
Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
(Herbert 1973). In West Africa there is a great deal of documentation about copper in trade, but the travelers who wrote these documents only visited the major centers of West African polities and there is no information on the people who lived out the polities or from the
savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
and forest zones to the south, in terms of their use of copper. Arab and European trader documented that the principal goods that were in demand in West African markets were
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
and copper. There has been a lack of research done in the
savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...
and forest regions of West Africa so the evidence of the diffusion copper there is spotty at best. Despite West Africa's rich gold resources, high status people were most often buried with copper
grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods may be classed as a ...
. The only sites prior to 1500 AD to have gold were
Djenné Djenné ( Bambara: ߘߖߋߣߣߋ tr. Djenne; also known as Djénné, Jenné and Jenne) is a Songhai people town and an urban commune in the Inland Niger Delta region of central Mali. The town is the administrative centre of the Djenné Cercle, on ...
, Tedaoust, and several
tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...
in
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
(Herbert 1984).


Symbolism

It is thought because of copper's redness, luminosity and sound, it was valued by Africans. For most African cultures the redness could be with life giving powers. It is also noted that the redness is a symbol of transition and it association with transition could explain why the wide use of copper in
ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...
s in various African states. Also its ability to reflect sunlight is suggested represent aggression and liminal boundaries between states, thus emphasizing its transformative properties. Finally, because of copper's use in
bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...
s and
drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
s, it is thought to aid in the summoning spirits, when the instruments are played (Bisson et al. 2000).


See also

*
Iron metallurgy in Africa The topic of early iron-metallurgy in Africa encompasses both studies of the technology and archaeology of indigenous iron-production. Some recent studies date the inception of iron metallurgy in Africa between 3000 and 2500 BCE. Evidence exi ...
*
Metallurgy during the Copper Age in Europe The Copper Age, also called the Eneolithic or the Chalcolithic Age, has been traditionally understood as a transitional period between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, in which a gradual introduction of the metal (native copper) took place, w ...


References

* Anderson, M. S. 2009. ''Marothodi: The Historical Archaeology of an African Capital''. Woodford: Atikkam Media. * Bisson, M. 1975. "Copper currency in central Africa: the archaeological evidence." ''World Archaeology'', 6: 276–292. * Bisson, M. 2000. "Precolonial copper metallurgy: sociopolitical context." In ''Ancient Africa Metallurgy: The Socio-cultural Context'' (eds M. Bisson, S. T. Childs, P. de Barros and A. F. C. Holl). Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, pp. 83–145. * Childs, T. and Killick, D. 1993. "Indigenous African metallurgy: nature and culture." ''Annual Review of Anthropology'', 22: 317–37. * Ehret, C. 2002. The Civilizations of Africa: A history to 1800. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia. * Herbert, E. 1973. "Aspects of the use of copper in pre-colonial West Africa." ''Journal of African History'', 14: 179–194. * Herbert, E. 1984 1984. ''Red Gold of Africa: Copper in Pre-colonial History and Culture''. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:Copper Metallurgy In Africa Copper mining in Africa Economic history of Africa History of metallurgy Science and technology in Africa Archaeology of Central Africa Archaeology of Southern Africa Archaeology of Western Africa Archaeology of Eastern Africa Chalcolithic