19 research outputs found
Ethnicity and traditions in northern FennoâScandinavia âFinns and terfinnsâ ten years after
Human population differentiation in the peri-Baltic Mesolithic: the odontometrics of Oleneostrovskii mogilnik (Karelia)
A Review of Ceramics from Tanzania, Malawi, and Northern Mozambique, with Implications for Swahili Archaeology
Roulette decoration on African pottery: technical considerations, dating and distributions
Obsidian sources and patterns of source utilization in Kenya and northern Tanzania: some initial findings
Iron Production in North Pare, Tanzania : Archaeometallurgical and Geoarchaeological Perspectives on Landscape Change
Archaeology, archaeometallurgy and geoarchaeology are combined in this research to examine the chronology and development of iron metallurgy and its environmental repercussions in North Pare, Tanzania. Pare was a prominent centre for iron production from at least the second half of the first millennium AD, and it has been assumed that this technologywith its demand for wood charcoalhad a significant and detrimental effect on local forest cover. This research sought to examine this claim by exploring the spatial, chronological and technological characteristics of iron production in Pare in conjunction with geoarchaeological evidence. Contrary to older assumptions, our results demonstrate that erosion processes were well established in North Pare before the documented intensification of smelting and smithing activity, and that iron production continued despite environmental changes. We suggest that although iron production may well have contributed to deforestation and erosion in Pare, it is unlikely to be the sole causal factor