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" AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF COPPER AND IRON PRODUCTION AT MAROTHODI, AN EARLY 19TH CENTURY TSWANA TOWN, RUSTENBURG DISTRICT, SOUTH AFRICA "
Simon Hall, Duncan Miller, Mark Anderson, et al.
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AL
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| Record Number
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1070028
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LA113657
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| Call No
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10.1163/10.3213/1612-1651-10061
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| Language of Document
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English
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| Main Entry
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Duncan Miller
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Jan Boeyens
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Mark Anderson
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Simon Hall
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| Title & Author
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AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF COPPER AND IRON PRODUCTION AT MAROTHODI, AN EARLY 19TH CENTURY TSWANA TOWN, RUSTENBURG DISTRICT, SOUTH AFRICA [Article]\ Simon Hall, Duncan Miller, Mark Anderson, et al.
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| Publication Statement
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Leiden: Brill
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| Title of Periodical
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Journal of African Archaeology
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| Date
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2006
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| Volume/ Issue Number
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4/1
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| Page No
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3–35
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| Abstract
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The archaeological evidence for iron and especially copper production at Marothodi indicates that output far exceeded local requirements. Preliminary analyses of slag and metal provide insight into the technical processes of this production, while well-resolved spatial data comment upon the social and cultural organization of production. In this paper we attempt to integrate both technical and social aspects of production into the regional historic context with a view to developing ideas about the contextual specificity of surplus metal production from Marothodi early in the 19th century. Generally, Marothodi was occupied in a period of increasingly competitive economic and political relationships between lineages. The evidence from Marothodi indicates that although copper ore quality was poor, and had been largely mined out by previous producers, it was clearly worthwhile to produce a surplus because of regional demands. Importantly, the Tlokwa elites at Marothodi had the regional power to do so. Furthermore, although the location of Marothodi was a compromise between several factors, we suggest that proximity to the copper ore sources was important. Spatial data suggest that political authority did not physically centralize copper production, and that most home-steads were independent producers. The archaeological evidence for iron and especially copper production at Marothodi indicates that output far exceeded local requirements. Preliminary analyses of slag and metal provide insight into the technical processes of this production, while well-resolved spatial data comment upon the social and cultural organization of production. In this paper we attempt to integrate both technical and social aspects of production into the regional historic context with a view to developing ideas about the contextual specificity of surplus metal production from Marothodi early in the 19th century. Generally, Marothodi was occupied in a period of increasingly competitive economic and political relationships between lineages. The evidence from Marothodi indicates that although copper ore quality was poor, and had been largely mined out by previous producers, it was clearly worthwhile to produce a surplus because of regional demands. Importantly, the Tlokwa elites at Marothodi had the regional power to do so. Furthermore, although the location of Marothodi was a compromise between several factors, we suggest that proximity to the copper ore sources was important. Spatial data suggest that political authority did not physically centralize copper production, and that most home-steads were independent producers.
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| Descriptor
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copper
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furnace
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iron
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mining
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nickel
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ore
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refining
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| Descriptor
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slag
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| Descriptor
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smelting
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| Descriptor
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tin
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| Descriptor
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Tswana
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| Location & Call number
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10.1163/10.3213/1612-1651-10061
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