Trade centres · attested from the first millennium CE
Iron smelting and the blacksmith
Bloomery furnaces, laterite ore and the ritually charged authority of the smith across the Liberian forest.
Biography
Liberian smiths worked laterite and bog ore in clay shaft furnaces with bellows of wood and hide, producing bloom iron that was then forged into hoes, cutlasses, spear-blades, adzes and the fine currency bars used in exchange.
The smith was never merely an artisan. He was a ritual specialist whose forge was sanctuary, whose oath was binding, and who in many towns held a hereditary office alongside the town-head. Loma and Mano smiths in particular supplied a trade that reached far beyond their own country.
Historical significance
Metallurgy is the answer to the claim that these societies lacked technology: iron here was produced, not imported, and its producers held political office.
Timeline
- 1st mill. CEIron-working established in the West African forest
- c. 1600–1800Loma and Mano iron traded across the region
- 19th c.Imported European bar iron begins to displace local bloom
Related entries
References
- Schmidt, Peter R. (1997). Iron Technology in East Africa (comparative).
- Person, Yves (1961). 'Les Kissi et leurs statuettes de pierre.'
Suggested reading
- Dunn, Beyan & Burrowes (2000), entries on iron and blacksmithing.