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cessfully repeated. Three presentations and Roman sites after the main periods
INTRODUCTION
covered the industrial organization of of occupation. Second, did the furnaces
Early metalwork has been analyzed early metal sociotechnical systems. They have to work convectively or could they
and discussed for more than 90 years. were delivered by Carl Blair of the Uni- have been assisted by bellows? The
The thrust of archaeometallurgy has versity of Minnesota, Daniel K. Higgin- shafts of the furnace bottoms found
shifted within the past 15 years, how- bottom of the University of Minnesota, would have to have been at least 2 m in
ever. Generally speaking, earlier studies and Nancy L. Wicker of Mankato State height in order to work convectively.
concentrated on the technological devel- University. This would have made the Kelheim fur-
opment of the materials, whereas cur- Blair analyzed the industrial orga- naces bigger by approximately an order
rent studies focus more on the societies nization of prehistoric iron smelting, of magnitude than any built in Iron Age
in which the materials were used. based on the archaeological evidence or Medieval Europe. Third, was the
There are two reasons for this tran- from the Iron Age site of Kelheim, Ger- quantity of iron produced required to
sition. The first is that furthering the many, and the results of smelting reen- support the needs of an Iron Age op-
understanding of ancient societies is the actments using small (internal diameter pida, when such quantities were never
ultimate goal of archaeology. The second of 0.35 m and height of 1 m; Celtic Iron produced to support larger Medieval
reason is that sufficient data about the Age), medium (0.5mx 1-1.5 m; Roman), towns? Fourth, was there a sufficient
history of metals have now been accu- and tall (0.8-1 m x 2-3 m; Burgenland) population on the oppida to run this in-
mulated to permit the formulation of shaft furnaces. Higginbottom, who par- dustry as well as tend the fields and
valid hypotheses about the interrelation- ticipated in the smelting operation or- maintain the other enterprises present?
ship of society and metal technology. ganized by Blair, presented the results Fifth, were the cost and benefit advan-
Archaeometallurgists now approach of the reenactments. The oppida, or tages for the Iron Age the same as for
early metalworking as a sociotechnical town, of Kelheim was occupied prima- today? Higginbottom stated in his re-
system in which the technology is not rily between 125 B.C. and 50 B.C. view of the experimental reenactments
only inextricably linked to certain tools The site yielded evidence of extensive that the medium, Roman-type shaft fur-
and techniques but also to social behav- iron smelting, including furnace remains nace was the most efficient when con-
iors and societal organizations. Whereas of approximately 1 m in diameter and struction, maintenance, raw-materials,
earlier work viewed technological devel- roughly 50,000 tonnes of iron slag. If the and labor demands were taken into ac-
opment as an independent process that assumption were made that all of the count. This conclusion seems sounder,
periodically affected society, current slag was produced during the 75 year although the slag remains may have to
studies approach technology as an inte- primary occupation of the site, the pro- be reassessed to determine whether they
gral part of society that is developed, duction numbers are staggering. Even could have been produced beyond the
reproduced, and adopted for reasons using the more efficient Burgenland fur- 75 year period of the main occupation
that are innate to the society itself. As naces, approximately 50 smelting opera- of the Kelheim oppida.
Bryan Pfaffenberger of the University of tions would have been required, each Wicker discussed the possibility of
Virginia said, "Technology ... is not ma- running approximately 130 cycles per identifying the individual smiths who
terial culture but rather a total social phe- year. This effort would have required produced gold pendants, known as
nomenon ... that marries the material, roughly 1,000 tonnes of ore, 3,440 tonnes bracteates, in Scandinavia during the 5th
the social, and the symbolic in a com- of charcoal, and a labor force of approxi- and early 6th centuries A.D. Bracteates
plex web of associations."l This new mately 330 full-time people per year. measured approximately 2-3 cm in di-
emphasis on metalworking as a socio- Support of this industry would also have ameter and were suspended around the
technical system was the focus of Euro- required the annual efforts of approxi- neck by gold chains. A central motif was
pean Metals: From Experiment to mately 160 colliers, 150 miners, and 125 stamped on the face and surrounded by
Theory, a symposium held at the Soci- wood cutters. Blair concludes that such at least one punched border. The chain
ety for American Archaeology confer- an effort would have required the use was strung through a loop that was at-
ence this past April in New Orleans, of the Burgenland furnaces and the ex- tached to the top edge of the piece. These
Louisiana. istence of a rudimentary guild industrial precious artifacts were symbols of
organization to ensure the successful wealth and prestige and, as such, were
INDUSTRIAL ASPECTS
production of the iron and the survival probably produced at a limited number
A key aspect of any sociotechnical sys- of the industry through generations. of elite workshops. Although most
tem is its industrial organization. Every There are a number of points that re- bracteates were found in Scandinavia,
technology requires a system by which quire further clarification, however. examples have been recovered from Brit-
raw materials are amassed, refined, and First, was all of the slag actually pro- ain, Hungary, and even Russia. The
distributed, and techniques are transmit- duced in the 75 year period? Smelting identification of individual goldsmiths
ted to following generations and suc- continued at many European Iron Age could provide insight into the organiza-
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