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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Linguistic Evidence for the Introduction of Ironworking in Bantu-Speaking Africa
Author:Vansina, JanISNI
Year:2006
Periodical:History in Africa
Volume:33
Pages:321-361
Language:English
Geographic terms:Subsaharan Africa
Africa
Subjects:iron forging
vocabulary
etymology
Bantu languages
History and Exploration
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
External link:http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/history_in_africa/v033/33.1vansina01.pdf
Abstract:Did Africans independently invent the smelting of metals or did they obtain the technology from Europe or the Middle East? This continues to be an unresolved and hotly disputed issue, mainly because the dates for the earliest appearance of smelting in Africa south of the Sahara remain inconclusive. Historical linguistics can contribute to this debate. This article examines the relevant vocabulary in Bantu languages because the historical study of these languages is further advanced than that of any other language family in Africa. Moreover, Bantu-speakers occupy a large portion of the continent. Excluding words that refer to the products of metalworking, the Bantu vocabulary relating to iron-smelting and forging consists today of between 30 and 40 different items, most of which were coined long after the initial acquisition of ironworking. In order to find those among them that do relate to the initial appearance of metallurgy, we must rely on the geographic extent and geometric shape of the distribution of their reflexes. The author shows that according to their known distributions, the earliest words related to ironworking in Bantu languages were all introduced from non-Bantu languages spoken on the Nigerian plateau or in Adamawa. These distributions fit quite well with an archaeological record that documents a very early introduction of ironworking in the area. The linguistic evidence makes it clear that Africans did not invent ironworking anywhere in what is now Bantu-speaking Africa, but that the technology was obtained from West Africa. Bibliogr., notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract]
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