Article ID: CBB386834370

Ancient History of Technology in West Africa: The Indigenous Glass/Glass Bead Industry and the Society in Early Ile-Ife, Southwest Nigeria (2017)

unapi

The technology of glassmaking is complex. This complexity has been cited for the exclusion of the development of ancient glass technology from certain regions of the world, especially Africa, South of the Sahara. Thus, much of the existing scholarship on the technology of ancient glass has focused on the Middle East, Mediterranean, and Southeast and South Asia. Although the discourse on indigenous African technology has gained traction in Black studies, the study of ancient glass seems to have been left mainly in the hands of specialists in other disciplines. Drawing from archaeological and historical evidence from Ile-Ife, Southwest Nigeria, in tandem with the result of compositional analysis, this article examines the first recognized indigenous Sub-Saharan African glass technology dated to early second millennium ad or earlier. The development of the local glass recipe and the making of beads not only ushered in a social, religious, and economic transformation in Yorubaland as well as the other West African societies but also redressed the place of Sub-Saharan African in the historiographical map of ancient global technology and commerce.

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB386834370/

Similar Citations

Article Alexandra Edwards; Barthelemy d'Ans; Edmundo Edwards; (2018)
Consolidation of the Rapanui Astronomy Concept Inventory and Re-Appraisal of Applied Astronomic Observation at Papa UI Hetu’U, Rapa Nui (/isis/citation/CBB185478721/)

Book Clive L. N. Ruggles; (2014)
Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy (/isis/citation/CBB655086028/)

Article Jackson, C. M.; (2005)
Making Colourless Glass in the Roman Period (/isis/citation/CBB000741327/)

Article Vinzenz Brinkmann; Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann; (2023)
Tracking blue. Some remarks on blue colour materials in the polychromy of ancient Greek sculpture (/isis/citation/CBB448859850/)

Book Beretta, Marco; (2009)
The Alchemy of Glass: Counterfeit, Imitation, and Transmutation in Ancient Glassmaking (/isis/citation/CBB001450706/)

Book Beretta, Marco; (2009)
The Alchemy of Glass: Counterfeit, Imitation and Transmutation in Ancient Glassmaking (/isis/citation/CBB000952756/)

Book Lavan, Luke; Zanini, Enrico; Sarantis, Alexander Constantine; (2007)
Technology in Transition: A.D. 300--650 (/isis/citation/CBB000830818/)

Article Gu, Donghong; Li, Qinghui; Gan, Fuxi; (2007)
Some Questions Related to the Research on Ancient Chinese Glass (/isis/citation/CBB000933477/)

Book Beretta, Marco; Di Pasquale, Giovanni; (2006)
Le verre dans l'empire romain: Arts et sciences (/isis/citation/CBB000772426/)

Book Gan, Fuxi; Brill, Robert H.; Tian, Shouyun; (2009)
Ancient Glass Research along the Silk Road (/isis/citation/CBB001250391/)

Article Silvestri, A.; Molin, G.; Salviulo, G.; (2005)
Roman and Medieval Glass from the Italian Area: Bulk Characterization and Relationships with Production Technologies (/isis/citation/CBB000741328/)

Book Beretta, Marco; Pasquale, Giovanni Di; (2004)
Vitrum: il vetro fra arte e scienza nel mondo romano (/isis/citation/CBB000501936/)

Book Fuxi Gan; (2021)
Development history of ancient Chinese glass technology (/isis/citation/CBB830457774/)

Article Seth C. Rasmussen; (2019)
A Brief History of Early Silica Glass: Impact on Science and Society (/isis/citation/CBB960016164/)

Article Cinzia Bettineschi; Giulia Deotto; Donald James Ian Begg; Gianmario Molin; Paola Zanovello; Alessia Fassone; Christian Greco; Matilde Borla; Ivana Angelini; (2019)
A Dig through Archives and Depots: Rediscovering the Inlay Workshop of Tebtynis and Its Materials (/isis/citation/CBB762472563/)

Article Mass, J. L.; Wypyski, M. T.; Stone, R. E.; (2002)
Malkata and Lisht Glassmaking Technologies: Towards a Specific Link Between Second Millennium BC Metallurgists and Glassmakers (/isis/citation/CBB000200200/)

Article Shortland, A. J.; (2002)
The Use and Origin of Antimonate Colorants in Early Egyptian Glass (/isis/citation/CBB000300853/)

Authors & Contributors
Beretta, Marco
Gan, Fuxi
Rasmussen, Seth C.
Di Pasquale, Giovanni
Ige, O. Akinlolu
James Ian Begg, Donald
Concepts
Glass and glassmaking
Technology
Chemistry
Indigenous technology
Crafts and craftspeople
Alchemy
Time Periods
Ancient
Medieval
Bronze age
Prehistory
Early modern
Renaissance
Places
Egypt
Rome (Italy)
China
Mesopotamia
Yorubaland (West Africa)
Middle and Near East
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment