African Metallurgy in the Atlantic World

African Metallurgy in the Atlantic WorldAuthor(s): Candice L. GoucherSource: The African Archaeological Review, Vol. 11, Papers in Honour of Merrick Posnansky(1993), pp. 197-215Published by: SpringerStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25130565 .Accessed: 14/02/2014 11:09

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The African Archaeological Review, 11 (1993), pp. 197-215. ? 1993 Cambridge University Press

African metallurgy in the Atlantic world

CANDICE L. GOUCHER

Abstract

This paper examines the history of African metallurgy in the era of Atlantic trade. It

reports on excavations at the John Reeder foundry site in St Thomas, Jamaica. The transfer

of African technologies to the Caribbean reveals the plantation economy's dependence on

African technical expertise, not merely slave labour. The comprehensive focus on the

Atlantic world also informs archaeological investigations of African-European interaction

in West Central Africa. The complexity of Atlantic technological history is characterized by a diverse range of dynamic interactions, rather than the inevitable decline of African

derived systems. Only by identifying processes as well as products of African technological interaction will it be possible fully to reconstruct the forging of the African past.

Resume

Cet article examine l'histoire de la m?tallurgie africaine ? l'?re du commerce atlantique. Il

rend compte des excavations au site de la fonderie John Reeder, ? St Thomas, en Jama?que. Le transfert des technologies africaines aux Antilles r?v?le ? quel point l'?conomie de

plantation d?pendait de l'expertise technique africaine, et pas seulement de l'esclavage.

L'accent plac? sur le monde atlantique inspire aussi les recherches arch?ologiques sur

l'interaction afro-europ?enne ? l'ouest de l'Afrique centrale. La complexit? de l'histoire

technologique atlantique est caract?ris?e par une gamme diverse d'interactions

dynamiques, plut?t que par l'in?vitable d?clin des syst?mes africains d?riv?s. Ce n'est

qu'en identifiant les processus aussi bien que les produits de l'interaction technologique africaine qu'il sera possible de reconstruire compl?tement l'?laboration du pass? africain.

Introduction

This paper considers the history of African metallurgy in the wake of the Atlantic era. The transfer and cultural continuity of African metallurgical technologies to the Caribbean reveals the vital dependence on African technical expertise of the plantation and colonial

economies and their instruments of defence and coercion. The extent to which the African


198 Candice L. Goucher

contribution to this technological history exceeded a mere labour componenl is suggested

by a closer examination of African-European interactions. A focus on ?he Allan lie world

offers insights for the investigation of African-derived ideology and culture in the Carib bean and seeks to assist archaeologists and historians studying similar situations of multi

cullural interaction in ?he African pasl. The developmeni of an Allantic economy forged lasting links between Europe, Africa

and the Caribbean, and between slavery and the rise of merchant capitalism. These links

were partially constructed of African metals. Ferrous and non-ferrous metals, whether

imported or locally produced, were traded and exchanged as currencies. When manufac

tured, they were essential to the acquisition of slaves and the maintenance of the Atlantic

commercial system. The period between 1500 and 1850 witnessed major technological changes within the participating melallurgical induslries, including ihose identified wilh ?he British industrial revolution, those linked with the decline of some African industries

and the transformalion and intensification of olhers, and ihose connecled wilh ?he

introduction of new metal technologies across the western hemisphere. The interaction

between different and competing technological systems also appears to have been an

importanl producl and fealure of ?he emerging Allantic economy. The ways in which Africanisls and Caribbeanists have studied the technologies of this

era have varied. The intersection of this scholarship owes much to the encouragemenl of

Merrick Posnansky (1989). African archaeology has played a major role in shaping ?he hislorical queslions and knowledge aboul mel?is. Previous scholarship has discussed how

designations like the Early Iron Age (EIA) and Late Iron Age (LIA) have been as problematic as they have been useful (as noted by both Willoughby and Stewart in this volume). The technological history of the transition between periods is not marked by uniform technological change; nor are the categories themselves satisfactorily described by reference to coherent material cultural contexts: African LIA societies systematically

employed stone tools even in the large-scale production of iron and steel (Fig. 1). Anolher hislorical distinction, the one construcled belween po-conlacl and posl-conlacl periods in

Africa, hinges on ?he presence or absence of Europeans, ralher lhan on any particular

configuration of material complexes or even technological domination. Archaeologisls on

bolh sides of ?he Atlantic have only recently begun to explore the cultural complexity implicit in these distinctions. The basic historiographical assumption has been lhal African

technology faltered in the shadow of a European presence (Williams 1974:73-5; Goucher 1981; Pole 1982); whether African industries declined or survived the incursion may be a

question of whether the glass was half-empty or half-full. The specific technical parameters remain largely unexamined, yet iron has been viewed as a symbol of the vulnerability of

African technologies and economies to the European presence. The actual impact of

Europe on local technology has been neglected or imperfectly understood.

West Central African forges and foundries

On the African side of the Atlantic world, archaeological and documentary evidence for

such questions as might be of inteosl lo ?he historical reconstruction of trans-Atlantic

technology is limited. Few inventories of metal products exist and when they occur they pay scant if any attention to production processes. The best understood African technologies


African metallurgy in the Atlantic world 199

Figure 1 Stone anvil, Binadjoube, Bassar, Togo.

are generally far from the coastal scene of African-European interactions. The range of

variation in those few technological systems studied suggests that Caribbeanists will face

great difficulties in attempts to identify continuity or change. African contexts do provide windows on the processes of technological change (van der Merwe 1980; van der Merwe and Avery 1985; Herbert and Goucher 1987; David et al. 1989; Childs 1991), but opport unities to investigate pre-industrial technological systems will soon vanish together with their living contexts. Smelters, blacksmiths, casters and other metallurgists are nearly extinct in other parts of the world, but in sub-Saharan Africa the smaller-scale, local

industries have persisted in rural areas and even in large towns. In rapidly dwindling numbers, they are potential repositories for the history of technology. The ethnoarchaeo

logical potential may be limited but, in too many instances, it will soon be irretrievably lost

(Atherton 1983; Agorsah 1990; Herbert and Goucher 1985; Childs 1991; Dewey 1990; David et al. 1989; Schmidt 1978).

The coastal regions of West Central Africa provided the earliest and most sustained arenas for African-European economic as well as technological interactions (DeCorse 1987, 1991). Early European permanent settlements, forts and castles generally employed a

number of African and European blacksmiths (De Gregori 1969:149; Lawrence 1963:91). These establishments were of course also centres for the introduction and distribution of

European manufactures (Sundstrom 1974). Their archaeological potential has been noted by Posnansky and van Dantzig (1976) and pursued by DeCorse (1987, 1993) at Elmina and elsewhere, although not with the specific focus of technology transfer. African towns were

only in some instances repositories for the transfer of skills acquired at forts and castles.



They constitute another source of interaction and change (Hull 1976), as they also attrac ted smiths and products from their hinterland. As European manufactured goods reached inland markets, they necessarily wrought changes in local industry: for example, the

cheaper (and inferior, according to many local smiths) European hoes required new tech niques of repair. The introduction of European firearms also presented opportunities for the growth of ancillary metalworking industries. Villages and towns in the interior devel

oped as specialized centres in the repair and limited manufacture of guns. The village of

Brawhani, in Brong Ahafo, Ghana, is such an example (see Fig. 2). In 1979, the raised forge was proudly pointed out as being 'European' in style; that it supported a furnace

sculpted in the shape of a woman suggests the ideological, cultural and stylistic continuities attendant on, and probably necessary for, the successful transfer of non-African

technologies. Marion Johnson (1978), rare among historians, considered the relationship between

African technological change and competition; she tested the assumption of inevitable

replacement of African industry by European technology. Although she concentrated on

textiles, Johnson (1978:268) suggested that ironworking might have responded similarly to patterns of demand, organization of production and European imports. Because smelting industries were capital-free, their decline was attributed to qualitative differences in prod

uct. African smiths adjusted their forging technology to the drastically different products, thus flourishing or declining in response to the European market. But did such competition necessarily produce a pernicious consequence? Brian Fagan (1961:209) suggested that the invigorated mid-eighteenth-century trade in iron hoes from the Luba resulted in the

Figure 2 Raised forge, Brawhani, Brong Ahafo, Ghana.



standardization of form and techniques in Zambia. In parts of Ghana and Togo, the impact seems also to have been more varied. Although European manufactures, including farming

implements and cutlasses, reportedly appeared in markets connecting the hinterland and

coastal towns, some technology was observed to be unaffected by European imports as late

as the 1880s (Hupfeld 1899:192; Klose 1899:175). Miller (1988:79) even reports that south of the Zaire River, Africans were exporting, not importing their own metalware.

Elsewhere, the supply of imported metals, new forms and borrowed techniques were not

necessarily coeval. The Central African reports on locally preferred weapons and tools

indicate that styles might change, while the source of the metal remained constant. Alter

natively, new sources of metal could be utilized in traditional ways and with little if any

change in meaning or significance. The eighteenth-century Kasanje king's army fought with locally manufactured weapons, while in Lunda imported European muskets were

forged into bladed weapons (Miller 1988:88). Factors inhibiting the transfer of European metallurgical technology appear to have depended upon more than cost-related, capital

intensive features.

The relative availability of fuel and labour figured heavily in the equations of technology transfer. Temporal change within African metallurgy is obviously complex and not well

understood. For example, several researchers have noted the transformation of West Afri

can iron-smelting furnace function and form, including an increase in furnace height and

the utilization of induced draught rather than forced draught techniques. The correlation of these features (constituting 'blast furnaces') would have produced fluid products, even cast iron (Wertime 1962:45-7; David et al. 1989), such as occurred in medieval Europe and in

China. The innovation also appears in LIA contexts at Bassar, Togo, by the eighteenth

century (Fig. 3; Goucher 1984). This West African technical change may be related to the demographic change, especially population loss, attributed to slaving activities in the hinterland. Since induced draught furnaces no longer required bellows, a significant

labour-saving advance would have reduced further the costs of production, making those

African industries more competitive with imported European metals. While the increase in

West Central African slave-raiding activities contributed to the vulnerability of much

African production (Rodney 1972), slave labour was increasingly available to state systems and their elites for industrial and other applications (Lovejoy 1983; Meillassoux 1975; Inikori 1981). Industries that persisted in the Atlantic era's climate of heightened in security and violence seem to have been located on major slave-trading routes, such as the one

connecting the Bassar region to Asante, Hausa, Kabre and Dahomey. Although

contemporary informants deny that slave labour was used, Klose (1899) and others record this slave labour market in the 1880s and relate the prices of slaves to iron hoes.

The nature of the fuel supply represented a considerable factor distinguishing European from African-based metallurgy. Industries in both parts of the world suffered the con

sequences of deforestation as a result of the overuse of forest resources (Goucher 1981; Schubert 1969; Wertime 1962). In Britain, critical developments after the mid-eighteenth century made possible the widespread use of coal and coke by the iron industry. Even then, British forgers outside Exeter welded steel-reinforced agricultural implements from

imported Swedish iron, as noted by Angerstein around 1753 (Hildebrand 1958:22). In Africa and the Caribbean, suitable coal was not available locally and had to be imported at

high prices or substitutes found. The continued availability of charcoal, despite rising costs,



meant that its use easily remained cost-effective and was preferred to coal in the African

European interactions of the Atlantic world. In parts of Africa where large iron ore deposits attracted the entrepreneurial attention of European colonizers, the issue of fuel prevented the wholesale transfer of European technology and thus exploitation of local resources (as,

Figure 3 Repaired (induced-draught) smelting furnace at Banjeli, Togo.



for example, in German Togo al ?he lurn of ?he cenlury). The case of fuel supplies in ?he Caribbean and in ?he Americas more generally is discussed below. Suffice il lo say lhal, despite an inordinate English pride in the 'sooty mineral' and its technological significance, the global outlook suggests thai this innovation had little to do with the first three centuries

of African-European interactions.

The Caribbean crucible

Studies of African cultural continuities in the Caribbean have suggested some of the

potential for technology transfer in the Atlantic world (Braithwaile 1971; Agorsah 1992; Thompson 1983; Price 1979; Alleyne 1988). The concepls of silualional elhnicily and fluid boundary conditions have ocenlly been discussed by Africanisl archaeologisls (David 1992; Phillipson 1992). Discrete packages of neally-bounded cullural altributes have given

way to interdependent 'mosaics' (see Denbow 1990 for an El A application). Knowing the vectors of transformation and change in Caribbean contexls of African technology con

slilules a valuable conlribuiion lo underslanding processes of cultural negotiation that are

implicit in so much of the wider discussion about links between technology, style, and

ethnicity. Well-documented cases of ethnic identification in ?he decidedly mulli-cullural African-Caribbean contexls are relatively few (Posnansky 1984; DeCorse 1987; Postma

1990), although studies have shown thai greater retention weighting the African end of a continuum of change has resulted from the presence of ritual (Goucher 1990; Sch?ler 1980;

Rickford 1987). This observation has implications for the study of African technological systems and styles carried across the Atlantic. Like his contemporary African counterpart, the Jamaican blacksmith repairs automobile axles on an anvil he calls the 'mother' of his

forge.1 Technology was an importanl componenl of cullural systems, influencing the

expression of gender and other power relationships (Childs 1991). Yet it has not been studied in historic perspective as an equally inevitable consequence of the newly construc

ted Atlantic world. Where ideological transfers have been noted, as in the case of the trans

Allanlic journey of Ogun (?he Yoruba deity associated wilh iron) lo Haiti, Cuba, Brazil, and Trinidad, the technological implications of these transfers have been completely ignored (Barnes 1989; Lauyi 1988).

In the technological continuum of ?he Caribbean, ?he eighieenlh cenlury holds a particu

larly pivotal position. Communities of African refugees escaped repeatedly from slave

masters and were known as maroons (see Agorsah ihis volume). In Jamaica and elsewhere, maroons initiated a series of wars thai plagued European domination throughoul the

eighteenth century. They also encouraged the persistence of metallurgical skills presumed to be African-based (Agorsah 1992; Goucher 1990). Jamaican maroons were reportedly

armed with guns; each and every man, woman, and child carried an iron hoe. The political basis of power and resistance often depended upon the support of armies of blacksmiths on both sides of the Atlantic, as demonstrated by the likes of the West African Samory or the rulers at Palmares in Brazil. Where African metallurgist congregated in the Caribbean,

they wrested considerable independence from the more typical constrainls of planlalion

slavery. For example, al Winkle Village, Guyana, ?he 1796 uprising of slave blacksmilhs and lealherworkers led lo increased wages and early emancipation. Even as individual

craftsmen, the transplanted African blacksmiths negotiated positions of leadership in the



plantation hierarchy and were presumably instrumental in the exercise of ritual con

tinuities (Curtin 1970:34-5; Sch?ler 1980). Metals and metal products constituted a significant part of the cargo of trans-Atlantic

ships. Iron was considered a particularly useful export commodity, both heavy and stable.

Throughout much of the eighteenth century, the British West Indies was the largest market for

wrought iron. This was due no doubt to the reliance on imported agricultural

implements used on plantations. However, the tool shapes of Europe gave way to West

African styles: the short-handled hoe and cutlass. Shipping records, underwater archaeo

logy and the cobblestone streets of Caribbean ports like San Juan, testify to the inclusion of cast iron blocks and iron slag as ballast (Samuels 1980). Swedish bar iron imports to Great Britain nearly doubled between 1740 and 1770, and their prices rose dramatically towards the end of the century (Hyde 1977:80-1). Export figures for iron bars, iron nails, ordnance, and wrought iron from England to Jamaica (1748-73) similarly reflect tremendous increases after 1769.2 American industries, many of which were still dependent upon wood

charcoal for fuel, constituted yet another source of metal for the Caribbean markets; this

source proved to be extremely unpredictable, especially around 1776.

By the eighteenth century, smithies dotted the Caribbean. Every significant town and harbour, nearly every plantation employed a blacksmith. Documented smiths were Afri

can, European, and Creole. Michael Craton (1978) alludes to a colour bar in apprentice ship systems operating on the Worthy Park Estate in Jamaica; this is hardly visible amongst surviving Caribbean blacksmiths and not likely to have been practicably enforced (Goucher 1990:40; Fig. 4). In some respects, the documented, large-scale involvement of

African metallurgists in Caribbean technology is uniquely limited to the Reeder site des cribed below. No other evidence of cuprous metalwork or casting by transplanted Africans

has yet emerged; the transfer of West African goldworking techniques and styles in the circum-Caribbean seems probable, but unstudied. That blacksmiths achieved mobility and

travelled widely across the Atlantic world is not surprising. One African blacksmith, who

accompanied Mungo Park in West Africa, reportedly made the trans-Atlantic journey to British Guyana (Rickford 1987). When European planters moved from island to island, as they frequently did in response to the vagaries of the imperial chess game, they carried with them skilled slaves. Among them were 'blacksmith jobbers', who were in high demand (Higman 1976). The Jamaican planter John Stewart (1808) suggested the late eighteenth century value of metallurgical skills when he boasted that the fortunes to be made in the

Caribbean by the clergy and lawyers were nearly surpassed by those of the coppersmiths. In Brazil, the development of steelmaking was attributed to 'the technical skills of a few

African slaves' (Furtado 1965). The case of Reeder's foundry in eighteenth-century Jamaica suggests some of the reasons why the African contribution must be considered

critical to the history of Caribbean technology.

African-Caribbean metallurgy: the case of Reeder's Pen

Reeder's Pen is located in the historical parish of St Thomas-in-the-East, Jamaica, where it occupied a considerable portion of the area west of the late eighteenth-century coastal town

of Morant Bay and east of the Morant River (17? 53' N., 76? 25' W.; Fig. 5). The site's approximate location was identified by the use of oral and archival sources, including an



uncatalogued sketch map by Thomas Harrison in the collections of the Institute of

Jamaica, Kingston. Archaeological investigation (1989-93) began as part of an ongoing project on African-Caribbean technology. The study has incorporated survey and surface collections, local interviews with Jamaican blacksmiths, archival research, the excavation

of two main portions of the site, and comparative technical studies of metals.

Figure 4 Joseph Townsend, blacksmith, St John's, Antigua.



The Reeder site appears to be unique in the history of Caribbean technology, at least

with respect to the extent of documentation (Buisseret 1980). Established in 1772, the foundry at Reeder's Pen produced iron and brass two years later. Its owner, the English

man John Reeder, was a Devon coppersmith by trade, but planned also to engage in

ironworking activities. By 1781, the industry was immensely profitable, valued by the island's plantations and the Royal Navy. According to Reeder, he relied heavily on African

metallurgical expertise. The slaves, maroons, and 'free coloureds' who operated the foun

dry were 'perfect in every branch of the iron manufacture, so far as it relates to casting and

turning . . . and in

wrought iron'.3 On the basis of this, Reeder applied for and received

permission from the island assembly to erect iron-smelting furnaces and cut wood for

charcoal. The prosperity of the foundry operations was short-lived. In 1782, Governor

General Campbell, fearing a combined invasion of the island by French and Spanish forces, ordered the dismantling of the Morant Bay foundry, whose operations appear to have

practically ceased.4

The main purpose of the research thus far has been to assess the nature of the operation

of the iron and brass foundry established at the site during the last quarter of the eighteenth century; to locate and study the various technical facilities of the industry and to describe the nature of their

operation and function; and, finally, to assess the cultural identity and

technological contribution of the different components of the labour force operating and

maintaining the foundry during its brief existence. The study has closely investigated areas of African technological continuity within the metallurgical activity represented at Reeder's

Pen.

Description of sites and features

The earliest existing map of Reeder's Pen, providing the foundry's location and bearing

(SE 86?) is an undated sketch map by Thomas Harrison, a cartographer active in the nineteenth century. Incorporating Edgar's notes of 1777, the map identifies several features

partially standing today. One such feature is the area referred to today as Church Corner,

which, in addition to the eighteenth-century church building now in ruins and its adjacent gravesites, shares location with what is indicated on later maps as a 'House of Corrections', a convalescent residence for the aged and mentally impaired. The National Heritage Trust

investigated the Church site some years ago; thus, we collected only a few items (green glass bottles and three pieces of imported ceramics) from the surface of the slopes facing the main Morant Bay road that today passes by the ruins on their south side.

Another main feature is an old bridge located to the south of milestone 31 approaching from the Kingston direction. This feature appears to have been part of a water-control

system in the western part of Morant Bay. However, it is unclear whether or how it might

have functioned in the operations of Reeder's Pen, or exactly how the river course might

have changed over the past two centuries. The possible site-related, eighteenth-century

canal and waterway construction is discussed below. Eastwards from the bridge is a road,

referred to by residents as the 'Old Road', which connects the pen to the wharf at Morant

Bay. Only minimal investigation was possible because the area is now a dense residential

extension of the town. However, local informants mention structural features and identify

footpaths of'slavery days' (i.e. pre-1830s).



,^

Figure 5 Sundry parcels of land in the parish of St Thomas, Jamaica (Photograph courtesy of the National Library of Jamaica, N/15660).



The area belween 48 and 52 Church Sloel, Moranl Bay, appears lo have been a cenlral

part of the foundry. The widespread distribution of iron slag across this and adjacent lots and concentralions of slag and olher melalworking byproducls al selected spols indicale

meiallurgical activity. At one such concentration (48 Church Street), also containing large (10 kg) chunks of slag, samples were taken for analysis. Surface collections made in this

area of the site also revealed concentrations of nail fragments, imported ceramics, and

green glass bottles. Other significant features of the area include building foundations

visible between, and incorporated into, the foundations of several house structures along the southern side of the modern Morant Bay main road. Their extension into the empty front lot at 52 Church Street became the focus of excavations described below (Feature 1).

One of the two pillars that marked the main gate of Reeder's Pen still stands on the north

side of the modern main road. This eastern pillar contains a legible engraving: 'PEN'.

According to local residents, the western pillar (presumably containing the word

'REEDERS') was broken down only recently in the course of construction at the site. These

pillars probably supported a cast iron gate. Some of the forged iron fencing is still attached to the eastern pillar; but some had collapsed and been abandoned nearby. A sample post

was collected for analysis.

Leading from the gate in a north-easterly direction is the approach to what has been

tentatively identified as the site of John Reeder's residence, or Great House. Early founda

tions appear to have been built over by later house structuo(s) now in ruins. The approach has been partially covered by a road built by the current owner in preparation for a housing

development on the site. The main finds from the area consist of a few unidentified

seashells, green glass bottles and several pieces of imported ceramics. Along the slope

facing north-westwards are several apparently modern metal artifacts.

A feature of much local interest is a large stone believed to be at a site marked 'store' on

the Harrison sketch map. The foundry bearing according to this map is SE 86?, while John Reeder's residence or Great House is NE 81?. The stone is situated on the hillside property of Mr Dudley Fyffe (23 Church Street), across the contemporary main road from what are believed to be the remains of the foundry buildings. The stone, a variety of milky quartz, is

actually quite huge, measuring approximately 1.25 m at its widest part, which is north

south and 2.15 m on its long axis, which is approximately east-west. Local residents

frequently identify such prominent stones as markers for buried treasure, especially

rumoured caches of Spanish gold. To prevent destruction of the Fyffe property and to

protect the stone site, it was deemed necessary to investigate these claims and satisfy public

interest.

Curiously, the upper surface of the stone has two large iron pegs, 65 cm apart, driven into

its upper surface at its wider part. Information from Mr Fyffe confirmed the opinion of other residents. Fyffe, together with others who had previously heard of or actually seen the stone years earlier, maintained that there had originally been four pegs, two having rusted

away or been otherwise removed. Upon closer examination, the stone's surface revealed

several worn indentations, although no obvious peg holes. The two surviving metal pegs

are approximately 3 to 4 cm in diameter. The following questions emerged from these initial investigations: what was the function

and importance of the stone; and what was the meaning or purpose of the two (or possibly

four) pegs driven into its surface? As mentioned above, some local informants claim that



the Spaniards may have buried some treasure under the stone; others mention that the

stone seems to disappear and reappear at will, indicating some mythical connections.

In summary, the pre-excavation studies clearly located and identified many features of

Reeder's Pen known from documentary sources, although the definite boundaries could not

be established because much of the area has now been built over. Also, the historical

records indicate that the foundry itself was dismantled and partially destroyed, first inten

tionally, then by an island hurricane in the 1780s. Parts of the foundry were even purported to have been buried during dismantling in 1782, when foundry operations were halted

abruptly. Such a deliberate attempt to conceal important structural features that otherwise

might have remained in the archaeological record is significant for identifying the sub

sequent use to which the buildings and site may have been put, and also for any interpreta

tions of the archaeological remains.

Excavation

Two areas were identified for excavation and referred to as Features 1 and 2. These were,

respectively, the structural foundations at 52 Church Street (on the property of Mr Phillip Ray), and, adjacent to the house of Mr Fyffe, the 'mystery stone', as it came to be called

locally. Feature 1 : The excavation of this feature sought to expose and identify the nature and

configuration of building foundations and their associated structures as a means of explain

ing activities that may have been related to them. The southern section of this feature is

referred to as the 'ramp area' or Area 1-A, while the northern section, which is the section

nearer the main road, is Area 1-B. It consists of foundations or platforms of what appear to

be part of the factory built by John Reeder. It is bounded on the property's eastern side by the remains of a canal system.

A 2 X 2 m square was opened along the wall, adjacent to the ramps referred to above, in order to expose the wall, locate floors and eventually extend the excavation to expose the

ramp area itself. The first level (0?35 cm) was a fairly compact and dark reddish brown soil

(Munsell 5YR 3/3) and contained material very like the surface collection, consisting of several pieces of iron slag, green glass bottle, wire nails and a few fragments of ceramic tile.

The ramp area was particularly productive, yielding much green glass and iron slag. Level

2 (35-75 cm) yielded a number of almost complete ceramic artefacts within the area

between the two ramps. The ramp interior sides are lined with red brick down to its base

level at 75 cm, which is characterized by a wide scatter of pieces of limestone and fragments of brick. Between the first excavation square and the ramp area, the distribution of brick is

suggestive of a collapsed structure.

Also identified in the ramp area was a semi-circular iron ring or hoop. This hoop seems

to mark the mouth of a structure that spans an opening of approximately 45 cm diameter,

and which passes under the wall at the ramp entrance from its southern to its northern side,

and then extends to the building's centre. The soil around this feature (between 75 and 90 cm in depth) was laden heavily with ash. Within the same area was recovered the largest collection of artifacts. The foundations of Feature 1 were clearly exposed and the outline of the rooms in that part of the excavation noted. It was also clear that building foundations

continue under the three houses immediately to the west of Mr Ray's house, indicating that



the factory was much larger than the portion under excavation. This would seem to be in

keeping with the sketch map that locates a line of several structures, and also to be

consistent with known British foundries contemporary with the Reeder site.

Finds

The main items, as mentioned above, consist of the structures around the ramp area, the

cast iron hoop, several imported ceramics of various manufacture and derivation, tiles, iron

slag, glass, and metal artifacts. The ceramic material includes the creamware, earthenware,

pearlware, porcelain, stoneware, whiteware and yelloware, represented in Figure 6. The

ceramic and other evidence should be treated with considerable caution as the archaeo

logical investigation has only just begun and so far extends over only a small portion of the site. However, several tentative and general observations are possible.

The earthenware consists mainly of rim and body sherds, some with blue or mottled blue

glaze. One piece appears to be of a polygonal-shaped vessel and another the lateral

terminal of a handle with stamped geometric patterns on both handle and body. The

majority of earthenware comes from level 2, the level that seems most likely to date to the period of foundry operation. However, almost half of the earthenware could be classified as local pottery referred to as 'yabba' in Jamaica.

Of the remaining pottery types, the creamware consist mainly of pieces of body sherds and would date to between 1775 and 1820. One piece seems to be a chamber pot rim; three others appear to be footings. The whiteware pieces are mainly undecorated fragments of

cups, bowls, and footings of plates or saucers. They are all from level 2, and date to between

about 1830 and 1860. Annular ware is the most popular of the pearlware ceramics. An

almost complete bowl of this type was recovered from the ramp area at 72 cm. The

porcelain recovered includes sherds of export ware, a few with red, green, and blue floral

pattern overglaze; a few have gilded wavy edges with incised lines in red, green, and blue floral transfer print. The majority is derived from level 2, and may be dated between about 1790 and 1825. A stoneware bottle, probably used for ginger beer and possibly of

nineteenth-century American origin, was recovered complete. A body/rim jar with salt

glaze is suspected to be of nineteenth-century English manufacture.

The metal finds consisted of large quantities of iron and copper-alloy objects: including a horseshoe, file, wire, nails (including some with flat heads), buckle, bolt, spike, rim and body of a large, cast iron pot, square shanks, barrel hoop, and sheets of iron scrap. Slag and

droplets of various metallic compositions confirm that a variety of metallurgical activities

were undertaken at the site. Samples of some metal finds have been selected for laboratory identification and characterization. This aspect of the research should provide data for

determining the source(s) of the raw materials, as well as for characterizing the smelting and other refining technology employed, including subsequent technical processes.

Almost all glass recovered consisted of fragments of green cylindrical wine bottles with conical kick-up bases. The distribution of glass is even across the levels and it appears that

the majority is twentieth-century. Of the remaining glass, all the thin clear pieces identified as probable medicinal bottles were derived from level 1.

Other finds include fragments of clay pan tile, glazed ceramic wall tiles with traces of adhesive and probably dating to the twentieth century, and several fragments of stone,



CRM ERT PEL POR STO WHI YEL Figure 6 Occurrence of pottery types from the preliminary season's excavations at

Reeder's Foundry site: Creamware (14%), Earthenware (11%), Pearlware (31%), Porcelain (5%), Stoneware (5%), Whiteware (31%) and Yelloware (3%). Vertical scale indicates fragment count.

which were recovered mainly from level 1 and surface areas. Only four pieces of white clay smoking pipe were recovered. The bore of the stems measured 1.6 mm which, with the embossed floral bowl decorations dates the pipes to between 1820 and 1840.

The second feature, the so-called 'mystery-stone', was only partially excavated in the

limited time available. Initially we believed the stone to be peripheral to the foundry site, perhaps serving as an early boundary marker. A 2 X 2 m square was opened over the

stone's exposed upper surface and overlapping it on the eastern side, the main objective

being to determine its shape and size and to investigate any associated structures or objects. One restriction was that the stone is situated extremely close to the property owner's

current building and it was considered that the excavation could easily damage the founda tion and the pipelines.

No finds were recovered above 1.0 m depth, with the exception of a few pieces of iron slag and broken bottle. An auger-test was conducted in order to determine the presence of any structural features; nothing was detected. At 1.92 m depth, large pieces of moulded clay pan tile approximately 2.5-3.5 cm thick were reached. All of the 15 pieces collected appear to belong to the same tile, identified as similar to seventeenth-century moulded examples from the site of Port Royal, Jamaica. The association of this tile with a large chunk of iron slag is interesting, especially as no objects were encountered in the levels above them.



Although the complete size and nature of the stone is unclear, its association with the slag and iron pegs, as well as its location within the territory of the foundry map, suggest that it

may indeed be linked in some way to the operations of the Reeder foundry. Further work

may help to answer fully the questions regarding its function and meaning.

Discussion

Limited portions of the Reeder site have now been investigated. Though much remians to be learned, archaeological excavation and survey work has confirmed that we are indeed

dealing with the structural features that were once part of John Reeder's eighteenth

century foundry complex. The range of metallurgical finds and their distribution are

consistent with late eighteenth-century descriptions of the foundry as a site of manufacture

and repair of ferrous and non-ferrous items. Tentative identification of hearth and forge

areas inside the foundry building should be confirmed by further investigation of the limited area open to excavation (see Fig. 5).

The ramp area of Feature 1 needs to be understood better in its relationship both to the location of the foundry forge and to the possible source of water power. According to the

original foundry plans put forward by John Reeder during his attempts to secure a Jamai can Assembly loan, the plant operations were intended to rely on a water-powered mill and

a series of support canals from the Morant River. The river appears much nearer to the

foundry buildings in the eighteenth-century sketch map, and this discrepancy may reflect the changing course of the river itself and/or the subsequent rechanneling of waterways

through the area of the site. The early sketch map indicates several separate buildings, but

only one set of foundations has thus far been identified. It is hoped that the complete configuration or plan of the buildings will be established during subsequent excavation.

At this point, identified ceramic types confirm only that the excavation covers the late

eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, dates that agree with the historical documen

tation of the Reeder site. The ratio of'yabba' to other types of vessels compares favourably with the suggestion that the foundry workers were predominantly of African origin.

According to archival sources, the industry employed as many as 276 'Negroes'. On the

basis of this documentation, the Africans and their descendants can be identified as slaves,

maroons, and free coloureds. Only occasionally were European craftsmen employed;

frequently their tenure was cut short by illness and death.5 No comparable industrial

contexts are known in the entire Caribbean region. Metal finds and various casting, forging and possibly smelting by-products, including a

variety of slags, have been identified. Clearly a range of metallurgical activities involving both ferrous and non-ferrous metals existed at the site. The full extent and nature of

production at the foundry remains to be determined through analytical studies of the metal remains already underway and further archaeological research.

Conclusion

Many more questions have been raised than answered by current research in the Atlantic

world; they are expected to direct attention to new field strategies. The unanticipated importance of the stone and its relationship to the Reeder house and foundry remains to be



explored, as does the location of worker accommodations. The actual size and plan of the

factory are of particular interest in answering questions regarding the degree of continuity between European (contemporary British industries at Ironbridge, for example) and Afri can (contemporary West Central African and maroon) industries.

Comparative research on British and African-derived technologies and contexts like the

Reeder foundry site will be essential for characterizing the technological styles of African Caribbean metallurgists. Finally, greater areal coverage will be needed fully to comprehend the nature and significance of the Reeder industry. Identifying the location of smelting sites in the Bath region and residences at Morant Bay will be critical to the recovery of cultural

identity. As we begin to inventory and map the material traces of Atlantic technologies, cultural and ideological aspects may be opened to comparative study. Until then, the early industrial site of Reeder's Pen is a tantalizing Jamaican monument to the complexity of

African-European technology transfer during the Atlantic era.

Endnotes

1 Lindsay Rickettes, Ginger Ridge, personal communication, 17 August 1988. 2 Great Britain, Public Record Office, Treasury T.64 273; I am grateful to Dale Simon for

her assistance in retrieving these records.

3 Devon Record Office, Exeter, Great Britain. John Reeder Papers, J16. 4 Institute of Jamaica. Memorial of Stephen Fuller, Esq, Agent for Jamaica . . . 1789,

ms.1718.

5 Letter from Fuller to Lord Sydney, June 28, 1788, John Reeder Papers, J7, Devon Record Office; Church of England Parish Records, St Thomas-in-the-East, Spanish Town Archives, Jamaica.

Acknowledgements

Research was partially funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Humani

ties, the Oregon Council for the Humanities, and a Faculty Development Grant from

Portland State University. My thanks to David Schoenbrun for editorial comments, to Roderick Ebanks for his encouragement, to my research assistant Katherine Sadler, and to

Charlene Fair and Doreen Frankson, respectively, for clerical and logistical assistance. I

am particularly grateful to Dr Kofi Agorsah, who made equipment and facilities available in Jamaica, and to his students who participated in the 1990 excavations at Reeder's Pen. I

can think of no more gracious or co-operative a colleague. This collaboration and the

current directions of my research pay homage to Merrick Posnansky to whom I owe an enormous debt of gratitude.

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Issue Table of ContentsThe African Archaeological Review, Vol. 11, Papers in Honour of Merrick Posnansky (1993), pp. 1-220Front MatterEditorial [pp. 1-2]The Middle Stone Age in East Africa and Modern Human Origins [pp. 3-20]Iron Age Ceramic Studies in Great Lakes Eastern Africa: A Critical and Historiographical Review [pp. 21-37]Cattle Herds and Banana Gardens: The Historical Geography of the Western Great Lakes Region, ca AD 800-1500 [pp. 39-72]Field Survey in the Tumulus Zone of Senegal [pp. 73-107]Notse's Ancient Kingship: Some Archaeological and Art-Historical Considerations [pp. 109-128]Art, History, and Gender: Women and Clay in West Africa [pp. 129-148]The Danes on the Gold Coast: Culture Change and the European Presence [pp. 149-173]Archaeology and Resistance History in the Caribbean [pp. 175-195]African Metallurgy in the Atlantic World [pp. 197-215]Back Matter

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African Metallurgy in the Atlantic World