Cordivari, Braden W, Nikis, Nicolas, Martinón-Torres, Marcos, Cordivari, Braden W [0000-0002-8411-4894], Nikis, Nicolas [0000-0002-1763-809X], Martinón-Torres, Marcos [0000-0003-2124-2837], and Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository
This paper considers copper production in the Niari Basin, Republic of the Congo, during a period dated to the mid-fifteenth-mid-seventeenth centuries CE. Using a combination of pXRF, OM, SEM-EDS, and FTIR, it assesses the microstructure and composition of slags and technical ceramics from sites associated with two different regional pottery traditions: Moubiri-type at the site of Kingoyi near Mindouli and Kindangakanzi-type at Kindangakanzi near Boko-Songho. Both sites are characterised by the use of refractory domestic pottery as crucibles for copper smelting. Moubiri-type pottery is alumina-rich, while Kindangakanzi-type pottery is formed from a magnesia-rich clay, a crucible type unique in sub-Saharan Africa. Similarities in chaînes opératoires at Kingoyi and Kindangakanzi suggest sharing of knowledge at mining and smelting sites, interactions we reconstruct as a metallurgical constellation of practice comprised of the distinct potting communities of practice (see Supplementary information for abstract in Lingala and French). Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12520-022-01653-9., Thouron Award, Belgian Fund for Scientific Research (FRS - FNRS), European Research Council (Starting Grant KongoKing 284126, Advanced Grant Reverseaction 101021480)