Smelting copper in decorated pottery: communities of practice in the Niari Basin, Republic of the Congo, fifteenth-seventeenth centuries CE

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 chaines operatoires 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).

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This paper examines copper production in the Niari Basin, Republic of the Congo, from the mid-fifteenth to the mid-seventeenth centuries CE. Using various analytical methods, the study evaluates the microstructure and composition of slags and technical ceramics from sites associated with two different pottery traditions. The research finds that both sites used refractory domestic pottery as crucibles for copper smelting, and identifies a unique type of crucible in sub-Saharan Africa.