Iles, L. orcid.org/0000-0003-4113-5844 (2016) The Role of Metallurgy in Transforming Global Forests. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 23 (4). pp. 1219-1241. ISSN 1072-5369
Abstract
Forest degradation—both past and present—has been a significant research focus of many disciplines in recent decades, and it is an area in which the multidisciplinarity and long-term perspectives of archaeological endeavour has the potential to make a particularly valuable contribution. One of the past craft activities that has long been linked to significant socio-economic change and associated accelerations in forest cover reduction and environmental decline is the intensification of early iron production—an industry reliant on the consumption of charcoal as fuel for much of its history. However, the impact of iron production on the transformation of woodlands is dependent on a suite of interrelated factors—climatic, ecological, technological and cultural—only some of which have so far been adequately scrutinised. This paper explores the theoretical context that links iron production with deforestation in academic and popular cultures, examining the role that archaeology can play in investigating this association, before reviewing recent methodological approaches that aim to interrogate the relationship between metallurgy and the environment in archaeological settings.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: | |
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2015 Springer. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Iron; Metallurgy; Environment; Deforestation; Charcoal; Technology |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (Sheffield) > Department of Archaeology (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 10 Aug 2016 15:17 |
Last Modified: | 01 Jul 2017 18:35 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10816-015-9266-7 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Verlag |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s10816-015-9266-7 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:103012 |