TechnologySub-Saharan Africa

Ironworking south of the Sahara

100 – 500

Furnaces reaching temperatures Europe could not manage

In depth

The Haya furnaces near Lake Victoria used long blowpipes that preheated the air on its way in — the same principle as the European hot blast of 1828. The smith held a ritual and near-sacred standing in many African societies. Iron is a chief reason the Bantu expansion could go so far and so fast.

For children

Smiths in East Africa built furnaces with preheated air reaching nearly two thousand degrees — hotter than any European furnace of the time. With iron axes the Bantu peoples could clear forest and farm across southern Africa.

Connects to

The Bantu expansion1,001 BCE
The Iron Age1,201 BCE
The Nok culture901 BCE – 200
Great ZimbabweJan 1100 – Jan 1450

Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org