Evidence for indigenous strip-drawing in production of wire at Mapungubwe Hill (1220-1290 AD): towards an interdisciplinary approach

摘要

Several cupreous conical tubes with unclear function are among some of the finds in the collections heldat the University of Pretoria which were unearthed by archaeologists on Mapungubwe Hill. Most of theseare poorly provenanced, particularly those connected with the activities of Guy Gardner (1935-1940)regarding the waste in northern dump. However, a redetermination of the context following the excavationsof the 1970s suggests the funnels date to the period of the rise and development of Mapungubweas a town and centre of a powerful state. The results from neutron tomography, stereomicroscope and SEM-EDS indicate that the tubes were most probably used in iron strip-drawing to produce wire.