Our iron smelting 14C dates from Central Africa: from a plain appointment to a full blown relationship
This paper reviews the 14C dates associated with early iron smelting in Central Africa before 1900 BP. All of the archaeological sites from which these early dates have been obtained are critically examined. For example, each dated sample is checked for its stratigraphic integrity, its degree of association with dated artefacts, and its associated ceramic sequence. The series of ‘good’ 14C dates obtained from this re-appraisal is then presented at the regional level in order to provide a new paradigm of the expansion of iron metallurgy through Central Africa, from Cameroon to Congo. The work presented here follows several published papers and book chapters, and is based on research within the region by the author which began in 1982.