The Organization of Chipped-Stone Economies at Piedras Negras ...

their work and common endogamy within smithing families” (Herbert 1984:33). Herbert
cited some examples of African kingship in which smelting and smithing is a marker of
the royal family. Like agricultural production and land ownership, the production of
metal goods can be a politically potent practice. In the Kongo tradition, the ancestry of
kings is closely tied to the ownership of ore resources, but more importantly, with the
esoteric knowledge of smelting and smithing (i.e., the transformation of soils into
workable tools usually used in warfare and agriculture).
In many African societies the metal smith takes on the role of a diviner or a
controller of essential magic that brings about prosperity (Herbert 1984:41). A smith also
may be an owner of a mine, but more importantly, he controls the necessary esoteric
ritual and technological knowledge needed for the socially proper creation of metal
goods. The forms of mine ownership vary as much as ritual treatment of metallurgy does,
but for the Katenga, royalty maintained control of mines. In other locations use of the
mine was free for local inhabitants, but outsiders were required to pay a tithe to use or
extract ores from them (for the Kimbe see Herbert 1984:44). In some cases, competitive
processors of the ores were fended off, not only by control of mine resources, but by
ritual and technological specialists who controlled the esoteric knowledge of smelting
and forging processes. Heightened specialization increased social power through the
control of that esoteric knowledge. Herbert noted: “one is born a smith, but becomes a
jeweler.” The acquisition of social ties and technological knowledge can ultimately lead
to positions of power within the society. Childs (1998:134) explained this relationship for
the Western Ugandan Toro:
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