18 BULLETIN 137, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



four great ancient foci of metallurgic art — soutliern Europe, northern Africa, 

 western Asia, and eastern Asia. Tlie latter is of doubtful origin and aflaiia- 

 tion, but the other foci were connected. 



In India iron ore was as abundant as the supply of copper was 

 lacking. In very ancient times, therefore, knowledge of metallurgy 

 in iron must have been considerable. The iron pillar at Delhi, 

 " Kutab Minar," from which is derived our term " minaret," is 50 

 feet high and 16 inches in diameter and dates back to almost a thou- 

 sand 3^ears B. C. An interesting observance is the survival of the 

 primitive Indian methods of iron and steel production in the island 

 of Ceylon. For the manufacture of iron the furnace is located under 

 a thatched roof of an open fhed. The furnace parts consist of a bel- 

 lows, a furnace well, and a wall of sticks and mud to protect the 

 bellows operator from the furnace fire. Bellows consist of two hol- 

 low wooden logs partially buried in the ground. A piece of deer- 

 skin is stretched over each log. A cord is then attached to each skin 

 near a hole placed at the center. The other end of the cord is at- 

 tached to a flexed stave which is embedded in the ground at one end. 

 At the end of each log is a pipe of small caliber which carries the 

 air blast into the furnace. The operator now takes his position 

 on a near-by seat, grasps a bar for support, and alternately places one 

 foot on each deerskin over the centrally located hole, thus obtaining 

 a primitive valve action and supplying a continuous blast. The 

 previously roasted ore is placed in the furnace in layers alternating 

 with layers of charcoal. When the bloom is satisfactory it is removed 

 from the furnace with long tongs of green wood. 



Methods employed in the production of steel are more complicated 

 and refined, the bellows and protective wall remaining the same. The 

 hearth or furnace well consists of a semicircular depression filled with 

 charcoal. A low clay wall surrounds this hearth. Clay tubes, each 

 8 inches long and 2 inches wide on the inside but having walls of 

 several inches in diameter, are filled with ingots of iron and chips 

 of wood, in the proportion of 121/^ ounces of iron to 5 ounces of wood. 

 The tube is then entirely closed except for several small holes that 

 allow the gas to escape. The clay tubes are then buried in the char- 

 coal and the operations begin. After the gases have burned from 

 the wood chips the blast of air is increased. The fire is then allowed 

 to cool, the clay tube is broken open, and the steel bar removed. 



In modified form the primitive bellows and furnace of southern 

 Asia found its way throughout an area extending from Madagascar 

 to the Philippines, the center of diffusion being unquestionably 

 India. In northeastern Asia the age of iron dates back to the pre- 

 Christian era in China, while the stone burial dolmens of Japan as 

 far back as the second century B. C. contain iron swords and spears. 



