scholarly journals Historical Outline of Iron Mining and Production in the Area of Present-Day Poland

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1136
Author(s):  
Paweł Wrona ◽  
Zenon Różański ◽  
Grzegorz Pach ◽  
Adam P. Niewiadomski ◽  
João Pedro Veiga

The article presents the history of iron ore mining and production in present-day Poland and takes into account mining and production techniques and the influence of mining on the development of the surrounding areas. Examples of development are presented for the most important iron ore mining centers established since the period of the so-called Roman influences—Lower Silesia in the region of Tarchalice and the Świętokrzyskie region in the area of Góry Świętokrzyskie (Świętokrzyskie Mountains). The oldest traces of underground iron ore mining in Poland date back to the 7th–5th century B.C., and iron production dates back from the 1st century B.C. in the Częstochowa region where economically significant iron ore exploitation started in the 14th century and lasted until the 20th century. Studies showed that the development of iron ore mining in today’s Poland was associated with significant events in the country’s history, for example, with the expansion of a network of fortified castles in Silesia or with the industrial revolution. In each case, the increase in iron production resulted in the development and growth of the surrounding areas.

Author(s):  
Jane Humphris

The archaeometallurgical remains evident at the Royal City of Meroe represent some of the most extensive evidence for ancient iron production in Africa. Recently, renewed investigations of these remains have generated a number of new insights into Kushite ferrous technology. The duration of iron production at Meroe is now known to span over one thousand years. Currently available data indicates a particularly intensive level of production during the early periods of Kush, while post-Meroitic iron production has been identified at Meroe and at the nearby site of Hamadab. Throughout the long history of iron production in the area, certain aspects of the technological process appear to have remained relatively constant, notably those associated with the acquisition and use of raw materials (iron ore and charcoal fuel). Other facets of the technological practice appear to have changed over time, for example the manufacture of technical ceramics and the design of the furnaces. Such levels of diachronic consistency and variability within technological practice potentially reflect the evolving social, political, and economic circumstances of Kush. Due to the socio-politically embedded nature of technology, interesting insights into broader Kushite history are becoming accessible through greater understandings of Meroe’s iron production remains.


Author(s):  
Jonathan D. Karmel

This chapter presents a brief history of the significant events that changed the American workplace in the Nineteenth century. The upheaval from the Industrial Revolution, supported by waves of immigration, along with the rise of unions and worker unrest, are all discussed as America transitioned from an agrarian economy into an industrial giant.


2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Robion-Brunner ◽  
Anne Haour ◽  
Marie-Pierre Coustures ◽  
Louis Champion ◽  
Didier Béziat

In the context of the “Crossroads of Empires” project led by Anne Haour, one strand of enquiry aims to understand the history of blacksmith groups and the development of iron production in Dendi country, in the northern Republic of Benin. Numerous remains of iron production have been discovered, showing a great variability in furnace design and waste assemblages. At least three smelting traditions can be distinguished. In this paper, we present the smelting site of Kompa Moussékoubou (10th/11th c. AD) which has been investigated by archaeological and archaeometric methods. Beyond the archaeometallurgical results, the excavation of a 1 x 2 m trench on a settlement mound nearby and survey work, which place the site within its wider context, are also discussed. In particular, we offer a detailed analysis of the ceramics recovered during test pitting and within one of the furnaces itself. This paper thus offers a rare opportunity to combine archaeometallurgical and ceramics data.


1987 ◽  
Vol 19 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 633-643
Author(s):  
William F. Garber

The history of human society is replete with examples of advances in technology overrunning the ability of societal organizations to efficiently handle the resulting massive societal dislocations. The social impacts of the “Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th Centuries” illustrate how profound such effects can be. The automation-computer-robotics revolution now underway also has the potential for serious societal changes. In this regard public works activities are subject to increasing amounts of automation with impacts upon current and net total employment and training needs. To evaluate the present status of automation in the USA, questionnaires were sent to public works authorities in 110 cities or agencies. The current degree of automation, the impact upon employment and the skills now needed by public works employers were queried. It was found that in most cases automation was just starting; but that as complete automation as was possible was inevitable given the increasing complexity of the tasks, the demands of the public and the long term prospects for public works funding. In many cases the candidates now in the work force were not properly trained for automation needs. Retraining and changes in the educational system appeared necessary if the employees now needed were to be continuously available. Public works management as well as several labor organizations appeared to be aware of this need and were organizing to handle the training problem and the changes in employment qualifications now necessary. It appeared to be a consensus that the larger societal effects of automation should be handled by society as a whole.


Author(s):  
Susan E. Whyman

The introduction shows the convergence and intertwining of the Industrial Revolution and the provincial Enlightenment. At the centre of this industrial universe lay Birmingham; and at its centre was Hutton. England’s second city is described in the mid-eighteenth century, and Hutton is used as a lens to explore the book’s themes: the importance of a literate society shared by non-elites; the social category of ‘rough diamonds’; how individuals responded to economic change; political participation in industrial towns; shifts in the modes of authorship; and an analysis of social change. The strategy of using microhistory, biography, and the history of the book is discussed, and exciting new sources are introduced. The discovery that self-education allowed unschooled people to participate in literate society renders visible people who were assumed to be illiterate. This suggests that eighteenth-century literacy was greater than statistics based on formal schooling indicate.


Author(s):  
Jane Buckingham

Historical analyses, as well as more contemporary examples of disability and work, show that the experience of disability is always culturally and historically mediated, but that class—in the sense of economic status—plays a major role in the way impairment is experienced as disabling. Although there is little published on disability history in India, the history of the Indian experience of caste disability demonstrates the centrality of work in the social and economic expression of stigma and marginalization. An Indian perspective supports the challenge to the dominant Western view that modern concepts of disability have their origins in the Industrial Revolution. Linkage between disability, incapacity to work, and low socioeconomic status are evident in India, which did not undergo the workplace changes associated with industrialization in the West.


Histories ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 108-121
Author(s):  
Satoshi Murayama ◽  
Hiroko Nakamura

Jan de Vries revised Akira Hayami’s original theory of the “Industrious Revolution” to make the idea more applicable to early modern commercialization in Europe, showcasing the development of the rural proletariat and especially the consumer revolution and women’s emancipation on the way toward an “Industrial Revolution.” However, Japanese villages followed a different path from the Western trajectory of the “Industrious Revolution,” which is recognized as the first step to industrialization. This article will explore how a different form of “industriousness” developed in Japan, covering medieval, early modern, and modern times. It will first describe why the communal village system was established in Japan and how this unique institution, the self-reliance system of a village, affected commercialization and industrialization and was sustained until modern times. Then, the local history of Kuta Village in Kyô-Otagi, a former county located close to Kyoto, is considered over the long term, from medieval through modern times. Kuta was not directly affected by the siting of new industrial production bases and the changes brought to villages located nearer to Kyoto. A variety of diligent interactions with living spaces is introduced to demonstrate that the industriousness of local women was characterized by conscience-driven perseverance.


Britain possesses a forest area which is one of the smallest in Europe in relation to its population and land area. In the past, forests have been felled to make way for farming and to supply timber for ships, houses, fuel and metal smelting. Timber was a key to sea power, and repeatedly the availability of home timber supplies has proved crucial in time of war. The nation’s dwindling reserves of timber have been a source of anxiety since Tudor times and periodic surges of planting for timber production by private landowners took place until about 1850. Thereafter, interest faded with the advent of the iron ship, the Industrial Revolution and the availability of cheap timber imports. Govern­ ment activity was minimal until a national forest authority was formed in 1919 to create a strategic timber reserve. Since 1958 there have been frequent policy reviews to assess the changing needs of the nation for timber and the new values associated with the social and environmental benefits of forests.


Comma ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2019 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-36
Author(s):  
Aleksandr Gelfand

Seventy-five years ago (1945), the United Nations (UN) was founded in San Francisco by 50 nations. There, a small archives unit served to assemble the first records of the organization; this was the first iteration of today’s Archives and Records Management Section (ARMS). Throughout its history, the fortunes of the UN Archives have waxed and waned, while its role has continuously evolved. Trying to carve out a place for itself within the largest international organization in the world, its physical and administrative structures have undergone profound changes, as has its mission, number of staff, the type of records it holds and its users. This paper examines significant events in the development of the UN Archives, the challenges it has faced and what may be learned from them.


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