Die Metalle bei den Naturvölkern : $b Mit Berücksichtigung prähistorischer Verhältnisse

This work surveys how societies traditionally described as “natural peoples” discovered, smelted and employed metals such as iron, copper, tin and bronze. By weaving together ethnography, geology, chemistry and prehistoric studies, the author shows why their metallurgical practices matter for understanding early human technology and for interpreting archaeological finds. Detailed observations from travelers’ reports and museum collections are combined with the author’s own field notes, offering a vivid picture of distant workshops and the tools they produced.

The narrative also highlights the dramatic changes wrought by European and American metal goods, which have displaced many indigenous industries and threatened the survival of centuries‑old techniques. While the study concentrates on African, Asian and American cultures—excluding European and Semitic traditions—it raises broader questions about cultural exchange, technological independence, and the value of preserving fragile knowledge before it vanishes. Listeners will come away with a clearer sense of how early metal use shaped societies and why revisiting these practices remains crucial to modern scholarship.