An Anthropological Study of Transformation of Traditional Iron Working Technology in West Bengal, Eastern India

Abstract The production of iron and different iron implements has significantly evolved. In ancient times, iron ores were reduced into wrought iron in indigenous bloomery furnaces. With the advent of the modern technological revolution, the ancient practice of traditional iron smelting became nonexistent and is currently done in modern blast furnaces. The communities of blacksmiths and iron smelters have made several small-scale cottage production centers of iron implements in rural and urban areas, signifying their antiquity with traditional ironworking. This present study explores the technology of traditional ironworking in rural and urban areas and cultural practices associated with traditional ironworking by the traditional ironworking communities of West Bengal. This study also tried to reconstruct the stages of technological advancements in traditional ironworking from the pre-industrial mode of iron smelting to the contemporary practice of ironworking in West Bengal, with a focus on the District of Purulia in the rural context and Kolkata in the urban context and as well as Eastern India in general.