Some Reflections on the Classification of Yakut Iron-Smelting Furnaces

The article deals with the problems of classification and typology of Yakut metallurgical furnaces. The iron-making production of the Yakuts is a distinctive phenomenon not only in the global context, but also in a number of neighboring cultures and people. The high level of metallurgy and metalworking contributed to the active promotion and development of vast northern spaces by Yakut tribes. The study of the Yakut iron-making craft is a promising area in science and has wide informative possibilities in the field of social reconstruction of society, obtaining new information on the level of development of technology and production. In this connection, the creation of a classification scheme for Yakut iron-smelting devices is particularly relevant. Systematization and classification of horns allows identifying and tracing the cultural contacts of the population, the exchange of ideas and technology. Typological groups of smelting furnaces were defined according to such criteria as the height and volume of the internal working space. The elaboration of classification was based on archaeological and ethnographic evidences of iron-smelting of the Yakuts. The effectiveness of the bloomer process of producing iron depends directly on the size of the shaft in the hearth: the higher it is, the slower the charge (a mixture of ore and charcoal) goes down and, accordingly, iron is reduced more efficiently. In total, two main types were distinguished, which in turn are divided into subtypes. The first type is represented by metallurgical furnaces with a melting chamber height of no more than 1-1.5 m. Inside this category, subtypes were identified - a free-standing furnace, furnace with earthen embankment and log-frame furnace. The second typological group is represented by melting units with a height from the bottom to the throat more than 1.5 m. In a number of units, some differences in structural elements were revealed, which could be due to different technological traditions. It is established that the presented types of metallurgical furnaces were used in iron-making production until the beginning of the 20th century. Nevertheless, the earliest types are probably the free-standing smelter and the furnace with earthen embankment. Yakut smelting structures find analogies for a number of structural elements among the materials of the archaeological sites of the Angara, the Yenisei and the Tomsk Ob regions, dated from the medieval era and the New Time. Other similarities are also found in traditional Shor metallurgy.

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