occupations: Africa 795 pare charcoal or the ore for smelting In some areas smelters did nothing but smelt metal, and in others they also forged the metal into desired objects Metalsmithing dates back to at least as early as 4000 b.c.e in sub-Saharan Africa and probably first developed with metals that were easier to smelt and forge, such as copper Forging—the shaping of raw metals into useful objects—was done throughout Africa, and the techniques changed as the processes were refined and the environmental conditions and resources changed Making iron and copper objects was often done by repeating heating and hammering Several artifacts cast in a lost-wax process have been uncovered in southeastern Nigeria dating to the eighth through the 10th centuries, and there is evidence that wire was made by hammering, heating, and drawing at least as early as the 15th century in present-day Zimbabwe and Zambia Many of the occupations in civilization centers, including scribes, soldiers, bureaucrats, religious leaders, advisers, nobility, and judges, were essential to maintaining centrally organized systems of governance Numerous professions de- Part of a silk panel used as a sleeve ornament on a tunic; Akhmỵm, Upper Egypt, eighth century A woven inscription above reads “Zachariou,” thought to identify the owner of the textile workshop as a Zacharias or Zachariah. (© The Trustees of the British Museum) veloped with increased urbanization For example, people were employed as doctors, artists, merchants, architects, builders, weavers, potters, and entertainers The royal courts of Ghana, Songhai, Mali, Axum, and Great Zimbabwe employed artists, entertainers, architects, and engineers who created the homes and luxurious environments of the noble classes Weaving was prized and cloth was traded, in addition to precious metals and salt, across the Sahara In western Africa, especially Ghana, mud was used to make designs on woven fabrics The sun was used to bake the design into the fabric, which became known as mud cloth Some people were employed as griots, or storytellers Stories were told in the evening when people would gather together to listen These stories, told over and over, became the cultural heritage of people in the western African states The griots were elevated to high status in the kingdom of Mali, where they were appointed as spokesmen and advisers to the noble class The major empires of the medieval period revolved around the ruling elite The spread of Islam during this period resulted in a change in the perception of the leaders of some of the great states For example, prior to the adoption of Islam by leaders in Mali, the king was attributed power and viewed with awe through his reputation as a mighty warrior; once Islam had been adopted and the kings made pilgrimages to Mecca, the power of this role was seen as more divine, with powers granted by Allah The military became important in many large empires that were based on the control of highly valued natural resources, and many individuals made their livelihoods as soldiers Particularly well known are the Ghanaian warriors who fought with iron-tipped spears and arrows made by the highly skilled Ghanaian iron craftsmen Other warriors used weapons made from less-durable substances such as bone and wood Ethiopian warriors used spears in addition to other hand weapons One task of the military was to conquer new territory, and another was to protect traders from raids on the trans-Saharan trade routes During the medieval period Arabs controlled a largescale slave trade through the east coast of Africa This trade brought slaves from Africa to the Muslim areas in the Middle East and southern Asia Slaves were also transferred through the trans-Saharan trade network to be used in North Africa and beyond Tasks assigned to slave workers included military service, agricultural work, domestic work, mineral extraction, and labor in metalworking, pottery making, and other artisan specialties Slaves in medieval Africa were not all subject to the same restrictions Some types of slavery were less brutal than the chattel slavery associated with the massive transatlantic African slave trade during the colonial era A type of slavery existed in Africa known as pawnship,