Metalworking has ancient beginnings in Africa. Archaeologists have dated slag from iron smelting furnaces to 300 B.C. Since copper smithing and casting is a simpler process than smelting iron, it is likely that works of copper predated even this early date.
Bracelets, anklets and collars that were cast or hammered from copper had little circulation and were never used in connection with routine transactions. Instead, they served as reservoirs of wealth in a form that was easy to store and transport. This storage function is best illustrated in the very heavy bracelets and anklets of the Congo River region. To create some of these bracelets, such as that of the Ekonda, the artists poured molten metal directly into a cast in the ground called a puddle mold. As the metal cooled, it was wrapped into a circular shape and often even fitted directly to the wearer's body.