Yes David, I agree, Mr. Drescher did carry out some very interesting research and did demonstrate that deposits of iron to be found in Jawa were capable of being smelted and turned into usable iron.
However, I do not know of any archeological evidence that has yet been produced that iron was smelted in Jawa in olden times.
Why would it have been when it was much easier to grow rice and trade that rice for the products that Jawa did not produce?
This attitude persisted for 2000 years. Jawa has a very long history of trade, but to my knowledge, no history at all of iron smelting. Iron working, yes, in the same historic periods as the rest of Maritime South East Asia, and occurring in conjunction with bronze working.
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