An Overview Of Nigerian Archaeology

AN OVERVIEW OF NIGERIAN ARCHAEOLOGY.

A Presentation by Zacharys Anger Gundu.PhD. Fulbright Fellow Department of Anthropology University of Texas at Austin. October 25th , 2007

Africa.

Language Families of Africa.

Nigeria at a glance.  140,003,542

people.  1 in every 4 Africans is a Nigerian.  More natural resources than any country in Africa.  Oil main stay of the economy(13th largest producer of petroleum in the world and 10th largest proven reserves of oil in the world).

NIGERIA AT A GLANCE (Cont)  8th

largest exporter of oil in the world.  Diversity:  250

ethnic groups.  521 languages.  510

living.  9 extinct.  2 without native speakers.  Has

the world’s largest diversity of butterflies.

Nigeria.

Nigeria.

Nigeria.

State of our archaeological knowledge  Scattered

Oldowan and Acheulian finds mostly from river terraces/mining activities.  Undisputed Acheulian sequence at Ugwuelle Uturu (Eastern Nigeria).  Middle Stone Age represented in sites on the Jos Plateau.  Earliest fossil remains of man from Iwo- Eleru(near Akure) dated to 9,000 bc.

State of our archaeological knowledge (Cont)  Other

LSA sites include: Rop, Daima, Tse Dura and Nok.  Evidence of domestication in West Africa as early as 3000-1000 BC.  In Nigeria, earliest evidence of domestication from Daima (Lake Chad area)  Plant domesticates include: Millet, sorghum, date palm, African rice, shea butter tree and the oil palm.

State of our archaeological knowledge (Cont)  Animal

domesticates include: Cattle, Sheep, goats and guinea fowl.  Archaeological evidence of domestication reinforced by linguistic evidence and rock art.  Transition from Neolithic to Iron Age without intermediate bronze production.

State of our archaeological knowledge (Cont)  Until

recently, Nok (Taruga) had the earliest evidence of iron working in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa. (500 BC-200AD)  Earliest evidence of working iron in Nigeria comes from Opi (Nsukka area) 765 BC.  Scattered iron working in different parts like Zaria, Kano and Benue valley.  Nok has one of the the earliest evidence of plastic sculptures (figurines) in sub Saharan Africa.

SOME NOK FIGURINES

SOME NOK FIGURINES

SOME NOK FIGURINES

SOME NOK FIGURINES

Urbanization and Centralized States.  By

1000 AD, there is evidence of urban centres and complex societies in Nigeria.  At Igbo Ukwu (9th C AD), we have the earliest examples of bronze casting in Nigeria.  Both Ife Benin and Owo art post date Igbo Ukwu.  Possible relationships have been argued especially between Nok art and Ife and Benin art.

Igbo Ukwu Bronze Object.

Another Igbo Ukwu Bronze Object.

Another Igbo Ukwu Bronze Object.

Ife Art

Another Ife Piece.

Benin Art

Another Benin Piece

Another Benin Piece.

Other art forms of archaeological significance in Nigeria.  Esie

soap stones (Middle Nigeria). About 800 figures of men and women. Sitting or kneeling. Show hair styles, people with machetes, bracelets and necklaces. 14cm-1 meter high.  Largest collection of stone sculptures in Africa.  A house of images built in 1945 to protect them.

An Esie Soap Stone Piece.

Other art forms of archaeological significance in Nigeria (Cont).  The

Akwanshi of Cross River State.  These are scattered basalt and volcanic stone sculptures in the forests of Cross River State.  They are in circles and number over 400 individual pieces.  They weigh between 50kg-800kg.  They measure between 30cm -2 meters high.

An Akwanshi Piece.

Another Akwanshi piece.

On going archaeological projects in Nigeria.  The

Old Oyo Project: University of Ibadan.  The Benue Valley Project: University of Ibadan.  The Mandara Project: Nicholas David (Calgary).  North Eastern Nigeria Archaeological Project: Peter Breunig (Germany).  The Nok Project: Germany.

Africa’s Oldest Boat (8,000 yrs old) Dafuna Canoe.

Challenges of Archaeology in Nigeria.  Archaeological

awareness is relatively low.  Education and training challenges.  Funding.  Ethics and legal framework.  Chronology and geographic boundaries.  The multi disciplinary approach.  Explanation.

Conclusion.  Though

much is yet to be done here, the little that is known indicates human development in the Nigerian area going back to the old stone age.  Holds part of the key to understanding other regional issues like the Bantu expansion.  The discovery of Sahelanthropus tchadensis in neighboring Chad could also mean that hominids walked the Nigerian area.

Conclusion (Cont).  Archaeology

must also be prepared to work with other disciplines in the study of the Nigerian field.  Archaeologists must also recognize that archaeology is just one of many other ways of knowing about the past.  Training

and education of archaeologists should be predicated on a more responsive curriculum.

 THANK

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