Best Seller Items
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2019 Igbo-Ukwu Research Project
$10.00Short Notes on the 2019 Igbo-Ukwu Research Project
Kingsley Chinedu Daraojimba
Department of Archaeology and Tourism
University of Nigeria. Nsukka
[email protected]
Introduction
Igbo-Ukwu is a world renowned archaeological site which lies about 40 kilometres east of the
lower Niger River in Anambra State, Nigeria (Fig. 1). The Igbo-Ukwu Archaeological and
Heritage Project began its first phase in November 2019. The revisit to the site was the first
after six decades the original excavations were conducted by Professor Thurstan Shaw.
Between 1959 and 1964, Shaw’s excavations in the three sites (Igbo Richard, Igbo Isaiah and
Igbo Jonah) revealed a royal burial chamber and large collection of intricately decorated
pottery, bone and ivory, objects of copper, iron and elaborate bronze art, fabric, carnelian, stone
and coloured glass beads dated over 1000 years old (Shaw 1970; 1977). In response to poor
attention to the renowned Igbo-Ukwu sites, a community-engaged archaeology project was
conceptualised by Shaw’s widow, Pamela Jane Smith, in consultation with compound owners,
the Traditional Ruler and the Anozie family.
Community archaeology though far from new in Africa, where archaeologists such as Thurstan
Shaw and Merrick Posnansky have practised it (Schmidt 2014), many researchers still poorly
engage local and indigenous communities in their research approach (Pikirayi and Schmidt
2016). There are several hindrances responsible for this poor community-researcher
engagement. Some of such hindrances among others include mistrust arising from damaging
experiences under colonial rule, looting and sale of cultural items and non-obedience to the
culturally or socially prohibited rules guiding the preservation of cultural heritage (Aleru and
Adekola 2016). Community archaeology is archaeology of the people, for the people and by
the people. In other words, it is an archaeological activity that is focused on drawing a
connection between communities and archaeological remains for the purose of benefitting the
local community and preservation of their archaeological heritage (Lewis, 2018). Since
community archaeology was more about what the community needs and not what the
archaeologist thinks the community needs (Smith et al. 2020), this ten day inclusive community
approach was targeted at handing over, at least, partial control of the project to the local
community. This approach was targeted at promoting indigenous views in interpretations and
to empower communities to benefit from and participate in developing their ownarchaeological sites. The approach is important as the first phase of the efforts to launch a long-
term archaeological project in Igbo-Ukwu. This paper briefly describes the first phase of theproject and highlights the possibilities in the area for future archaeological research.
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60 Years of Archaeological Research and Practice in Southeast Nigeria: An Appraisal
$10.0060 Years of Archaeological Research and Practice in Southeast Nigeria:
An Appraisal
By
Edwin E. Okafor
Department of Archaeology and Tourism
University of Nigeria Nsukka
Elochukwu A. Nwankwo
Department of Archaeology and Tourism
University of Nigeria Nsukka
And
John U. Ngonadi
Department of Archaeology and Tourism
University of Nigeria Nsukka
Abstract
The advent of archaeology in Southeast Nigeria can be traced to the famous Igbo-Ukwu excavations in 1961 by Professor Thurstan Shaw and his team. Since then, the discipline has unravelled many other archaeological sites in the region. This study was aimed at looking at the archaeological research in Southeast Nigeria since 1961 with a view to understand the various progress, contributions, challenges and prospect of the discipline in the region. So many archaeological researches have been conducted in the region since inception with remarkable contributions. The famous Igbo-Ukwu bronze pot dated to 9th BC, discovery of similar Acheulian tools at Ugwuelle, the discovery of the oldest iron working technology in West Africa in Lejja, among others. Archaeological research has contributed significantly to culture preservation and identity promotion of the region, and the consequential impact on the world archaeological map. Some challenges like poor funding, inadequate facilities, obsolete legislation, and poor public/community support, among others were identified as the challenges of archaeological research in Southeast Nigeria since inception in 1961. Practical recommendations like establishment of more archaeology departments in the region, institution of government special intervention scheme, public awareness and academic publications, support for regular students’ field school, systematic public/community orientation and involvement, among others, were recommended to consolidate archaeological research and practice in Southeast Nigeria. This study has implications for improved and sustainable archaeological research and practice in Southeast Nigeria.
Keywords: Archaeological research and practice, sites, museums; iron smelting; Excavations and reports.
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A Contribution to Heritage and Islamic Archaeology of Bauchi Region, Northern Nigeria
$10.00A Contribution to Heritage and Islamic Archaeology of Bauchi Region, Northern Nigeria
Abubakar Sule Sani
Department of Archaeology
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
Email: [email protected]
Abstract
This paper attempts to appraise the influence of Islam and related thematic factors on socio-political developments in Bauchi region in the last 1500 years. It considered archaeological evidence from excavations of some sites from southern Bauchi area. Oral traditional sources were also used in the paper. Socio-political developments in the Bauchi region are highlighted by long distance trade, slave trade and other specialised processes of craft production. Islam would appear to have inspired the alteration of existing local political systems by the realignment of Islam into the mainstay socio-political structure of Kasar Bauchi; especially, in the early part of the 19th century after the Sokoto jihad ran by Uthman ibn Fodio. In addition, cultural developments in the region were also facilitated by population movements from Bornu, Kwararafa and other Hausa states. There is need for more studies by anthropologists and archaeologists interested in the influence of Islam on African societies in the last millennium. The work concludes that complementary use of sources such as archaeology and oral histories are vital to a better understanding of cultural developments in the region and beyond.
Keywords
Bauchi, jihad, oral traditions, archaeology, socio-political development
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A Study of Ancient Subsistence Strategies of the Coastal Dangbe of Ghana: An Archaeological Perspective
$10.00Beveridge Fritz
Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies
University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.Abstract
Significant gaps exist in our understanding of the ancient economy of the coastal Dangbe
ethinic group who occupy Kpone, Prampram, Old Ningo, Ningo, Sege and Ada all of which
are located on the eastern coastal plain of Ghana. The study was undertaken in phases and
this paper is a summary of results from the first phase of work undertaken along Kpone
beach. The objective of the researcher was to use archaeological data to establish their
ancient subsistence strategies and economy. The study covered the period circa 1400 to 1800
A.D. The main thrust of the study was archaeological. However, other sources of data such as
ethno historical data, oral information, written documents and ethnographic data were also
used to complement the archaeological data.
The study revealed the people who occupied the study area had several specialists‘
vocations and had developed relatively complex exchange systems attested to by extensive
intra regional trade activities with neighbouring ethnic groups like Akyem and Akwamu.
Between the 16th and late 19th century, they had also established vibrant commercial links
with different European nations such as the English, Danish, French and Dutch on the Guinea
coast. Thee activities impacted positively on the socio-economic life ways of the settlers. It
made possible the introduction of new cultigens like maize and exotic European imports like
glass beads, guns, gun powder, linen, metal products, tobacco and smoking pipes among
many others to the area.
It is also probable that these developments facilitated and enhanced population growth
and promoted ethnic heterogeneity. Other significant developments arising out of these
commercial activities and cultural contacts may have included urbanization and state
formation. -
AA TABLE CONTENT WAJA VOLUME 50
vi
AKA Atché Michel, Les iles Eotile : un point de convergence culturelle……………182
Goeti BiIrié Maxime, Gaille Elodie and Kiénon-Kabore Timpoko Hélène,
Savoir-faire tinctoriaux des textiles de tradition Dida : un patrimoine à preserver……………………………………………………………………………………………………….208
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AA TABLE OF CONTENT VOLUME 49
S.O. Ogundele and J. Ogunsetire, Imiegba Pottery in a Cultural Perspective ……….1
M. J. Abah, Knowledge in Local Healthcare as an Intangible Heritage: Utilizing
Medicinal Plants in Okpoga, Okpokwu Local Government Area, Benue State,
Nigeria…………………………………………………………………………………………………………14Aliyu Adamu Isa, Preliminary Results of Excavations in Surame, Northwest
Nigeria…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….35Kola Adekola, Aspect of Dietary Pattern, Farming Practices and Organisations
Amongst the Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria……………………………………………………44Ifeyinwa Emejulu/Ikenna Odife, Heritage Sites Management in South Eastern
Nigeria; Issues, Challenges and Prospects……………………………………………………………64Na’ankwat Yola Kwapnoe, An Ethno-archaeological Survey of Subsistence
Agriculture Among Qua’anpan Hill Settlements in Southern Jos Plateau, Nigeria…..73Mireille AMEDE E. GBANHOUNME, Le Musée Honmè : support de
l’enseignement du panégyrique dans les écoles du Bénin………………………………………85Aka Adjo BEBEWOU, Les musées togolais dans la promotion du patrimoine
culturel…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..97DAPA AkouaDibiaMarie-Joelle1, TUI Lah Louis2 and KIÉNON-KABORÉ
Timpoko Hélène3, La métallurgie ancienne du fer dans la région de Poro (nord-cote
d’ivoire) : Cas du site Kadjologo 1 de Poungbe…………………………………………………111N’doua Etienne ETTIEN, Les amas coquilliers : un phénomène archéologique de
premier plan de la Côte d’Ivoire côtière a préserver…………………………………………….123Aminou Gambari, Didier N’dah, La fortification de tunru-gbere (nord-Benin) : un
patrimoine archéologique en péril………………………………………………………………….133Colette GOUNOU, Abdoulaye LAWANI, Enseignement du patrimoine
archéologique dans les écoles et collèges du Bénin…………………………………………….147TIE Bi Galla Guy Roland, Timpoko Hélène Kaboré-Kienon, Sidérurgie ancienne à
Issia : protection et valorisation des sites menacés du village de Gazibouo (centre ouest
forestier de Côte d’Ivoire)………………………………………………………………………………..157Kingsley Chinedu Daraojimba, Brief Report on 2019 Igbo-Ukwu Research
Project…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..177 -
AA Table of Contents 45
Table of Contents 45
Okpoko, A.I. Archaeology and Anthropology: the Foot Prints and
Legacy of Bassey Wai Andah……………………………………….…….1
Okpoko, A.I. and Onu, A.O. Traditional Foundation for Christian Virtues
in Igboland: a Link from Bassey Andah’s Viewpoint on Religion
and Religious Life in Africa…………………………………………………23
Tubi, Paul-Kolade. Historicism, Structuralism and Post-Structuralism:
The Contribution of Bassey W. Andah to Deconstructing African
Anthropology……………………………………..…………………………..42
Ezeh, P.J. Indigenous Technology: Some Medical Examples of the
Orring And the Igbo……………………………………………………………………..57
Tubi, Paul-Kolade. Ethnography of the Dynamics of Politics and
Religion in Traditional Society: A Case Study of the OkunYoruba………………………………………………………………………………………..65
Ogundele, S. O. Towards Poverty Alleviation: Public Archaeology,
Heritage Management and Museum in Nigeria………………………………..86
Oyinloye, M.A. and Aremu, D.A. Ethnographic Study of
Wooden Objects’ Conservation: Focus on National Museums in
Lagos and Oron, Nigeria……………………………………………………………..102 -
AA Table of Contents 46
Table of Contents 46
Tollo Eloi Cyrille. Métallurgie du fer dans la rive gauche de la Sanaga. Etude de
l’atelier de réduction du fer d’Elig-Zogo Philadelphia au Cameroun……………….1
Mandeng Jean Robert. Les fouilles archéologiques de Nkolandom: contribution
à la connaissance du peuplement ancien au sud Cameroun le cas des abris sous
roche de Dum Ebete Akok et Nkomeyos…………………………………………………..18
Elouga Martin. Fortifications in Tikars Chiefdoms. Temporal security borders
and indicators of an autarchic economic and social life in peace or war time.
A contribution to historical archaeology in Cameroon.………………………………34
Biveridge Fritz. Trade Feuds and Armed Confrontations: Archaeological
indications at Forts Eliza Carthago and Ruychaver, Western Region,
Ghana…………………………………………………………………………………………………….52
Wellington Ing. H. N. A., Fritz Biveridge and Daniel Kuma. Iconoclasm,
Antithesis to Cultural Heritage Conservation in Ghana – A Case-Study of
Conflicts Typology in the Danish-Osu Heritage Setting……………………………….69
Emuobosa Akpo Orijemie, . Holocene vegetation change in the forests of
southwest Nigeria: Inferences from Lowland Rainforest Species
Diversity……………………………………………………………………………………………..86
Pogoson Ohioma Ifounu. Interrogating Anthropomorphism in Benin and
Northern Edo Art: Some Tentative Notes for Historical Clarifications…………103Garba Abubakar. Archaeology Of The Chad Basin, North East Nigeria: Success
Story And Limitations…………………………………………………………………………….120 -
AA Table of Contents 47
Table of Contents
Orijemie Emuobosa Akpo: Farming Dynamics in the Middle Benue Valley, north-central Nigeria since the 15th Century AD………………………………………62
Abubakar Sule Sani: Contribution to Heritage and Islamic Archaeology of Bauchi Region, Northern Nigeria…………………………………………………………81
Ruivo Ferreira Burmann, André Luiz: Preliminary Comparative analyzes of Prehistoric Figurine Traditions in West Africa…………………………………100
Kabiru K. Salami: Traditional Birth Attendants and Maternal Health Service Delivery in a Community Health Project in South-western Nigeria: A qualitative study…………………………………………………………………………….121
Kafayat O. Oshodi, Kabiru K. Salami and Patricia A. Taiwo: Motherhood and the Practice of Grand Multiparity: Responses from Grand Multiparous Women in Ibadan, Nigeria………………………………………………………………….143
Olanrewaju Lasisi: History of Archaeological Research in the Yoruba-Edo region of Nigeria: New Directions for Urban Earthen works……………………………………169
Salamatou: Archéologie Historique Au Cameroun. Les Sites De L’occupation Allemande Dans Le Mbam (ndikiniméki, Bafiaet Nyamanga II)…………………199
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AA Table of Contents 48
Table of Contents
Adande, Alexis: We, African Archaeologists, Who Do We Serve? ………………..1
Ogundiran¹ Akinwumi, Macham Mangut², and Olusegun Moyib³:
The Archaeological Landscape of Bara, near Oyo-Ile…………………..……….15
Holl, F. C. Augustin : Exercise, Violence, Illness, and Death: Mortuary Programs as Curriculum-Vitae …………………………………………………….33
Ogundele, S. Oluwole : Nigeria’s Place in the Sun: Colonial/Neo-colonial
Agendas, Contested Narratives and Post-Andah Archaeology ………..….45
Tubi, Fr. Paul-Kolade : Ethnoarchaeological Importance of Lokoja Rockshelters.
………………………………………………………………………………..…..57
John Kelechi Ugwuanyi: Hegemonic Heritage and Public Exclusion in Nigeria:
A Search for Inclusive and Sustainable Alternatives ………………………………..71
Fr. Paul-Kolade Tubi,:Field Archaeology in Israel: A Short Note. ……………109
José Farrujia de la Rosa: The Amazigh people of Western Africa: the early colonization of the Canary Islands. …………………………………………….121
N´zi Dibié Charles: Vers une nouvelle configuration de l’archéologie en Côte d’Ivoire ? ……………………………………………………………………….131
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AA TABLES OF CONTENTS WAJA 51
Table of Contents
Pages
Editorial Board:………………………………………………………….…………………..…ii
Note to Contributors:……..…………………………………..… ………………………………iii
List of Contributors:………………………………….………………………..……………….iv
vi
vii
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AA- Table of Content 38 & 39|Articles
Table of Content 38 & 39
1 ————————————————– 24 Pottery Traditions of the Earthworks of Southern Ghana: Test
Excavation at the Site of Ngyeduam
J. Boachie-Ansah Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana25 ——————————————– 41 Challenges of Dating and Sequencing in West African Stone Age Archaeology Since the 1970s
Obarè B. Bagodo Departement d‟histoire et d‟archéologie Université d‟Abomey-Calavi, Bénin Republic42 ——————————————- 50 Interpreting Benin Art Objects In Catalogues and Books as
Indigenous Photographs Captured in Conventional Photography
Kokunre Agbontaen-Ekghofona
Department of Sociology and Anthropology University of Benin Benin City51 ——————————————— 57 Archaeological Survey of Nri
A.I. Okpoko, A. M. Ibeanu, C.E. Umeokafor
Department of Archaeology and Tourism University of Nigeria, Nsukka.58 —————————————– 73 Rethinking The Archaeology of Zaria Area: Evidence From Recent Archaeological Investigations
Dr K. T. Odofin Department of Archaeology, Ahmadubello University, Zaria74 —————————————- 88 Iron Working Traditions in Idomaland and Northern Igboland
Border Communities
Ibeanu, A.M. and Inalegwu, S.A -
AA- Table of Content 40 & 41|Articles
Table of Content 40 & 41
1 ————————————————- 14 Pottery Tradition and Heritage Management in Sukur Kingdom, Nigeria.
Pat Uche Okpoko Ph.D. and Emeka E. Okonkwo Department of Archaeology and Tourism
University of Nigeria, Nsukka.15 ———————————————– 23 Archaeological Excavations in parts of the Katsina Ala Basin, Benue Valley of Nigeria.
Jonathan Demenongo Ndera (Ph.D.) Department of Archaeology Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.24 ——————————————– 32 Gender Representations in Death and Burial Rituals:
Perspectives from Some Cultural Groups in Ghana
Gertrude Aba Mansah Eyifa Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies University of Ghana, Legon. Accra, Ghana33 ———————————————— 47 A Study of Ancient Subsistence Strategies of the Coastal Dangbe of Ghana: An Archaeological Perspective
Beveridge Fritz Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana48 ————————————————55 Traditional Potters of Eggonland: An Ethnoarchaeological Investigation
Ibeanu, A. M. Department of Archaeology and Tourism,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka. and Gershom D. Dalat Department of History, Nasarawa State, University, Keffi.56 ———————————————- 66 Preliminary Report of Archaeological Investigations of Esie, North Central Yorubaland
Adekola, K. and Aleru, J. O. Department of Archaeology and Anthropology University of Ibadan,Ibadan, Nigeria67 ———————————————– 74 Stone Fortification of Surame, Northwestern Nigeria
Olusegun Opadeji75 ———————————————– 84 Africa and Archaeology: Empowering an Expatriate
Merrick Posnansky
Book Reviewed by Prof. C.A. Folorunso -
Africa and Archaeology: Empowering an Expatriate
$10.00Merrick Posnansky
Book Reviewed by Prof. C.A. FolorunsoThe book, an autobiography of Merrick Posnansky, has nine chapters excluding the
introduction that was not assigned a chapter number. The introduction is a veritable summary
of the book. The chapters of the book do not follow chronological sequence that one would
have expected from an archeologists but they treat different subjects of Merrick‘s life and
each subject has its chronology. -
An Ethno-archaeological Survey of Subsistence Agriculture Among Qua’anpan Hill Settlements in Southern Jos Plateau, Nigeria
$10.00An Ethno-archaeological Survey of Subsistence Agriculture Among Qua’anpan
Hill Settlements in Southern Jos Plateau, Nigeria
By
Na’ankwat Yola Kwapnoe
Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies
University of Jos.
Email: [email protected]
Phone No: +2347068150891Abstract
Early agricultural practices are a defining factor for early human settlements around
the world. Today, many agricultural/farming communities dominate Africa but the
history of their success as agriculturists is not documented in order to trace the
foundation upon which this is built and to further develop it. Presently, most farming
activities in Qua’anpan, located on the southern edge of the Jos Plateau, is done on
plain frontier lands on the Benue trough. However, this paper seeks to discuss early
indigenous agricultural practices among the inhabitants of the hill settlements
(homeland) of present day Qua’anpan, particularly the pan people because this
formed the foundation for the large scale and mostly commercial agriculture that is
practiced today among the people. This includes their system of crop farming, animal
domestication, types of crops produced and other subsistence practices such as
storage practices and the continuity of such.Using surface archaeological and
ethnographic data, this work reveals subsistence agricultural practices that were
developed traditionally by the peopleand still sustained centuries later. It is hoped that
the knowledge of traditional agriculture among the Pan which involves
commercialization born from food sufficiency can be adopted to solve some of Africa’s
food problems and bring about development in health and education.
Keywords: Pan, Subsistence, agriculture, ethno-archaeology, Jos Plateau, food
sufficiency -
Archaeological Excavations in parts of the Katsina Ala Basin, Benue Valley of Nigeria.
$10.00Jonathan Demenongo Ndera (Ph.D.)
Department of Archaeology
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.Abstract
This paper is a report of the recent archaeological excavations carried out on the northeastern
part of the Katsina Ala basin in the middle Benue valley of Nigeria. Archaeological
investigations started on the northeastern part of the Katsina Ala basin in the 1950s but this
was not sustained until the 1970s when the staff of the Department of Archaeology,
University of Ibadan initiated an archaeological research scheme for the Benue Valley.
Between 1980 and 2008, the northeastern part of the Katsina Ala basin witnessed series of
archaeological investigations leading to the location of historical and archaeological sites,
understanding of settlement behaviour and the history of origin and migration of different
groups in the Benue Valley. This paper is a report of the excavations conducted on and
around Dikpo hill in Mbagena-Shitire, a Tiv group inhabiting the northeastern part of the
Katsina Ala Basin. Though archaeological investigations have contributed immensely to the
understanding of the settlement history of the Shitire, the investigations would be more
rewarding if they are expanded and sustained over a period of time. -
Archaeological excavations of Nkolandom: contribution to the knowledge of the old settlement in the south Cameroun the case of the rock shelters of Dum Ebete Akok and Nkomeyos (Cameroun-Southerner) preliminary Notes
$10.00Par
Jean robert Mandeng
Chercheur au Centre National d’Education
Email: [email protected]Abstract
This study presents the results of an archaeology study about surface collection and
in stratigraphy lead in four rock-shelters from Nkolandom region (southern
Cameroon forest). It has been carried out through research cooperation between the
ministry of higher education and the University of Yaoundé I. The first drill holes
made in Nkolandom rock-shelter provide new information’s about space
occupation in the three likely phases. The first sequence could be the Late Stone agewhich manifests itself through the presence of lithic such as erasing, knife/scraper-
eraser, splinter and nibs. The second sequence, probably the Stone age unfoldsthrough coarsened earthenware characterized by impression from small card and
small wheel plaited. The third sequence concerns the ongoing period through oral
sources linked to the settlement of Bulu (Ndong clan) in that locality. -
Archaeological investigation of iron smelting in Ukehe, Nsukka Southeast, Nigeria 1Daniel, Kenechukwu, 2
$10.00Archaeological investigation of iron smelting in Ukehe, Nsukka Southeast, Nigeria
1Daniel, Kenechukwu, 2
Ibeanu Anselm,
Department of Archaeology and Tourism, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
1
[email protected],
2
[email protected]Abstract
Despite the enormous evidence of iron smelting sites in Nsukka and environs, very few
sites have been investigated and radiocarbon dated. Some however, have been
investigated but not dated while many sites are yet to receive the attention of
archaeologists. One of those sites is Ukehe iron smelting site where we observed
massive evidence of iron smelting in various villages which include, iron slag, baked
clays, fragments of furnace walls and ores. Using ethnoarchaeological methods, this
study aims to investigate, document and characterize site debris to see the relationship
if any between Ukehe and other Nsukka radiocarbon dated iron smelting sites. The
Eziamaugwu village iron smelting site was selected for excavation based on the
observed iron slag debris and evidence of polishedstone axe collected during
reconnaissance at the site. Charcoal sample from the site was sent for radiocarbon at
the site. determination and dated 1540-1635cal AD (410-315cal BP) and 1450-
1530cal (500-420cal BP).
Key words: iron working, investigation, excavation, archaeology, Ukehe. -
Archaeological Investigations on the Jos Plateau, Nigeria: A Case Study of Lankan
$10.00Archaeological Investigations on the Jos Plateau, Nigeria: A Case
Study of Lankan
Macham Mangut and J.O. Aleru
Department of Archaeology and AnthropologyUniversity of Ibadan
Abstract
This paper reports recent archaeological investigations in Lankan (the ancestral home
of the Ron people) on the Jos Plateau in Nigeria. Most of the early settlements were
located on hill tops. The study revealed that human occupation in Lankan predates the
17th century and there was continuity in the occupation of the area from the past to
present. It also confirms the existence of cultural connections between Ronland and
Lankan. Despite their differences, the different groups in Lankan interacted not only
among themselves but also with their neighbours through trade. This study has,
therefore, added to our understanding of the emergence of the Ron as a people. It has
as well added to our understanding of early human occupation and inter-group
relations on the Jos Plateau.
Keywords: Ron, Lankan, Jos Plateau, Inter-group relations. -
Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Forest of the Tanoé-Ehy Swamps (FMTE) and its margins (Southeastern Côte d’Ivoire): Challenges and Prospects
$10.00Siméon K. Kouassi & Sylvain K. Koffi
Institut des Sciences Anthropologiques de Développement (ISAD)
Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny/Cocody-Abidjan – Côte d’Ivoire
[email protected] & [email protected]Abstract
Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Forest of the Tanoé-Ehy Swamps
(FMTE) and its margins (Southeastern Côte d’Ivoire): Challenges and
Prospects
Archaeological investigations into the coastal area in Côte d’Ivoire has long been
dominated by research themes focused on shell mounds and ceramics, accordingly
to archaeologically-based issues. The implementation of a research project on the
margins of the Forest of the Tanoé-Ehy Swamps (FMTE) (Southeastern Côte
d’Ivoire), jointly by archaeologists and biologists, has opened a new way of
approach, challenges and prospects.
The present study consists of a preliminary report on the results of recording
of on-site oral traditions that facilitated a field reconnaissance based on surface
collection of fragments of ceramics (potsherds), smoking pipes and beads. This
joint fieldwork has revealed ?the attraction of that FMTE area on past humans
probably concerned with settlement subsistence and security potentialities. In this
regard, the major and final aim of the starting research project is to advocate for the
ecological safeguarding and the archaeological valorization of this specific land
where are living such endangered monkeys (primates) hereafter termed (in French)
as “Cercopithèque diane roloway”, “Cercocèbe couronné” and “Colobe bai de
Miss Waldron”.
Key words: Archaeological reconnaissance, Tanoé-Ehy Swampy Forest (FMTE),
Côte d’Ivoire, Safeguarding and valorization. -
Archaeological Reconnaissance of Ikot Abiyak and Ikot Esia Old Settlement Sites, Itu Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
$10.00Archaeological Reconnaissance of Ikot Abiyak and Ikot Esia Old Settlement Sites,
Itu Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
Otobong Enefiok Akpan
Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies,
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
E-mail: [email protected]Introduction
Ikot Abiyak and Ikot Esia are villages located in the present-day Oku Iboku clan in Itu
Local Government of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Ikot Abiyak and Ikot Esia are two
(2)villages among the eight (8) villages (Ikot Abiyak, Ikot Esia, Ikot Essien, Ikot
Adakpan, Ikot Anteun, Ikot Ekaiko, Ikot Oku and Ikot Ntu Oku) that make up Oku
Iboku clan. Research on these sites was informed through oral information derived
from an indigene by name Ekong (Akpan, 2015 pers. comm), who spoke of the
existence of old settlement site sakan obio within Oku Iboku vicinity that needed to be
salvage and documented. Consequently, interest in the choice of the sites was geared
based on the oral information derived from Effiong (Akpan 2017, pers. comm) stating
that the area was economically relevant in the history of Akwa Ibom State during the
slave trade and the colonial period because Itu river and Oku Iboku beach were
strategic location which served as an entre port. -
Archaeological Reconnaissance, Cultural Documentation And Archaeo- Tourism Possibilities Of Orile-Owu, Sout
$10.00Kingsley C. DARAOJIMB
Department of Archaeology and Anthr
University
+2348082403981
[email protected]Introduction
Archaeological reconnaissance is a systematic approach of survey employed by
archaeologists for the purpose of locating, describing and documenting
archaeological sites. It is a deliberate search for artefacts or features associated with
the cultural history of a group of people. This is done so as to uncover aspects of the
written/unwritten past of the people under study in order to understand their history
and cultural development. Investigation of this kind entails two methods of
approach. First, the naked eyes and previous knowledge of the history, geography
and geology of the area; and second, the use of scientific methods such as aerial
photo and thermal infrared imagery, electrical resistivity, electromagnetic
conductivity and Ground Penetrating Radar systems (Andah and Okpoko, 1994).
Due to financial constraints in Nigeria, the use of scientific devices is not always
considered by archaeologists who often lack adequate funding. However, the use of
the naked eyes and previous knowledge of the area adopted in this study, though
laborious, is generally and widely practised by many archaeologists as one of the
rituals of fieldwork globally. Not just because of its affordability but also the fact
that it provides an avenue of firsthand interaction, mastery and understanding of the
landscape thereby enhancing a better interpretation.
Previous researches conducted at Orile-Owu point to it as an area worthy of
archaeological research due to the richness and indeed, romance of the local sociocultural
landscape. Such studies have focused on the impact of its natural and
cultural resources on socio-economic development in Nigeria (Adejobi, 2001);
practice of blacksmithing (Ijegbai, 2001); and its tourism potentials (Ebonine,
2010; Ogundele and Ebonine, 2010). In addition, the Department of Archaeology
and Anthropology, University of Ibadan carried out a five-year project (2010-2014)
on the origins, migrations and settlement of the people of Owu. This paper presents
a report of archaeological survey carried out at Orile-Owu. The report advances on
the research of Ogundele and Ebonine (2010) by taking a step further to examine the
cultural and natural landscapes and provide a tangible document of inventory of
cultural features/materials in the area.. Results from this current research will to a
West Afri. Journ of Arch. Vol. 46 (2) 2016
greater extent push back the frontiers of knowledge with respect to the peopling of
the region within the confines of natural and socio-cultural adaptation. This
underscores the reason why investigations in the area were targeted at searching,
recovering and documenting archaeological features/artefacts in a systematic and
socially engaging manner. This involved answering certain pertinent questions
with regard to nature of the cultural and natural landscape and cultural identities of
the people. -
Archaeological Survey of Nri
$10.00A.I. Okpoko, A. M. Ibeanu, C.E. Umeokafor
Department of Archaeology and Tourism
University of Nigeria, Nsukka.Introduction
This study was borne out of the need to carry out archaeological surveys and excavations of
Nri settlement sites. Some of these sites were located by Onwuejeogu and later studied by
Okpoko (1988). It is important to observe that since the publication of the Igboukwu
excavation report by Shaw(1970) and consequent interpretation of the material remains by
Onwuejeogwu which he linked to the institution of Eze Nri; there has not been any
archaeological excavation in Igboukwu or related areas like Nri settlements. Following the
evidence of scatters broken quartz pebbles in Lake city secondary school at Nri a team of
archaeologists, comprising late Dr. F.N. Anozie; Professor A.I. Okpoko, Dr. A.M Ibe
anu conducted archaeological reconnaissance and excavation in the school compound.
However, further archaeological survey was carried out by Umeokafor (2006) in both Nri and
Igboukwu to throw some light on possible relationship between the two settlements.
Nri has been defined by Afigbo (1981) as a holy city where slaves were set free and
where also, the Osu caste system prevalent in many parts of Igboland is non-existent. Prior to
December, 1940, the town of Nri had two distinct and independent settlements namely, the
Akamkpisi and Agukwu communities. The Eze Nri resides in Agukwu made up of the
immigrants while much of the authonthons group the (first settlers) resided in Akamkpisi.
The two communities were unified under one administrative head on the above named date as
Nri town.
Late Dr. J.N Ezike and final year students of the Department of Archaeology University
of Nigeria, Nsukka conducted ethnographic and archaeological surveys of Nri and sunk a test
excavation in 2001.
In the period of the slave trade, Umu nri (Nri indigenes) adorned themselves with
wristlets, anklets and rubbed white chalk nzu on the eyelids. These identified them as umunri
that should not be kidnapped and sold into slavery by the Aro slave merchants (Anozie,
1983). This is because Nri men were seen as powerful ritualists. This paper is preliminary. -
Archaeology of The Chad Basin, North East Nigeria: Success Story And Limitations
$10.00Abubakar Garba
Centre for Trans-Saharan Studies,
University of Maiduguri,
Email: [email protected]
[email protected]Abstract
The Chad Basin covers an area of about 2.4million sq.km, but the conventional
basin which is under the jurisdiction of Lake Chad Basin Commission is about
1.00million sq km and hosts about 30 million inhabitants from five member
countries, namely; Nigeria, Niger, Central African Republic, Chad and Cameroun.
Agriculture, fishing and livestock rearing that rely on the water resources of the
basin are the primary sources of income for this population. The region provides a
fascinating scenario with regard to abundant archaeological, historical and living
cultural resources. Archaeologically, it is a region with vast archaeological
resources some of which made a great imprint not only within the sub-region but the
world at large. The Daima excavations of 1965-66 by Graham Connah were a case
in point. The Dufuna canoe with an antiquity of over 8000 years, so far the oldest
canoe in Africa and the third oldest in the world also speaks of the antiquity of the
region in terms of human activities including water transportation. Historically,it is
a crossroads of many cultures while linguistically,it is a zone of convergence and
divergence of most ethnic groups we found today in the North-Eastern region of
Nigeria.The Chad basin is a huge landmass which witnessed a series of depositions
and activities, and is rightly referred to as a cultural watershed, and an interface of
four major cultures of the world the Eastern, the western, the Saharan and Sudanic
(Alkali, 1991). The region accommodated one of the largest dynasties in Africa, the
Sayfawa (Alkali and Yusuf 1991). The methodology adopted adopted for this
research involved literature review of past and recent archaeological activities
undertaken by Graham Connah, some research projects results within the
framework of the University of Maiduguri-Frankfurt Joint Research project, and
the Wandala project with the University of Calgary,Canada.
Keywords: Chad Basin, Scenario, Daima, Dufuna, Dynasty, Sahara, Sudanic,
Wandala. -
Archéologie Historique Au Cameroun. Les Sites De L’occupation Allemande Dans Le Mbam (ndikiniméki, Bafiaet Nyamanga II).
$10.00Archéologie Historique Au Cameroun. Les Sites De L’occupation Allemande Dans Le Mbam (ndikiniméki, Bafiaet Nyamanga II).
SALAMATOU.
Doctorante en archéologie
Université de Yaoundé I
E-mail : [email protected]
Résumé
La pratiquede l’archéologie au Cameroun remonte à la première moitié du XXe siècle avec les travaux des explorateurs coloniaux.Cependant, lesnouvellesorientations suiviespar cette science aussi bien sur les plans conceptuel, théorique et méthodologique sonten déploiement.Pour les périodes récentes de l’histoire du Cameroun, les recherches dans le domaine restent insuffisantes. Cette réflexion, inscrite dans le champ de l’archéologie historique, porte sur l’étude des traces matérielles de l’occupation allemande au Cameroun. L’objectif général estla connaissance modèles d’occupation et d’aménagement de l’espace produits par les Allemands entre la fin du XIXe siècle et le début du XXe siècle dans le sud Cameroun, ainsi que des motivations profondes d’une telle gestion de l’espace par les allemands.La recherche combine les approches, historique, archéologique et ethnographique.
Mots clés : Archéologie historique, sud Cameroun, modèle occupation, aménagement.
-
Aspect of Dietary Pattern, Farming Practices and Organisations Amongst the Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria
$10.00Aspect of Dietary Pattern, Farming Practices and Organisations Amongst the
Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria
Kola AdekolaDepartment of Archaeology and Anthropology
University of Ibadan
E mail: [email protected]Abstract
The Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria exploit a wide range of resources in the quest for
sustenance, nourishment and survival. These resources featured prominently in their
dietary complexes and other cultural manifestations. Studies carried out in selected
cities of Southwestern Nigeria revealed a pattern of maintaining equilibrium with the
environment while cultural and other historic sources gave insights into the food items
introduced to the Yoruba dietary complexes. This paper throws light on some of these
as well as changes in the dietary pattern occasioned by cultural contacts and
modernity.
Keywords: Diet; Culture; Environment; Food Taboos; Yoruba -
Aspects sociaux de l’activité céramique dans le Hambol : centre-nord de la Cȏte d’Ivoire
$10.00Aspects sociaux de l’activité céramique dans le Hambol : centre-nord de la Cȏte
d’Ivoire
Mitanhantcha YEOUniversité Alassane Ouattara-Côte d’Ivoire
[email protected]Résumé
Situé au Centre-nord de la Côte d’Ivoire et appartenant à la région administrative
du Hambol, le pays djimini-djamala demeure une région où l’art de la terre cuite est
beaucoup pratiqué. Legs ancestral des peuples mangoro et djeli, l’activité
céramique a été introduite dans cette localité au XVIIIème siècle. Depuis cettepériode, les Mangoro et Djeli occupent une place importante dans la société djimini-
djamala. Deuxième zone de production céramique après Katiola dans le Hambol, larégion de Dabakala estune zone où les Mangoro et les Djeli, à travers leur savoir-
faire et leur savoir être, participent à la cohésion sociale. À partir de sourcesécrites, orales et des enquêtes artisanalesla présente étude analyse le dynamisme de
la production céramique de ces peuples potiers à la lumière des aspects sociaux de
cet art ancestral. -
Aspects sociaux de l’activité céramique dans le Hambol : centre-nord de la Cȏte d’Ivoire Mitanhantcha YEO
$10.00Aspects sociaux de l’activité céramique dans le Hambol : centre-nord de la Cȏte
d’Ivoire
Mitanhantcha YEOUniversité Alassane Ouattara-Côte d’Ivoire
[email protected]Résumé
Situé au Centre-nord de la Côte d’Ivoire et appartenant à la région administrative
du Hambol, le pays djimini-djamala demeure une région où l’art de la terre cuite est
beaucoup pratiqué. Legs ancestral des peuples mangoro et djeli, l’activité
céramique a été introduite dans cette localité au XVIIIème siècle. Depuis cettepériode, les Mangoro et Djeli occupent une place importante dans la société djimini-
djamala. Deuxième zone de production céramique après Katiola dans le Hambol, larégion de Dabakala estune zone où les Mangoro et les Djeli, à travers leur savoir-
faire et leur savoir être, participent à la cohésion sociale. À partir de sourcesécrites, orales et des enquêtes artisanalesla présente étude analyse le dynamisme de
la production céramique de ces peuples potiers à la lumière des aspects sociaux de
cet art ancestral.
Mots clés : Djimini-Djamala – Mangoro – Djeli- Céramique – Centre-nord de la Côte
d’Ivoire -
Aspects technologiques des architectures militaires endogènes dans le monde Yoruba : cas du pays shabe jusqu’à la colonisation de 1894
$10.00Aspects technologiques des architectures militaires endogènes dans le monde
Yoruba : cas du pays shabe jusqu’à la colonisation de 1894Simon AGANI1
Etudiant en Master Histoire
Université Abdou Moumouni du Niger
[email protected]/
Hassane HAMADOU2
Maître-Assistant en Histoire contemporaine
Université Abdou Moumouni du Niger
[email protected]Résumé
Les moyens de garder l’ennemi en dehors du lieu que l’on veut protéger sont trouvés
très tôt dans l’histoire régionale ouest-africaine. De tels moyens se caractérisent par
la présence de structures de fortifications dans le monde yoruba en général. Dans le
pays shabe en particulier, l’arsenal militaire des fortifications ont revêtu des formes et
types qui ont varié dans le temps et dans l’espace jusqu’à la colonisation française de
1894.L’analyse de ces architectures militaires endogènes qui relèvent de la
technologie dite de castramétation ou art d’édifier des fortifications est mise en
rapport avec les préoccupations sécuritaires et défensives qui ont été à la base de la
pérennisation de leur édification. L’analyse des technologies de cet article est celle. Le
temps en ayant fait des vestiges témoins des guerres du passé, ces architectures
méritent de retenir l’attention de l’archéologue et de l’historien des savoir-faire
antérieurs. L’approche amène ainsi à s’intéresser aux matériaux et aux procédés de
construction, à décrire les formes et les systèmes, et surtout à déterminer le rôle
stratégique joué dans le rééquilibrage des espaces et rapports géopolitiques. Les
recherches dans le pays shabe ont été faites en adoptant une telle démarche qui a
permis d’aboutir à des résultats avec, entre autres objectifs l’exploration des
possibilités d’une mise en valeur à la fois historique, patrimoniale et touristique.
Mots clés : monde yoruba, pays shabe, fortifications, aspects technologiques -
Cartographic illustration problems in the UNESCO’s General History of Africa and The Cambridge History of Africa : a comparative review in the Gulf of Guinea region (West Africa)
$10.00Obarè B. Bagodo, PhD.
Maître de Conférences (Reader/Associate Professor)
Université d’Abomey-Calavi, République du Bénin–Email :
[email protected]The present review is the third emanated version from two precedent texts more or
less differentiated by the titles and contents. The first text was accepted for the 5th
Congress of the Association of African Historians to be held in Ouagadougou in
November 2011 initially, and postponed sine die finally. The second was presented
at the 13th Conference of the West African Archaeological Association held in
Abidjan in February 2013. However the three texts refer to the same cartographic
problems in both the UNESCO’s and Cambridge’s series.
General History of Africa is the UNESCO’s series. The first eight volumes
are published between 1980 and 1999. The publication of a ninth volume into three
tomes from 2015 onwards is not concerned with the present study. The contents of
the precedent eight volumes are allocated among twenty-eight and thirty chapters,
with editors submitted to the intellectual authority of thirty nine members of an
International Scientific Committee.
The Cambridge History of Africa is the second series, with also eight
volumes. The contents are allocated among nine and thirteen expanded chapters
(e.g. volumes I, II, III, IV and V referred to in the review). The series publication
started earlier in 1975 with volume IV, followed by volumes V (1976), III (1977), II
(1978), and I (1982), under the intellectual authority of volumes’ editors in close
collaboration with two general editors only.
Both in history and archaeology, as well as in geography and geology, the
map consists of not a simple illustrative decoration, but first and foremost of a
visual, active, and powerful enlightenment (Wood and Fels 1992; George et al.
1974). In this regard, the cartographic illustrating of the two series referred to above
shows lax and faulty technical, locational and graphic lacunas. Such problems
persisted up to nowadays because of an accommodating and conniving silence
Abstract
observed by scholars and advertised users. A critical review is then required as a
matter of scientific commitment and professional awareness, for due statement and
expectation of corrections.
For such a review, the methodological approach has selected the Gulf of
Guinea region, in focusing the illustrative review on volumes III, IV, V and VI of
UNESCO’s series, and comparatively on volumes I, II, III, IV and V of Cambridge
University’s series. Critically comparative and mainly centered regionally, the
review reveals more lacunas in the UNESCO’s series. Amongst others, publications
such as Encyclopedia of Precolonial Africa (Vogel et al. 1997), with thirty one
maps, and History of West Africa Vol. I. (Ajayi, Crowder et al. 1976), with twentynine
maps, are put aside for a future complementary review.
Taking into consideration the consistence of the problems in the UNESCO’s
series and the mandate of this UN organization to ensure qualified research and
education, the emphasis concludes, accordingly with a precedent call for required
corrections and subsequent revised editions of the height precedent volumes
(Bagodo, 2009a: 10-13), as well as on the benefit for the drafting/editing illustration
of the three tomes of volume IX started since 2015 onwards. -
Challenges of Dating and Sequencing in West African Stone Age Archaeology Since the 1970s
$10.00Obarè B. Bagodo
Departement d‟histoire et d‟archéologie
Université d‟Abomey-Calavi,
Bénin RepublicIntroduction
The dating and sequencing of the human past started before, and continued with the inception
and the development of archaeology as a scientific discipline. This standpoint is important for
a fuller understanding of the dating and sequencing issues in the World Stone Age
Archaeology. It is also important for putting into perspective the use of radiometric dating
techniques as from the 1950s onwards with particular reference to West Africa. The
retrospective and prospective consideration of the West African case study since the 1970s is
emphasised.
After a long period of worldwide antiquarianism till the 19th century, the continuing
quest for dating and sequencing of human past led the Danish archaeologist Christian J.
Thomsen to propose in 1836 a-three-system of Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages. The same
motivation led the French antiquarian and archaeologist Jacques Boucher de Perthes to
undertake excavations at Abbeville, France, from 1837 to 1847. His publications between
1847 and 1860 established the first evidence associating human artefacts and bones of extinct
animals. In the same vein his “Celtic” and “Antediluvian” Antiquities anticipated the terms
“prehistory”, “palaeolithic” and “neolithic” asproposed by the English naturalist Sir John
Lubbock in 1865. In addition, from 1859 to 1871, the English naturalist Charles Darwin
established the evolutionary origin and development of plants, animals, and humans.
In the first half of the 20th century, new field techniques and global relative chronology
were achieved through: (i) the grid-square method pioneered by the English archaeologist Sir
Mortimer Wheeler; (ii) the criteria for chronological ranking of sites‟ evidence and the
problem-oriented stratigraphic excavation initiated by the American archaeologist Alfred
Kidder; and (iii) the pioneering use of pollen analysis in 1949-51 and the framing of five
evolutionary modes of Stone Age technology in 1969 by the English archaeologist Grahame
Clark. During the first half the 20th century, the South African archaeologist A.J.H. Goodwin
proposed in 1925 an African-centred two-stage subdivision of Earlier and Later Stone Age,
and in 1927 he suggested the term „Middle Stone Age‟. Finally in 1929 he co-authored with
C. Van Riet Lowe a synthesis titled The Stone Age cultures of South Africa.
From the second half of the 20th century and onwards, the breakthrough came with the
advent of the Radiocarbon (i.e. C14) dating technique between 1947 and 1949, followed by
the subsequent development of other radiometric/isotopic dating methods in the 1960s and
1970s. The Radiocarbon and other isotopic dating techniques have all revolutionized the
„absolute‟ dating and sequencing in the Stone Age Archaeology.
Such advances in the worldwide vision and technical skills of dating and sequencing of
Stone Age cultures have notably impacted the whole of Africa since 1947 with the Nairobihosted
1st Pan-African Congress for Prehistory and Quaternary Studies, and especially West
Africa since 1969 with the Ibadan-hosted Interdisciplinary Symposium on the role of
stratigraphy in geology and archaeology.
As a result, the retrospective and prospective emphasis of the African continental
picture as a whole with particular emphasis on the West African situation is herein taken into
account. The African picture is handled as a by-product of the world background challenges
and achievements in the dating and sequencing issues in the Stone Age Archaeology. -
Contexte actuel des sites et vestiges métallurgiques de la région du Gbêkê au centre de la Côte d’Ivoire : cas du canton Kpekplessou HOUPHOUËT Gnankou Florent Sosthène1
$10.00Contexte actuel des sites et vestiges métallurgiques de la région du Gbêkê au
centre de la Côte d’Ivoire : cas du canton Kpekplessou
HOUPHOUËT Gnankou Florent Sosthène1Doctorant
0022559318130
[email protected]/
KIENON-KABORE Timpoko Hélène2
Professeur Titulaire d’Archéologie
[email protected]
(Unité Pédagogique archéologie)Institut des Sciences Anthropologiques de Développement (ISAD)
Université Félix Houphouët-BoignyCocody-Abidjan- Côte d’Ivoire)
Résumé
De 2013 jusqu’à présent, des recherches archéologiques portant sur la sidérurgie
directe ont été entreprises au centre de la Côte d’ivoire dans la région du Gbêkê,
précisément dans le canton Kpekplessou, situé au nord-est de la ville de Bouaké.
Ces recherches dans cette zone se sont effectuées par le biais de vaste prospection
archéologique qui a permis d’établir un inventaire de sept (7) sites sidérurgiques
composés de quinze (15) bases de fourneaux et de vingt-un (21) amas composés de
scorie et de fragments de tuyères repartis dans dix (10) villages.
Ces vestiges sidérurgiques se trouvent dans des conditions de détérioration très
avancées et subissent au quotidien des actions naturelles et humaines qui favorisent
leur dégradation. À cela, il faut ajouter une végétation galopante qui menace la survie
de ces vestiges.
Cependant, aucune action n’est entreprise allant dans le sens de la préservation et de
la sauvegarde de ces sites et vestiges sidérurgiques qui constituent des éléments du
patrimoine archéologique ivoirien.
De ce fait, la protection de ce patrimoine doit se faire par la mise en application de la
loi, par la sensibilisation des populations, par la mise en place d’émissions portant sur
la valorisation et la protection du patrimoine archéologique, et par le biais de
l’archéologie préventive.Mots-clés : Archéologie – sidérurgie –Protection- valorisation–Patrimoine-
Kpekplessou -
Décors et fonctions des récipients Kpimblé : un patrimoine senoufo quasi méconnu dans le nord de la Côte d’Ivoire
$10.00Décors et fonctions des récipients Kpimblé : un patrimoine senoufo quasi
méconnu dans le nord de la Côte d’Ivoire
TOURE Gninin Aïcha
Unité Pédagogique d’Archéologie de l’Institut des Sciences Anthropologiques
de Développement (ISAD) Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny
Cocody-Abidjan- Côte d’Ivoire / [email protected]Résumé
Longtemps utilisée par les populations pour divers besoins, la céramique est, au-delà
d’un simple objet, un patrimoine. A Korhogo, dans le nord de la Côte d’Ivoire, la
confection des récipients céramiques est l’apanage de la gente féminine dite Kpimblé,
sous-groupe Senoufo. Cette activité qui se transmet de génération en générationdemeure un legs ancestral chez ces peuples. Les récipients qui découlent du savoir-
faire céramique, sont pour la plupart décorés. Ainsi, loin d’être seulement del’esthétique, les décors ont parfois des significations particulièresdues souvent à
l’usage du vase.
L’objectif de l’étude est donc de faire ressortir le lien fonctions-décorsdes récipients
céramiques afin de comprendre la vie sociale deces Senoufo.
Pour ce faire, nous avons procédé à des enquêtes orales, et à l’identification des
récipients céramiques décorés.
L’étude nous a permis de savoir que les décors sont liés àtrois(3) différentes fonctions.
Mots clés : Décors, Fonctions, Récipients céramiques, Senoufo-Kpimblé, Patrimoine,
Korhogo. -
Deep Sea Fishing along the Dixcove Coastline, Western Region, Ghana: Fact or Fallacy?
$10.00Deep Sea Fishing along the Dixcove Coastline, Western Region, Ghana: Fact or
Fallacy?Biveridge, Fritz.PhD
Institution of affiliation: University of Ghana, Department of Archaeology and
Heritage Studies
Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Ghana, P. O.
Box 3. Legon, Ghana.
Email: [email protected]Abstract
This research presents results of archaeological investigations conducted at
Daazikessie and Ntwarkro, the earliest quarters to be settled by the Ahanta people at
Dixcove in Ghana. Ethno-historical and historical data constituted other data sources
used. The main objective of the research was to establish whether the indigenous
fisher-folks of Dixcove exploited deep or neritic marine resources in the past. The
study established that the indigenes were primarily fisher-folks who exploited both
deep and neritic marine fisheries, and molluscs prior to the arrival of the Europeans in
the early 1550’s. Another notable finding is that fishing which is extant and mainstay
of the local economy, long predated the arrival of Europeans. Other important
vocations undertaken there included the coastal trade with Europeans and molluscs’
exploitation.
Key words: Deep marine resources; Ethno-historical narratives; Post Atlantic
contact period; Pre Atlantic contact period; Molluscs -
Developing a Lake Region in Anambra State for Tourism Promotion: Potentials and Challenges
$10.00Rev. Fr. F. O. R. Onwudufor, Ph.D
Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe, Anambra StateAbstract
Tourism connotes a mobilization of people’s cultural and natural resources,
especially those aspects which make a people unique from other people, viz: what
distinguishes Africa and other Africans from other non Africa “or what
distinguishes a group of people (for example, ethnic group) from other groups. “To
mobilize such resources effectively, one must know what the resources are, where
they are located, what the objectives of mobilization are (or should be) and how best
to mobilize the resources in order to achieve these objectives” (Andah 1990: 116 –
119). In line with the above the present writer is proposing the development of a
Lake Region in Anambra State for tourism promotion. Tourism a major sector of
national and local economics in a fast growing and diversifying world economy
forms a veritable source of foreign exchange and facilitates international
cooperation as the world continues to shrink into a small global economy. There is
now a robust advancement in regional lake tourism market as part of coastal
destination aimed at economic growth and poverty reduction. There is today an
increase in global demand for African tourism products. It is time for Anambra state
of Nigeria to project its own tourism potential. -
Domestic Architecture, Society and the Human Use of Space in Shira Cultural Landscape, Northeast Nigeria.
$10.00Domestic Architecture, Society and the Human Use of Space in Shira
Cultural Landscape, Northeast Nigeria.
By
Asma’u Ahmed Giade (PhD)
Department of Archaeology
Ahmadu Bello University, ZariaAbstract
This paper discusses the results of an ethnographic investigation on architectural
evolution in Shira in the northeast region of Nigeria. Generally, every society that has
produced architecture has evolved with its own unique form of style that is peculiar to
its people and the society in that particular region. Largely, the northeast region of
Nigeria is not any different; the region contains many contradictions, different
cultures, history, folklores and languages, but shares a common and similar
environment, which provides the society with their own distinctive local shapes and
detailed architecture. In Shira, the archaeological and ethnographic information gives
a strong impression that the basic form of the traditional house was designed primarily
to meet the prevailing climatic conditions of the region and the form of architecture
has been adjusted to fulfill the prescriptions of the cultural demands of the people.
Keywords: Cultural heritage, architecture, northeast Nigeria, Hausa, Shira area. -
Early Migrations and Group Relations in the Confluence Region of Nigeria: Okunland as a Case Study
$10.00Early Migrations and Group Relations in the Confluence Region
of Nigeria: Okunland as a Case Study
Clement Olumuyiwa Bakinde
Department of Archaeology
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.Nigeria
[email protected], [email protected]Abstract
From a number of sources such as oral traditions, the peopling of the central
Nigerian region has been dominated by themes of migration from a number of
centres most especially the Middle East. Thus, this paper examines the role of
migration in the peopling of the confluence Nigerian region. It also looked at the
role played by migrant groups in the evolution of the state system within that
area. The paper is of the opinion that the most important factors in the early
history of the people of the confluence area are the need for economic subsistence
and security. These two factors are very significXant in intergroup relations of the
various groups in the confluence area from the earliest times to the present. In
arriving at these conclusions the paper depended on a number of sources such as
oral traditions, ethnography, linguistics and archaeology. -
Energies incandescentes et développement technique et culturel de l’humanité de l’usage contrôlé du feu depuis vers 400 000 ans B.P. à l’âge thermonucléaire à partir de 1945
$10.00Energies incandescentes et développement technique et culturel de l’humanité de l’usage contrôlé du feu depuis vers 400 000 ans B.P. à l’âge thermonucléaire à partir de 1945
Obarè B. BAGODO
Maître de conférences/Associate Professor
Université d’Abomey-Calavi, Bénin
Email : [email protected]
Abstract
Incandescent Energies and Technical and Cultural Development of Humanity from controlled use of fire since ca. 400 000 BP to the Thermonuclear Age from 1945 onwards.
The intentionally lighted and permanently maintained fire in order to obtaining combustion with simultaneous production of huge heat, light and flame is to be defined firstly as an incandescent energy. It is to be then specified and accepted as an artificial product (i.e. artefact), and subsequently to be differentiated from natural incandescent energies like those produced by sunlight, volcanic eruption and thunder discharge amongst others. The humanly controlled use of fire is admitted to have become a visible and testable practice inducing techno-scientific aims and implications since almost 400 000 B.P. (i.e. before present). Such controlling use of fire led to progressively discover and manipulate the generating and/or stimulating principles of posterior artificial incandescent energies till the currently terrifying thermonuclear energy.
In this regard the controlled use of fire had been a no controversial landmark step expertise in the technical and cultural development of Humanity. Such breakthrough acquired skill is thus wisely admitted by Stone Age archaeologists as the third explanatory criterion of the naissance of earlier or inaugural ‘primitive’ humanization. It is then associated with the two earlier African-based criteria such as (i) the mastering of stone tool-making-and-using since ca. 3.3 m. yr. (i.e. 3.3 million years ago) (ii) and the lately skill of settlement camp building up from 1.8 – 1.5 m. yr. to the Egyptian Pharaonic architecture till the modern one.
Around the world, the successfully progressive skill-based controlled use of fire is usually termed by specialists as the ‘‘domestication of fire’’. Accordingly with the state of the research since the 1980s till nowadays, the skill of controlled use of fire is presumed to have been preceded, conditioned and probably inspired by accidental and punctual beneficial advantage obtained from natural fire due to volcanic eruptions and thunder electric discharges. With such minded concern the earliest intentionally burnt traces of fireplaces without hearths have been located and documented in inter-tropical Africa. This is done with the indication of 400-600°C and the dating of 1.4 m. yr. at Koobi Fora and Chesowanja sites in Kenya and at Swartkrans site in South-Africa, as well as at Gadeb site credited with 1.5 m. yr. in Ethiopia. Elsewhere, lately traces are mentioned with also limited or problematic archaeological relevance evidence at the 0.7 m. yr. dated Gesker Benot Ya’ akov site in Israel/Palestine, as well as at the 0.65 m. yr. dated Prezletice site in Czech Republic.
At these different sites relevant evidence of hearth or deliberately 500-700°C lighted and maintained fire had not been unearthed in inclusively association with proven mineralogical modifications of clays, improve of magnetic susceptibility, transformation from primary to secondary iron oxides, amount of burnt bones, ashes or partial de-carbonized sediments. On the contrary, many of such geochemical characteristics are found in the boreal temperate zone but at more recent archaeological on-site deposits dated respectively to 400 000 – 380 000 B.P. at Tarra Amata site in France, 380 000 B.P. at Vertesszöllös site in Hungary, and 400 000 – 200 000 B.P. at Zhoukoudian site in China.
The aforementioned lines of arguments let to hypothetically admit that the long-term controlling process of fire use is proven to correspond to gradual steps of technical skills and craft arts associated with sociocultural lifestyles. Amongst these induced technics and craft arts and sociocultural lifestyles some have to be mentioned specifically. It is the case of the heating of pebble or stone block before knapping it, as well as the lately ceramic heating, food cooking, melting or reducing of metal ores, thermic refining of metals, and also the invention of electric power in the 19th century and the atomic energy and thermonuclear bomb from 1945 onwards. In taking into account the impact of learning and mastering such cumulative induced or derivative skills, the controlled use of fire can actually be considered as a decisive factor of the successful achievements of humanization undertaken from ca. 400 000 B.P. to the present times.
But there is the need to be wise that the long-term and still continuing controlled use of fire incandescent energy is to be dissociated in many-side way and sense from any idea of “domestication”. This concluding remark can be hardly contented with minimal required precaution to simply reminding the successive failed fight against the recent 2015 and 2017 disastrous dry bushfire in the U.S.A. despite the sophisticated equipment and some nine to ten thousand servicemen and women including Australian and New Zelander rescuing contingents.
Key words: Humanity, technical and cultural development, controlled usage of fire, incandescent energies..
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Enseignement du patrimoine archéologique dans les écoles et collèges du Bénin
$10.00Enseignement du patrimoine archéologique dans les écoles et collèges du Bénin
Colette GOUNOU
Conservateure du MuséeethnographiqueAlexandreSènou ADANDE à la retraite
Porto-Novo/ République du Bénin Afrique de l’Ouest
E-mail : [email protected], Téléphone : +229 96392073Abdoulaye LAWANI
Abdoulaye Enseignant de Collèged’enseignementgénéral
Porto-Novo/République du Bénin Afrique de l’Ouest
E-mail : [email protected] Téléphone : +229 97529547Résumé
Cette communication présente des expériences de muséo-pédagogie centrées sur le
patrimoine culturel tangible et intangible effectuées au cours d’expositions portant sur
la présentation publique de résultats de recherches archéologiques et/ou
ethnographiques ou historiques au Bénin ou ailleurs en Afrique (Niger, Afrique du
Sud) ou dans le monde (Pologne, Suède). La pertinence de cette orientation
muséographique/muséale est évidente pour tout pédagogue et éducateur expérimenté.
On doit faire le plaidoyer pour une généralisation de l’éducation au patrimoine, non
seulement au Bénin, mais au-delà des frontières des pays pour donner tout son sens à
l’initiative de l’UNESCO, (Convention de 1972). Il est question à travers le patrimoine
d’éduquer mais aussi de libérer tout le potentiel (artistique, scientifique, technique,
etc.) chez les bénéficiaires, citoyens d’aujourd’hui et à travers les jeunes, des citoyens
du Monde, complets de demain.
Mots clés : éducation au patrimoine, muséo-pédagogie, archéo-pédagogie, Bénin,
Afrique. -
Entre matériel et immatériel, regard sur les difficultés d’appropriation du processus d’inscription des biens culturels africains sur la liste du patrimoine mondial
$10.00Entre matériel et immatériel, regard sur les difficultés d’appropriation du
processus d’inscription des biens culturels africains sur la liste du patrimoinemondial
Opêoluwa Blandine AGBAKA
Institut National des Métiers d’Arts, d’Archéologie et de la Culture (INMAAC)
Université d’Abomey-Calavi (UAC) Bénin
Résumé
Longtemps défavorisée par l’hégémonie du monument historique, largement promue
par les cultures occidentales, l’Afrique a semblé reprendre son souffle à l’avènement
de l’adoption de la Convention UNESCO pour la Sauvegarde du patrimoine culturel
immatériel en 2003. Toutefois, plus d’une quinzaine d’années après l’avènement de
cette Convention, les fruits ne semblent pas tenir la promesse des fleurs. L’Afrique
sub-saharienne est faiblement représentée sur les deux Listes du patrimoine mondial :
sa représentativité est d’environ 12% sur la Liste du Patrimoine mondial et 9% sur la
Liste représentative du patrimoine culturel immatériel de l’humanité. Au-delà des
difficultés souvent évoquées sur le plan financier, sur le plan de la formation du
personnel intervenant sur les sites patrimoniaux et de l’opérationnalité des politiques
culturelles, se pose également pour les professionnels, des difficultés à cerner les
frontières, parfois floues entre le matériel et l’immatériel dans les réalités africaines.
En dehors du patrimoine archéologique qui s’intègre plus aisément dans le matériel,
les autres types de patrimoine dans les cultures africaines posent souvent un problème
de catégorisation. Pour améliorer la conservation et la gestion des sites patrimoniaux
en Afrique sub-saharienne, de même que l’accroissement des inscriptions sur les Listes
du Patrimoine mondial, ne faudrait-il pas accentuer les réflexions sur les difficultés
conceptuelles d’une part et sur les problèmes liés à l’appropriation du processus
d’inscription qui se posent souvent aux professionnels d’autre part ?
Mots clés : patrimoine culturel ; patrimoine mondial ; conservation ; Afrique. -
Ethnoarchaeological Importance of Lokoja Rockshelters
$10.00Ethnoarchaeological Importance of Lokoja Rockshelters
By
Fr. Paul-Kolade Tubi, PhD
Department of History and International Studies
Federal University Lokoja, Kogi State, Nigeria
08035984669
Abstract
Rockshelters are durable archaeological niches. This paper aims to examine the importance of rockshelters in Lokoja. The methodological approach is ethnoarchaeology, which has the capacity to integrate archaeological data with ethnographic data in a single study. Data indicate that Lokoja has many rockshelters, crevices and subterranean hills. Findings from the research show that these hills have been of valuable use to human beings since antiquity. In conclusion, the study relying on ethnographic inferences argues for the relevance of rockshelters in the study of Lokoja. The sites are recommended for archaeological excavations so as to deepen our knowledge of human occupation and activities in Lokoja area from antiquity.
Key words: Rockshelters, Ethnoarchaeology, Lokoja
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Ethnoarchaeological Survey of Ugbene-Ajima, Enugu, Nigeria
$10.00Ethnoarchaeological Survey of
Ugbene-Ajima, Enugu, NigeriaBy
Elochukwu A. Nwankwo
Department of Archaeology and Tourism,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka
[email protected],
Edmund I. Itanyi
Department of Archaeology and Tourism,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka
[email protected]
Jacinta U. IkegwuHumanities Unit, School of General Studies,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka,
[email protected]
Joshua O. Uzuegbu
Humanities Unit, School of General Studies,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka,
[email protected]
Uchenna H. Obieluem
Department of Archaeology and Tourism,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka
[email protected].and
Peter N. ObochiDepartment of Archaeology and Tourism,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka,
[email protected]Abstract
This paper is a report of an ethnoarchaeological investigation of Ugbene-Ajima in
Enugu State, Nigeria by a team of researchers. This was aimed at studying the
archaeological resources of the people with a view to interpret and reconstruct the
peoples past. Relevant archaeological methods and analyses like reconnaissance,
ethnography, excavation, stratigraphy and pottery analysis were employed to analyze
data collated. The result of the study shows that Ugbene- Ajima has rich
archaeological history. This is evidenced in the different slags and slag pits that
showed that iron smelting was carried out in the community in the past. Others include,
iron smelting technology debris, blacksmith technology, ancient pottery forms, cowries,
and other archaeological materials that were retrieved during a systematic excavation.
The implication of the study is that it will spur the community for further and more
detailed archaeological investigation future archaeologists
Keywords: Ethnoarchaeology; Archaeology; Excavation, Stratigrahpy, Iron
smelting; Pottery analysis. -
Ethnographic Study of the TarokTraditionalMarriage System in Plateau State, Nigeria
$10.00Ethnographic Study of the TarokTraditionalMarriage System in
Plateau State, Nigeria
By
Victoria Stephen Nimzing
Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies,
University of Jos
Abstract
Marriage, all over the world is a subject of rapid change, and Tarok land is no exception has become imperative and urgent. Human beings throughout the world are concerned with the need to get married. This is in realization that marriage is the basis for procreation. Among the Tarok, marriage is the discernible and most encompassing reality of life. It is not something contracted at the individuals wish and convenience, but as something of sacred obligation. Due to alien religions, most Tarok people prefer to be married in the Christian or Muslim way rather than marrying traditionally. This research aims primarily to examine the traditional marriage custom of the Tarok people of Plateau State of Nigeria with emphasis on Courtship, Pre-marital Requirements, the Marriage Proper and the Post Marital Matters.
Keywords: Courtship, Marriage Requirements, Change, Sacred, Tarok.
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Ethnography of the Politics and Religion Dynamics in Traditional African Society: A Case Study of the Okun-Yoruba
$10.00Revd Fr. Paul-Kolade Tubi, Ph.D*
E-mail: [email protected]Abstract
Political power and religion bear directly on the lives of people of all communities.
This is particularly so of traditional societies. As globalization and westernization
rapidly set in upon the cultures of the world, it is imperative that ethnographers do
rigorous study before those cultures are completely altered. Globalization amends,
suppresses or erodes traditional practices, lores and mores. As a result of the
onslaught of westernization and globalization on traditional societies, it is
imperative that ethnographic methodologies are employed to study and document
aspects of traditional societies like the Okun-Yoruba that have come under the
influence of globalization.
This ethnographic study highlights the strong nexus between religion and
political power in indigenous societies like the Okun people who are confronted
with westernizing influence in their attempt to weld a coherent and functional
society within an authentic African culture. -
Étude de la céramique du site de Diamakani-Tengrela (nord-ouest de la Côte d’Ivoire)
$10.00Étude de la céramique du site de Diamakani-Tengrela (nord-ouest de la Côte
d’Ivoire)
SANOGO Tiantio
ArchéologueUnité pédagogique d’Archéologie
Institut des Sciences Anthropologiques de Développement (ISAD)
Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny Cocody-Abidjan- Côte d’IvoireRésumé
L’étude des céramiques des différentes couches archéologiques du site du village de
Diamakani département de Tengrela, permet d’avoir un regard rétrospectif sur la
culture matérielle archéologique de l’artisanat céramique des potières ‘noumou’.
Partant de ce constat, comment se présente la céramique du site de Diamakani et
quelle en est sa typologie ? L’objectif de cette étude est la mise en exergue de la
céramique dudit site afin de se prononcer sur son évolution dans le temps.
A travers donc une enquête de terrain, puis une prospection qui s’est soldée par un
sondage du site en question, nous avons collecté le maximum de tessons de céramique
donc la reconstitution a permis de classer en deux (2) groupes les récipients utilisés
par les populations en place. Pour ce faire, on retrouve d’une part les récipients
ouverts très prisés à une époque donnée avec une forte employabilité des écuelles et
d’autre part les vases fermés qui regroupent les jarres, les jattes et les marmites dont
le degré d’utilisation, nettement inférieur a été observé. Aujourd’hui, avec les
mutations sociales observées ainsi que la diversité des récipients qui s’offre aux
populations, le constat est tout autre. La tendance est plutôt penchée vers les récipients
fermés notamment les marmites dont les demandes sont de plus en plus croissantes au
détriment des autres types de vase.
Mots clés : Céramiques, Couche Archéologique, Potières noumou, Reconstitution,
Diamakani-Tengrela. -
Evaluation of Yankari Game Reserve Towards UNESCO WORLD Heritage Listing.
$10.00Evaluation of Yankari Game Reserve Towards UNESCO WORLD
Heritage Listing.
David A. Aremu and Abiola Ibirogba
Department of Archaeology and Anthropology,
University of Ibadan, Nigeria.Abstract
The paper examines Yankari Game Reserve in Bauchi State, towards UNESCO World
Heritage Listing. It evaluates the natural and cultural resources in Yankari that
qualifies the site for listing as a World Heritage. It is a haven for varieties of natural
and cultural heritage sites and resources. It hosts the largest number of game reserves
in West Africa. It has sixty-nine (69) types of indigenous wildlife, more than 350
species of birds 26 species of fishes, seven amphibians and seventeen species of
reptiles. It also contains over 100 standing and base of furnaces from four sites and
about 139 wells at Dukkey Wells. The paper highlights the need for effective
management of the site for the development of its tourism potentials. It points out the
role of stakeholders in the tourism development and UNESCO Listing of Yankari as a
Wortld Heritage Site. The text discusses the world heritage natural and cultural
criteria in Yankari for acceptability as a UNESCO World Heritage. It also identifies
the benefits the upgrading will promote in Bauchi and its environment in Nigeria. -
Excavated and exhumed: Socio-cultural implications of burial systems and ancestral spirits at the Bui dam communities in mid-western Ghana.
$10.00Excavated and exhumed: Socio-cultural implications of burial systems and
ancestral spirits at the Bui dam communities in mid-western Ghana.David Akwasi Mensah Abrampah
Department of Archaeology and Heritage StudiesUniversity of Ghana
Abstract
In 2009 the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies of the University of
Ghana was commissioned to begin the first of the three phases of salvage archaeology
in the Bui Dam catchment areas in mid-western Ghana. Bui Dam was intended to
produce 400MW of hydroelectric power to augment the existing capacity of the
country and improve the security of energy supply in Ghana. The dam project led to
relocation of five affected communities in the catchment areas of the Black Volta
River. One of the main concerns of the affected people was the relocation of their
spiritual entities, in the form of ancestral burials and community shrines, which are
also the foundations, or souls, of the communities. The people would not relocate
unless their deities and ancestral burials were also relocated to their new settlements.
This article examines the socio-cultural implications of two burial types (excavated
burials and exhumed burials) that were encountered during salvage archaeology
works in three affected communities (Bui, Akanyakrom, and Dokokyina) that were
relocated. These burial types have archaeological implications for the understanding
of death and afterlife among the impacted communities. The paper demonstrates how
deities, ancestors, and the dead in general are integral to the overall structure of the
living community.
Key words: Bui Dam, relocation, salvage archaeology, ancestors, shrines, burials
