Waja

Preliminary comparative analyzes of prehistoric
figurine traditions in Western Africa
Ruivo Ferreira Burmann, André Luiz
(Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main/Germany;

[email protected])

Key Words: “Neolithic”, Iron Age, Nok Culture, Gajiganna
Complex, figurines.
Introduction
The article’s aim is to present the preconditions, the goals and
some work in progress of a PhD-project on the archaeological
context of prehistoric West African figurines1.
Being connected to the so-called “Frankfurt team” as a student
since 2011, the author evermore encountered the research on the
famous Central Nigerian Nok Culture. Funded by the German
Research Association (DFG) and in close cooperation with the
Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments,
as well as the University of Maiduguri respectively the
University of Jos and the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria in
Nigeria, the Goethe University is known for their work in
Northeastern Nigeria since 1989 (Breunig/Neumann 2002,
Magnavita 2004, Breunig 2004, 2005, Breunig et al. 2006, 2008)
respectively in Central Nigeria since 2005 (Rupp et al. 2005,
Breunig 2009a, 2009b, Rupp 2010, Breunig 2014, Breunig/Rupp
2016).