Nyame Akuma Issue 013

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NYAME

KUM

No .13 November

1978.

N ew sle tt e r o f th e Soc ie ty o f A f r i ca n i s t A rchaeo log i st s i n A merica .

Ed it ed by P.L. Sh inn ie and is su ed from th e Department of Archaeology,

The Un iv er si ty of Cal gary , Calgary, Al be rt a, T2N

1N4

Canada. Typing

and e d i t o r i a l a s s i s t an ce by Ama O m sua Sh inn ie .

The present circulation of Nyame Akuma i s 160 subs c r ip t ion s and

f r e e c o p i e s ) as compared with 309 when t

was

i s s ue d f r e e .

f i n d

t h i s somewhat d i s a p p o i n t in g , b u t i n l i n e w i th what s a i d i n t h e

e d i t o r i a l no te s t e 110.12, s inc e we a r e ove r th e 150 f i gu re w i l l

c o nt in u e t o i s s u e t h e n e w s l e t t e r s o l o n g as

i t

seems wanted.

m

s u r pr i s ed t h a t

149

of our former rea der s have not wished t o sub scr ibe ,

but even more sur pr i sed th a t 25 of thos e who may be e l i g i b l e fo r f r e e

copi es have not thought t worthwhile t o ask .

Most o f t h e s e a r e i n

Afr ica and a m e s p e c i a l l y s o r r y t h a t young Af ri c an a r c h a e o l o g i s t s a r e

depr iv ing themselves unnecessar i ly .

Le t t e r s a sk ing fo r news i t em s went ou t t o

a l l

3 0 9 o n t h e o r i g i n a l

l i s t and

a

fu r t he r paragraph sugges t ing subs c r ip t ion w a s i n t en d e d t o b e

s e n t t o t h e 149 non-subscr ibers .

I n a few c a se s t h i s l e t t e r was p ut i n

the wrong envelopes and people who had a l rea dy pa id were a sked t o do so

aga in .

My apol ogie s t o th os e who were th us inconvenienced.

The SAAAM meeting

w i l l

tak e p la ce i n Calgary on 21 s t and 22nd

A pr i l

1979

A s e p a r a t e s h e e t i s inc luded and would be g ra te fu l i f

th os e i nt en di ng t o come would complete th e form and send i t t o :

M r F. Kense

Department of Archaeology

Univ ers i t y of Calgary

Calgary Alber ta

T N I N 4 Canada.

Dr.J.

Bower of Iowa S t a t e Un iv er si ty a member of t h e S te e ri n g

Committee wishes

i t

t o be made c le ar t h a t he was not

a

p a rt y t o t h e

sugges t ion of 28th , 29th Apr i l as da tes fo r the C onfe rence .

a p o lo g i se f o r g i v i n g

a

wrong impression.

There

i s

a t th e moment of ed i t in g

a

m a i l s t r i k e i n C anada s o

t h a t many ite ms of news w i l l not have reached me.

Such items w i l l

be kept f o r pub lic at i on i n no.14 of May

1979

P.L. Shinnie.


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NOTES TO CONTRIBUTORS

Nyame Akuma

i s

in tended pr imar i ly f o r quick , sh or t , news i tems

concern ing recent research . I t i s not p lanned that

i t

should compete

with such journals as Azania,

Bu ll et in of IFAN, Bul le ti n of South

Africa n Archaeolo gical Soci et y, West African Jou rna l of Archaeology,

Kush, Anna les d fE th iop ie e t c , i n the pub l i sh ing o f major a r t i c l e s .

There i s a p l ace f o r s h o r t a r t i c l e s con ce rn in g a r ch aeo l o gi ca l

research but the ed i to r asks th a t t hey be sho r t no t more than abou t

th re e t o fou r s ing le spaced quar to pages .

They need not, and on the

whole should n o t, be f u l l y re fer enc ed si nc e Nyame Akuma ha s ne i th e r

t he t ypin g capaci ty nor th e number of pages t o make t h i s pos si ble ,no r

i s i t usua l ly app rop r i a t e .

P lease keep i l lu s t r a t io ns t o a minimum a few good quality

photographs can be accepted bu t the y should be so pr i n te d a s t o

conform t o th e page s iz e . Drawings should be i n good black i nk on

white paper photo copies

w i l l

not d o) , and should al s o be planned

t o

f i t

t he page s i ze .

The edi tor i s u nabl e t o a r r ang e f o r r ed u c t i o n ,

re-drawing, or pa st i ng up. The page s i z e

i s

11 inches x 8 5 i nches

27 .8 cm. 21. 5 cm.).

I t

would be much appreciated i f when i t i s p o s s i b l e t ex t co u l d

be typed single-spaced on the

right

s i z e of paper and with a carbon

rib bon . Th is sa ve s much time

as

t h e t ex t does no t then have t o be

re-typed.

I

r e a l i s e t ha t i n Europe and Af ri ca our paper s i ze i s no t

normally ava i l ab le , t h a t carbon r ibbons and e l e c t r i c typewr i t e r s a re

ha rd t o come by, and th a t i n many ca se s

our con t r ibu to r s have t o type

t h e i r own a r t i c l e s , o f t en un de r d i f f i c u l t con d i ti o n s. My w if e w i l l

con t inue t o r e - type a l l those a r t i c l e s which need

it

F i n a l l y pl e as e n ote ag ain t h a t Nyame Akuma i s

a

v e hi c le f o r

news items on a l l as pe ct s of archaeology and ethno-archaeology from

A.fr ica wi th th e exception of t he c l as s i ca l per iods of Nor th Afr ica and

t h e Pharaonic per iods of Egypt. The c la s s i c a l world of North Afr ica

i s somewhat remote from t h e i n t e r e s t s of most of our re ad er s and

Pharaonic Egypt

i s

w ell c a t e r ed f o r i n t h e ann ua l revi ew s t h a t

P r o f es s o r L ecl ant p u bl i sh e s i n O r i en t a l i a .

Should there be

a

demand

f ro m t h e r ead e r s f o r

a

change i n po l i cy I

w i l l

of course , consider i t

P L Sh inn ie .


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The

1979

meeting of t h e Southern Afr i ca Associat ion of

Archaeologis t s w l l be he ld a t t h e U ni ve rs it y of Cape Town from

22nd June t o 25 th June 1979.

I n add i t i on t o paper s and d i scus s ion t he re

w l l

be excursions

and s o c i a l a c t i v i t i e s .

Enqui r ies should be d i r ec t ed to :

John E. pa rk in gt on / Andrew B . Smith

Org an iz er s SAAA Me et ings , 1979


U niver s i ty of Cape Town

Pr iv at e Bag

Rondebosch

Cape 7700

South Africa.

Immediately fol lowing th e meeting of th e Associat ion t he re

w l l be a sympo:;&um from 26 th June t o 28 th June on t h e theme

Towards a Be t te r Understanding of th e Upper Ple i s tocene i n

Sub-Saharan Af ri ca . Th is symposium

w l l

be organised by those

respons ib le f o r the Assoc ia t ion ' s meet ing toge ther wi th

Ray Inskeep (oxford) and David Price-Williams

o on don

t h e

provisional programme

i s :

Tuesday June 26 Upper Ple is t oce ne ar te fa c t sequences i n sub-

Saharan Africa: Regional surveys and typologies.

Ar te fac tua l mater ia l f rom

as

many Upper

Pleis tocene sequences

as

p r a c t i c a b l e w l l be

l a i d o u t f o r p a r t i c i p a n t s t o e xamine.

Wednesday June 27 Overview r e p o r t s on d a ti n g.

Palaeoenvironmental s tudies .

Thursday 2une 28 Upper Pl ei st oc en e hominids.

Statement of problems f o r fu tu re rese arch .

For t h i s symposium please wr i t e to :

Mrs

Janette Deacon


Universi ty of Stel lenbosch

Stellenbosch 7600

South A fr ica .


4/46

NEWS ITEMS

ALGERIA

REPORT O N THE

1978

SEASON I N ALGERIA

David Lubell

Department of Anthropology

Univ ers i t y of Alber ta

Edmonton, A l t a .

During June and July 1978 we co nt in ue d ou r programme of

re sea rch i n th e Tg lidjGne Va l l ey , no r t heas t e rn Alge r i a , on the

pre h i s to r i c cu l tu ra l eco logy o f C apsian e sca rgo t i r e s . Th i s

r e s e a r c h

i s

sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanit ies

Research Council of Canada. Personnel t h i s year inclu ded

D r .

James Ritchie

o or onto

palaeobotany)

D r

W i l l i a m Farrand

( ~ i c h i ~ a ngeology),

D r .

Mary Jackes (south Australian Museum

archaeozoology) and th e fo l lowing s tud ent a ss i s t a nt s Kathryn

Lippman, Arlene Miller, Deborah Ross, Peter Sheppard and Randall

White. I n ad d it io n , we were join ed by

M r

Mohamed Amirouche of

C .R.A.P,E. ( ~ l g i e r s ) nd M r Tahar Adouani of t h e Univ ers i tg d 'A lger .

Our work t h i s year w a s conf ined pr im ar i ly t o th e Kef Zoura D

r o c k s h e l t e r

a t

t h e s o ut hw e st er n end of t h e ~ 6 l i d j g n e a l l ey . We had

t e s t ed t h i s s i t e i n 1976 ( s e e Lu bel l i n Nyame Akuma, May 1 97 8), and

judged t h a t fu r t he r inv es t iga t io ns the re would p rov ide im por t an t

d a t a on th e veg eta l component i n Capsian sub s is te nce .

No la bo ra to ry

an al ys es have been completed

s

y et ( ~ c t o b e r

978

but a pre l iminary

a ss es sm en t of f i e l d d a t a s u g ge s t t h a t o u r e x p e c t a t i o n s w i l l be

conf irmed. Car)noni~ed la nt remains ar e wel l -preserved i n th e upper

l e v e l s o f t h e s t b e an d t h e s e a pp ea r t o i n c l u d e g r a s s e s , s e e d s a n d,

p e rh a ps , f r u i t p i t s . The a s s o c i a t e d l i t h i c as sem bla ge

i s

no doubt

a t t r i b u t a b l e t o t h e C ap si en s up &i eu r ( ge om et ri c m i c r o l i t h s an d

b ac ke d b l a d e l e t s ) an d t h e v e r t e b r a t e f a u na c o n s i s t s p r i m a r i l y o f

g a z el l e and l a g ~ m o r p h s . ~he l a n d s n a i l s a r e t h o s e s p e c i e s g e n e r a l l y

common i n l l esca rgo t i e r& bu t th e in t e re s t in g a spec t o f Kef Zoura D

i s

t h a t ,

s i n c e t h e d e p o s i t s a r e u nc on so li da te d i n t h e c e n t r a l p o r t i o n

o f t h e s h e l t e r ,

w e may b e a b l e t o i d e n t i f y i n d i v i d u a l c o l l e c t i o n s :

t h e s p e c i e s f r e q u e n c i e s show r a t h e r s i g n i f i c a n t v a r i a t i o n b etw een

ind ivi dua l one-metre squares t t h e same s t r a t i g r a p h i c l e v e l .

O f perhaps g rea te r i n t e re s t , however ,

i s

the presence of

d i s t i n c t i v e l i t h i c as se mbla ge a s s o c i a t e d w i th d i s t i n c t f a u na l

assem blage on th e t a l u s s lope i n f ro n t of t h e s h e l t e r and , p resum ably ,

u n de rl y in g t h e C ap sie n s u p h . e u r l e v e l s .

Th i s a s semblage co ns i s t s o f

la rg e to o ls ( inc l udin g many bur i ns and backed b lades) and th e fauna


5/46

con tai ns numerous la rg e herbi vores (presumably ha rt eb ee st , aurochs

and equids) . Gazelle and lagomorphs a r e r a r e , The l i t h i c

assemblage seems t o be Capsien typ iqu e, Thi s i s of course, most

in te re s t in g i n view of the apparen t over l ap i n rad iocarbon da t e s of

the Capsien t ypique and su p6 ri eu r . The e xa ct s t r a t i ~ a p h i c

r e l a t i o n sh i p s a t Kef Zoura

D

remain t o be worked out and t h i s

w i l l

e n t a i l f u r t h e r e x c av at io n .

Pa laeobotanica l inv est iga t io ns d i r ec te d by

D r

Ritchie were

equal ly successfu l . A bore hole made with

a

s o i l auger i n t h e

marshy dep osi ts of t he O u m e l Khaled t o t h e n o r th o f t h e s i t e

produced well-preserved po ll en from

a

sec t io n approximately

2 5 metres deep.

We suspec t the d eposi t s a re considerably deeper

t h a n t h i s .

No ana lys es have been conducted as y e t , but we hope t o

event ual ly have

a

good pol len diagram f o r ( a t le as t ) th e Holocene i n

the reg ion .

D r Farrand, as s i s t ed by M s Miller, examined numerous alluvial

and c ol l uvi a l sec t io ns exposed i n th e wadis and pre liminary r es u l t s

sugges t tha t the re w a s a t l e a s t one per iod of r a t he r ex tensive marsh

development i n th e val le y p r i o r t o Roman occupation. Whether t h i s

w a s contemporary with Capsian occupation

i s

impossible t o say

a t

presen t .

A l l of these inves t iga t ion s w i l l continue during July and

August of 1979.

BOTSWANA

D r

Lepionka writes:

Having noted

D r

Hitchcock s kind remarks concerning the

excavation

a t

Tautswe i n t he l as t i s s u e of Nyame Akuma, I thought

t h a t t would be well t o mention th a t t he f i n a l paper on th at

excavation i s now av ai la bl e. I t i s entitled Tautswemogala:

Trans i t ion f rom Ear ly to La te I ron b e n Sou th Af r i ca and was

ubmit ted t h i s May as a d o c t o r a l d i s s e r t a t i o n . I t may be consulted

a t the l ibra r ies of Harvard Univers i ty . A s i t involves some

fundamental is su es concerning th e de fi ni t i on of th e Leopard s Kopje

t r a d i t i o n ,

I i n t end t o seek pub l i ca t ion f o r i t and would appreciate

any sugges t ions a s t o a l i ke ly pub l i she r .

Recent a c t i v i t i e s have o therwise been ra th er f a r a f ie ld f rom

Afr ica , but a t l e a s t a re centered i n th e b i r t hplac e of Afro-American

c u l t u r e ,

th e Low Country of South Car ol in a, where I have been involved

p r i ma r il y i n t h e h i s t o r i c p e r io d , and hope t o f u r t h e r t h e s e a rc h f o r

evidence of Afr ican mater ia l cu l tur e i n th i s reg ion .


6/46

EGYPT

D r .

Hassan of Washington St a te Univ ers i ty re po rts :

My f i e l d r e sea rch i n S iwa Oas i s, no r the rn Egyp t, ha s been

concluded and

a

f i n a l r e po r t

i s

now i n prep arat ion. Prel iminar y

r e p o r t s appeared i n Nyame Akuma ~ c t o b e r 976) and Cur rent Anthropology

~ o l .9, 1978)

The region of Siwa Oasis

w a s

occupied during a moist

phase da t in g from ca . 9500 t o 6500 unc al ib rate d radiocarbon ye ar s

before present . The a rchaeolo gica l remains ind ica te th a t var ious

places i n th e reg ion were in habi ted by h ighl y mobile ,

small

bands

sha r ing

a

common tech nolo gica l t r ad i t i o n , which d i f f e r s from t h a t of

neighboring geographic ar eas . There

i s

no ev idence fo r ag r i cu l t u r a l

o r p a s to r a l p r a c t i c e s .

Hunting and gat he rin g seem t o have been th e

p redominan t subs i s t ence ac t i v i t i e s . Th i s con t r a s t s wi th evidence f o r

ag r i cu l t ur a l communities i n the southern pa r t of t he Western Deser t .

I n th e summer of 1977, expl ora tory a rchaeo logica l in ves t ig a t i on s

were under taken i n th e region of Bahar ia Oasis and the deser t margin

of West Del ta . These s tud ies provide fu r t he r ev idence f o r the e ar ly

Holocene moist phase and in di ca te t h a t Bahar ia

Oasis

was occupied by

hunting-gathering communities.

The E t h i c t echnology of the se

communities

i s s i m i l a r

t o t h a t e x h i bi t e d by t h e I s n a n I n d u s t r y of t h e

Nile Val ley

assan an

The Archaeology of th e Dishna P l a i n , Egypt, The

Geological Survey of Egypt, Paper No.

59

1974)

Archaeological

survey of t h e West Del ta d es er t margin revealed t h e presence of two

Middle P a l a e o l i t h i c s i t e s showing g r e a t t y p o l o g i c a l s i m i l a r i t i e s w i th

Middle Pa la eo l i th ic s i t e s f rom Nubia. Palaeoenvironmental s t ud ie s of

t h e Ne oli thi c sett lement--Merimda Beni Salama, i n con junc tion with

M r .

Zahi Hawwass, t h e Egyptian Department of An ti qu it ie s, re ve al s

t h a t a r i d cond i t i ons were p r eva len t du r ing t he occupa t ion of t he s i t e .

The onse t of d r i e r condi t ions

i s

c l e a r l y i n d i c a t e d a nd

i s

contemporaneous with the per iod of d e se r t i f ic a t i o n beginning ca. 6500

radiocarbon years ago.

I n

1975

and 1976,

D r .

T

R .

Hays and myself began an ex pl or at or y

s tudy of t he Predynas t ic s e t t l e men ts i n the Nagada-Khattara reg i on ,

Upper Egypt . pr el im in ny re po rt appeared i n Current Anthropology

~ o l17 September 1976)

have ju s t rece ived gra nts from th e

Nat iona l Sc ience Foundation and t he Smithsonian I n s t i tu t i o n t o begin

an i n t ens i ve s t udy of P redynast i c subs i s t ence and se t t l emen t i n t h i s

region . Regional pa laeoenvi ronmental s t ud ie s , a reg i ona l survey ,

t e s t e x c av a ti o ns , l a r g e s c a l e ex c av a ti o ns , and f i e l d la b o r a t o r y

s t u d i e s a r e p la nn ed f o r t h e f i r s t s ea so n be gi nn in g Ju ne 15

had a l so t h e opportun i ty t o s t udy t h e Qua t e rnary and

archaeo logica l geology of Hierakonpoli s i n conjunc t ion wi th th e work

undertaken by Profes sor Wal te r Fa i r se rv i s and

D r .

M e

Hoffman. The

ge olo gi cal inform atio n from Hier akon pol is, Khattara-Nagada, and

Merimda promise t o c la r i f y th e pa laeoenvi ronmenta l s e t t i n g of t h e

Pred yna st ic developments i n Egypt.


7/46

GAMBIA

D r M H i l l of t he Univers i ty of Waterloo sends t h i s note:

The st on e c i r c l e s i t e s

t

Kuntaur and Ker Batch have been

designated

as

nat io na l monuments and l im i ted f a c i l i t i e s f o r day

v i s i to r s and in te r p re t ive d i sp lays ins ta l l ed . Because of t h i s work,

research a t th e two s i t e s has been p laced under s t r i c t con tro l .

Continuing dest ruc t io n of coa sta l sh el l mounds i n th e Banjul

a re a renders these of primary importance f o r research . Pl en t i fu l

c u l t u r a l m a t er i a l i s present i n these middens and s t y l i s t i c

a f f i n i t i e s t o Dioron Bou

Mak

excavated by C y r Descamps i n S ene gal ,

i s ev iden t i n un s t r a t i f i e d su r face f ind s of ceramics.

GHANA

A

REPORT OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD SURVEY OF SITES

AT AWUDOME-NKWANTA NEAR TSITO, VOLTA REGION OF GHANA

by E.K. Agorsah, Ghana Nat io na l Museum.

Following

a

report made by

Mr

Vule-Vuke of T r i n i t y College,

Legon,of th e discove ry of a smoking pi pe on h i s farm upon a mountain

a t

Awudome-Nkwanta, about 22 ki lo met re s from Ho and s i t u a t e d ne ar

Tsito, Volta Region,

a

f i e l d s ur ve y was conducted on 27th and 28th of

January, 1978.

The purpose of the survey

was

i n i t i a l l y t o v i s i t and s tu dy t h e

s i t e where the p ipe w a s recovered i n re l a t io n t o ad jo in ing a reas and

s

a subs id ia ry t o a t tempt t o loca te o ther a reas wi th a rchaeological

fe at ur es with t h e view t o making a map of th ese s i t e s , and t o consider

t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f a l a t e r r e sc ue e xc av at io n i n t h e a r e a ,

s

t h e

informant emphas ised the fac t tha t the a rea w a s t o be commercially

farmed i n t he farming season which

w a s

t o come soon a f t e r t h e March

1978 ra in s .

Using a footpath which goes westwards up the mountain from the

Pre sb yte ria n Chapel of t he v il la ge and some l O O m up, a few i r on s l ag s

and potsherds were noticed.

A t th e a re a of the p ip e , were found se vera l i ro n s la g p ieces and

pot sh erd s which ap peared qu i t e weathered probably having been exposed

t o r a i n

and

sunshine f o r long t ime.

Other f inds included a polished

sto ne axe so f i a Ehe), baked clay pip es some with sl a g embedded i n

them. Very si gn if ic an t were two la rg e po ts 30m. a pa rt s ai d by th e


8/46

informant t o conta in cowrie she l l s .

P ar t of one of the se po ts seems

t o have been exposed

s a

r e s u l t of e ros ion and had been cons iderably

washed c l e a r by r a i n . The mouths of both po ts were broken but t h e

pi ec es were ly i n g around them. No a t te m p t

w a s

made t o expose th e po ts

f u r t h e r

s i t w a s

thought t h a t doing so could cause a c ur ious person

t o break them out of t h e i r po si t io ns . Photographs were, however,

t aken o f t h e po t s i n pos i t i on . few cowrie sh e l l s and g r ind ing

s to nes upper and lower) were a l s o found wi th in a 1 0 metre rad iu s of

one of t hes e pots .

Down t h e mountain and t the immediate base around the chapel

mentioned above and th e immedia te adjoin ing ar ea s pa r t ic ul ar ly th e

school compound, a l a r g e q u a n t i ty o f s t o n e a r t e f a c t s and f la k e d

st on es were see n. Some of th es e st on es have t h e appearance of

pebble to o ls and Acheul ian hand axe s. few appear t o be incomplete

c l e a v e r s .

The ext remely la r ge q uan t i ty of f l ak es l y i ng about would

t empt one t o t he conclusion tha t t he p l ace

w a s

t o o l making s i t e ,

e s p e c i a l l y s i n c e t h e

r a w

mate r i a l could be ob tained i n t he a r ea .

The survey c l ea r l y i nd i ca t ed two d i f f e r e n t t ypes o f s i t e s : an

i r o n age s i t e up t he mounta in where no s tone o bje c t except

a

gr ind ing

s t o n e

was

recovered, and a s tone age s i t e a t t he base o f t he mounta in .

ORAL TRADITION

I n a n a tt em p t t o p r ov id e a n i n s i g h t i n t o t h e p e op le s v e r s i o n o f

t h e i r pa s t an o ld man popular ly ca l le d Mr.S.0 .K.

Vule, aged

78

exp lain ed th a t t h e Awudome people, t h a t

i s

people who now i n h a b i t t h e

ar ea from Ts i t o t o Bame i n Western Volta Region a rr iv ed from th e

ea st er n Volt a Region some time b efo re t h e Akwamu took up t h e i r p re se nt

pos i t i o n on the e as t bank o f t h e Vol t a .

A ccordin g t o t r a d i t i o n t h e y

met a t t h e i r pres ent home th e eop le who now l i v e i n th e Akpafu

area

Akpafu and Lo lob i communities These Akpafu and Lo lo bi pe op le

ca l l ed themselves Mawu and were smelt in g i r o n i n th e h i l l s and

u t i l i s i n g t he products on t h e i r f m s on the plain below.

I n

a

f i g h t

f o r s ur vi va l t he Mawu were dr ive n ou t of t h e a re a and they proceeded

e as tw ard a l on g t h e r an ge o f h i l l s a nd e v en t ua l ly s e t t l e d i n t h e i r

presen t homes and cont inued wi th t h e i r i r on smel t ing.

The Germans

came in to th e a re a a lmost immediately a f t e r they had s ta r t e d t o move

ou t from t h e Awudome a re a and t h i s pe rha ps stoppe d them from moving

f u r t h e r . The t r a d i t i o n co n ti nu ed t h a t ev id en ce o f t h e i r i r o n

s m e l t in g c r a f t c an

be

found i n areas around Tafi, Anfoega, Kpandu and

Nkonya.

The t r a d i t i on con tends t h a t t h e Akpafu peop le l e f t t h e

Awudome ar ea and s e t t l e d i n t h e i r pr esent

area

around 1830

AD.

The Awudomes ar e fu r t he r s a i d t o have migra ted t o t h e i r pr ese nt

pla ce i n t he company of o t he r t r i b e s such a s th e Akyem,

G a

and Awuna,

and each community had

i t s own d ia le c t , but

s

t h e Awudome pe ople

outnumbered t h e o th er s and

as

t h e o t h e r s p r e f er r e d t o c o nt in u e, t h e

p l a c e

w a s

named by them.


9/46

The name dome means i n t h e middle of marshy ground . The whole

ar ea where th ey

f i rs t

s e t t l e d i n t h e same v i c i n i t y

w a s

sa i d t o have

been very marshy and acc ordi ng t o them

a

s p i r i t l i v e d t h e r e and t o

enable peaceful se t t lement th e s p i r i t had t o be compensated i n t he

form of human s a c r i f i c e t o enable

i t

l e ave the a rea and f i nd a new

abode.

The s a c r i f i c e needed

w a s

e i t h e r

a

vir g in boy or

g i r l .

The

the n ch ief (name not given) was unwill ing t o gi ve hi s own c hi ld up

but

a

sub-chief (name for got ten ) volunteered h i s two chi ldr en. Af ter

t h e obnoxious sa c r i f i c e th e place dri ed up and became ara bl e. The

sub-chief

w a s

enstooled i n place of th e paramount chief and t h e

descendants of t h i s brave new chief ar e the present ch ie fs of

Anyirawase.

The t r a d i t i o n c on ti nu es t h a t t h e P ek i s a r r iv e d i n t h e a r e a l a t e r

hav ing come from t h e d i rec t io n of Hohoe through Kpeve. They asked

t h e Awudome people f o r land t o s e t t l e .

Land

w a s

given. La te r ,

miss ionar ies got t h i s agreement s e t down i n wri t te n record .

s

t h i s

w a s

a controversy being de a l t with i n cour t

a t

O

i t

w a s

inexpedient

t o f ol lo w

i t

up ser ious ly .

The o r a l t r a d i t i o n w a s co l l ec ted

as a

supplement t o t h e survey

work and was meant t o p rovide an ins igh t i n t o the h i s to r y o f th e a rea

as

th e people of th e are a see

i t

Supplementary inform ation needs t o

be

col lec ted from other people so th a t th e f ac ts can be proper ly

s i f t e d o ut .

CONCLUSIONS

The materials obtained

a t

b oth s i t e s a r e q u i t e i n t e r e s t i n g .

There

i s

t he need t o follow up and excavate th e two p ot s

as

t h e

mountain side

i s

generally stony and cannot provide any dependable

st ra ti gr ap hy . Recovery of

a

few more potsherds, slags and some

carbon may provide some us ef ul in dex fo r understanding th e s i t e .

Also important

i s

t h e n eed t o l o c a t e more s i t e s i n o r d e r t o g e t

a

s u i t a b l e a r e a f o r l a t e r e x ca va ti on .

Excavation of the stone age area a t th e base of th e mountain i s

no t immediately nece ssar y. But

a

l a rg e quan t i ty of the s tone ma te r i a l

should be co lle cte d and s tudi ed f o r a more de t a i l ed des cr ip t ion t o be

obtained. La te r, however,

a

small t e s t p i t co ul d be sunk t o o b t a in a

po ssi ble st ra ti gr ap hy with which some meaning can be given t o t h e

ston e ob je ct s. Oliv er Davies has mentioned pebble t oo ls and

ac he ul ia n handaxes found around th e Awudome mountain a r e a s . These

m a t e r i a l s w i l l al so have t o be examined alongside t he m ate ria ls t o

be obtained a f t e r s inkin g th e tren ch mentioned above.

Unfortunately

t h e r e i s no mention o f t h i s p a r t i c u l a r s i t e i n h i s f i e l d n o t es .


10/46

T h i s r e p o r t

i s

supplied by M r .

F. Kense of t h e Un ive rsi ty of

Calgary.

A s repor ted i n volume of Nyame Akuma (NOV .

1977

; P . 31) the

archaeologica l survey car r ied out i n t he wes te rn Gonja reg ion of

n o r th e r n Ghana r e s u l t e d i n t h e l o c a t i o n of t h i r t y s i t e s of v a r yi n g

s i z e s . A s wel l a s t o es tab l i s h some comparat ive bas i s of pos s ib le

cu l t u r a l ma te r i a l ava i l ab l e f rom th i s a r ea , t he su rvey

was

a l s o

i n te n de d t o i n d i c a t e

a

p o t e n t i a l s i t e f o r f u t u r e e xc av at io n. S in ce

t h e r e s e a rc h g o a l s of t h i s p r o j e c t i n c l u de t h e need t o e s t a b l i s h

a

chro nolo gica l framework with which t o view th e c u lt u ra l development

of t he a re a ,

as

wel l

as

t o de te rmine t h e ex t en t t o which t he r e

i s

ac t ua l l y a r chaeo log i ca l evidence fo r t he i n t rus i on o f t he Gon jas i n to

t h e re g io n , t h e s i t e s e l e c t e d

was

t h e town of Daboya on th e West s i d e

o f t he

hite

Volta River

(9

32 N, 2 1 ~ ) .

The a rchaeolo gica l team f o r th e 1978 season ( ~ u l ~ / ~ e ~ t e m b e r )as

headed by Pr of . P.L. Shin nie of t h e Department of Archaeology a t t h e

Univers i ty of Calgary and inc luded h i s wi fe ,

A m a S h i n ni e , a s w e l l as

M r .

F. J . Kense f rom th e Univers i ty of Calgary,

M r .

S.A. Copp from t h e

Department of Archaeology a t Simon Fr as er Un ive rsi ty, and Mrs.Kathleen

Robertson, p res ent ly re s i di ng i n Livingston e, Zambia. The group

w a s

housed re la t i v e ly comfortably i n a Government Rest House lo cat ed ju st

on th e o ut sk ir ts of t h e town, and a compound with in th e town i t s e l f .

work fo rc e of about 15 schoolboys (ages 16-21) provided t h e main

l abour fo r excava t ing , wh il e an add i t i ona l

5

younger boys assis ted

with t he washing of t he potsh erds .

The town i t s e l f

i s

pres ent l y inh abi t ed by about 2 ,000 people ,

and boasts

a

p o l i c e p o s t ,

a

pos t o f f i c e and

a

medical c l i n ic . These

bui ld ings a r e th e only ones b u i l t o f cement walls, with the remainder

of t he town st ru ct ur es s t i l l c o ns tr u ct ed o f t h e t r a d i t i o n a l m a t e r i a l

of mud.

Whi le i ron cor ruga ted roof ing

i s

the popular medium of

f i n i s h i n g t h e s e s t r u c t u r e s , t h e u s e of t h at ch e d r o of i n g

i s

by no means

obsole te .

P re lim ina ry i nves t i ga t i on of t he town a r ea r evea l ed t h a t t h e

occupat ion zone has been sh i f t i ng t o t h e no r th and west of t h e r i v e r

bank so th a t f rom these observa t ions and from th e o ra l t r ad i t io ns of

the town,

i t w a s

i n t h i s a r e a t o t h e south a nd e a s t t h a t t h e

excava t ion un i t s were p l aced . Four d i f f e r en t azeas were t e s t ed

duri ng th e season; two

as

s i n g l e 2 x 2

m .

un i t s , one

as

t h r ee ad j acen t

2

x 2 m .

u n i t s and t h e f o u r t h as

s i x

2

x

2 m . un i t s . Due t o t h e t ime

l i m i t s

and s i z e of supervisory crew,

on ly one o f t h e s i ng l e 2 x 2

u n i t s was completed t o s t e r i l e ( a r e a

w )

and one of the

s i x

2 x 2 ' s

e xc av at ed t o s t e r i l e ( a r ea K , u n i t 1 2 ) .

Both t hese un i t s

r evea l ed t ha t t h e dep th of dep os i t

was

cons ide rab ly g r ea t e r t han

an t i c ipa t ed - t o dep ths o f 3.60 m . and 3.45 m . r e s p e c t i v e l y .


11/46

Although th e primaxy cu lt ur al mat eri al excavated co nsi ste d of

potsherds,

a

number of complete pots

was

als o found, inc luding

s ev er al i n s i t u .

These w i l l be discussed a t

a

l a t e r d a t e , as w i l l

th e f i f t y fragments of pipe stems and bowls. Two i n t e r e s t i n g

cla sse s of ar te f ac ts found included what appear t o be s m a l l c l a y

f igu r ine s and th re e p ieces of d i f f e r en t t e r r aco t ta c iga r s .

The

l a t t e r must su r e ly r epresen t re -depos ited mate r ia l , s ince these

a r t e f a c t s a r e gene r al l y a s s oc i at e d w ith ne o l i t h i c t r a d i t i o ns , t o

which t h e Daboya mat er ia l do es not belong. A l e s s welcome s e t of

discover ies cons is ted of

a

number of b u r i a l s th a t appeared randomly

throughout a l l th re e ar ea s. Less welcome i n terms of our res ear ch

goal s f o r t he p r o j e c t ,

and i n t h e equipment and e xp er ti se w ith which

t o handle the sk e l e t a l ma te r ia l . That and the se ns i t iv i t y wi th which

the se f in ds must be approached i n r el a t i o n t o t he lo c al populace made

t h e i r necessary excavation some matte r of concern.

So even though

we avoided tho se a re as which were recogniz ed as cemetery s i tes a t

presen t ,

i t

became very cl ea r th at bu r i al customs were re la t i v e ly

hapzard i n terms of loc ati on during the pa st and the ref ore cannot be

systematically avoided.

Analysis of some of t h e excavated ma te ri al w i l l

be

ca r r ied ou t

a t Calgary by M r Kense, while the remainder w i l l hopefully be

completed next year i n Ghana. The s i t e of Daboya has c e r t a i n l y ,

proven i t s e l f t o be a r chaeo log ical ly r i c h i n ma te r ia l ,

and w i l l

cer ta inly provide

a

be t t er unders tanding of Gonja cu l t ur a l h is t ory .

Funds f o r th e pr oj ec t were made av ai la bl e by th e Canada Council.

By

an

oversight the name of M r A Dozie a s tuden t o f the

Department of Archaeology, University of Ghana

was

omitted from the

l i s t of p ar t ic i pan ts i n the archaeologica l survey of Gonja repor ted

i n Nyame Akuma, no.11 , p.31 . Our ap ol og ie s t o ou r co ll ea gu e.

M r

Edwards Keteku, Department of Archaeology, U niv ers it y of

C alga ry , p r ov ides t h i s r e po rt of h i s a c t i v i t i e s :

AKWAMU EMPIRE

AT

NYANAWASE: MYTH OR REALITY

This research projec t

was

born o ut of my c u r i o s i t y t o know more

abou t e a r l y l i f e i n t he t r op i c a l r a i n f o r e s t and t he beg innings of

the e a r ly f o r e s t s t a t e s i n Ghana.

t

w a s al so thoug ht of a s means of

obtaining a well es tabli shed chronology f o r th e southern l i m i t of the

f o r e s t b e l t .

For these reasons, Nyanawase,

which once was t h e c a p i t a l

of t h e Akwamu empire, prov ided

a

spec ia l focus i n an a tt empt t o

inve s t i ga t e

a

fo re s t s t a te c lo se enough t o th e southern l i m i t of the

sa id geographical are a i n the ea ste rn se ct or of th e country. Nyanawase

i s t h e a r ea surr ound ing t h e Nyanaw mountain ( ~ h a n a urvey Map : 62500,

s he et 61,5O 48'N, 0 ~ 2 4 ' ~ )hich conspiciousl y sta nds ou t i n t h e Nsawan

ar ea , c le a rl y v i s i b l e from th e Accra-Kumase motor road. The s t r a t e g i c


12/46

location of Nyanawase

i n i t s prox imi ty t o th e c oas t , t h e Accra

Plains and i t s a c c e s s i b i l i t y t o t h e d ee pe r i n t e r i o r , and t h e f a c t

t h a t t h e ef f e c t s of t he Akwamu empire ar e

s t i l l

l i v i n g memories

among t h e

Gas

and the Akuapems prompted the selection of the area

f o r the purpose o f ga ining in s igh t in to t he r e l a t e d Akan cu l tu r e and

seeking ev idence of con t inu i ty wi th in th e same cu l tu ra l are a .

Furthermore, i t i s seen as

a

means t o eva lua te th e v a l i d i ty o f

Akan h is to r i ca l t ra d i t i on s by cross-checking them again s t a rchaeologi -

c a l dat a. And, a t th e same time studying clu es t o the socio-economic

b eh av io ur i n r e l a t i o n s h i p t o en vi ro nm en ta l p a t t e r n s t o ex p l ai n t h e

development of Akan tr a di t i on s and ma te ria l c ul tu re through t ime.

So, duri ng the summer, i n a brief period of two months,fieldwork

w a s conducted a t Nyanawase. Oral t r ad i t io ns were co l l ec t ed and used

as

an i nde x t o Akwamu h i s t o r y

as

wel l

as

an

a i d t o s p o tt i n g t h e e x a ct

lo c a t io n of t h e s e a t of t h e kin g of t h e Akwamu empire ( i e . Akwamu-

hene

s

palace) Nana Kwafo Akoto

11

Omanhene of Akwamu T r a d i t i o n a l

Area; Nana Boafo Ansa 11 Kurantihene of Akuropon; Nana Otutu Bagyire

I V

Abiriwhene; Asumagyawa of Aburi; Odekuro of Duayeden-Nyanawase

and many ot he rs were in te rvi ew ed.

Tra dit ion s poin t t o th e peak of th e Nyanaw mountain a s th e s e a t

of th e g ian t King Ansa Sasraku . Acting on thes e t r ad i t io ns , a

reconnaissance survey

w a s

mounted on t h e Nyanaw ( t o s ay , a very

d i f f i c u l t and t i r i n g adv en tu re ) b u t i t fa i l e d t o produce any ev idence

o f h ab i t a t i o n ; con t ra ry t o Pau l Ozanne s c l aim th a t he

saw

wal l -

foundat ions , apparen t ly of s tone about s i x inches h igh and forming

rec tangu la r p l ans p reda t ing 73 (0 l iv er Dav ies

,

Ghana Field Notes,

976 68)

Consider ing th e ruggedness of t h i s s teep-s ided twin

mountain, cross-checking t r ad i t io ns and a f t e r

a thorough examination

of t he ev idence,

i t

appears t h a t t he mountain to p was used

as

a grove

t h e k i n g s r i t u a l a nd b u r i a l p la c e sirnilas t o Nanannom Mpow as w e l l

as h i s m i l i t a r y hi de -o ut i n t im e of c r i s i s .

On cons ul ta t ion wi th th e e l de rs a t Duayeden-Nyanawase

w a s

l e d

t o a newly cons t ructed road s i t e about 500 metres f ro? th e town.

The a r e a r e f e r r e d t o as S i t e 1 ( D D ~ )

as

s e l e c t e d f o r tr ial excava-

t i o n .

A

4

x

1 m .

t r ench

was

opened.

A

few potsherds, one nyame

akuma ( c e l t ) and two rubbing s to ne s were found.

The sherds ar e

most ly poor ly made, i l l - f i r e d , heavy r i m t h i c k w a l l co a r s e t ex t u r e

and mostly undecorated po tt er y reminiscent of t he Kintampo n e ol i t hi c

type.

A t

a depth of 75 cm: th e s t e r i l e s tone bedded reddi sh l a ye r

was

exposed without any evidence of I r on Age mat er ia l such as s l a g ,

i r on ob jec ts o r tobacco-p ipes . Reviewing th e ev idence and i n view of

t h e f a c t t h a t t h e s i t e i s only about 300 metres south of a r o c k s h e l t e r

i n which worked st one implements were co ll ec te d, one i s i n cl i ne d t o

b e li e ve t h a t S i t e 1 ( D D ~ )s proto-Iron Age.

t i s u n f o r t u n a t e t h a t

no carbon sample came from t h i s s i t e but

i t

i s expec ted tha t

thermoluminiscence

w i l l

p ut t h e s i t e i n t o p e rs pe c ti ve .


13/46

Working on tr a d i t i o n s ag ain , t h e camp w a s moved t o an a r e a about

seven kilometres from Duayeden-Nyanawase which

w a s

sa id t o have been

t h e se a t of Queenmother Kwabea. The s i t e known

as

Akwamu Amanfoso,

meaning th e Old Akwamu s e t t l em en t ,

i s

s i tuated on the Adoagyir i

Kraboa Coa lt ar road about f i v e kilo me tre s northw est o f Nsawam, an

a re a showing se r i e s of mounds previous ly v i s it e d by Paul Ozanne.

The highest mound was t h e t a r g e t f o r ex cava ti on . A t e s t p i t was

opened a t th e lowest l e v e l northwest of th e mound, while a 2

x

4 m .

t rench was s e t from th e highe st poi nt of th e mound tren di ng northwards.

The trench exposed th re e metres of occupational de po si ts yiel din g a

la rg e number of pots herd s, colla psed walls, burnt daub, tobacco-pipes

( a t two top l e ve l s on ly ) , i r on s l a g , badly co rroded i ro n too l s

inc lud ing kn if e bla des , spoons, two la rg e grinding s to ne s and number

of rubbing sto ne s, a c r u c i b l e , s n a i l s h e l l s and

a

molluscan shel l .

Big animal bones and bones of rod ent s and bi rd s were rec over ed.

Akwamu Amanfoso Mound

B

( A A B T ~ )s located 100 metres no r thea s t

of Mound A ( A A T ~ )

Or ig ina l ly a x

1.5

m t rench w a s opened but due

t o the p ressu re of t ime

i t

was l a t e r h a lv ed. S i nce t h e m a t e r ia l b e in g

recovered w a s mainly coming from the northern se ct or ; th e digging

continued i n t h a t ha lf which went through almost th re e metres of

occupational deposi t but with

a

pecu l i a r cha rac te r i s t i c - p robably

workshop fe a tu re s . Fewer pot she rds were recovered b ut t h e mode of

manufacture was so di ff e re n t.

They have s im i l ar i t ie s t o po ts from

Mound A(AAAT~)

s

wel l

as

Duayeden ( D D ~ ) .

ome of them coul d e a s i l y

be sa i d of being typ i ca l smi th s po ts made without sp ec ia l a r t i s a n

(po t te rs) s k i l l s bu t purposely f o r the smi thing indus t ry . Most of

t h e s e s h e rd s a r e t a i n t ed w it h y el lo wi sh co l l o r a t i o n ( a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c

fe at ur e predominant i n th e sandy yel lowish soi l- an ind ica t io n of

working metal).

Also, la r ge fragments of Ir on o bj ec ts , s l a g and bloom were found.

Other f i nd s included 2 i r on bra ce le t s , copper r i ng , a small copper

spoon, bead po li sh er , tobacco-pipes ( l i k e i n Mound

A

from two top

l e v e l s ) , a t uyere

-

p i p e t o a bellow), burnt daub and an unidenti-

f i ab le copper ob jec t .

t i s

exp ec ted t h a t t h e p ec u l i a r i t y o f f i n d s

and st ra ti gr ap hy of mound B( AA BT ~)i l l of f e r compara tive ana lys i s t o

material from Mound A(AAAT~).

am hopeful th a t th e cha rcoa l samples,

s o i l samples and the ana l ys i s o f t he mate r i a l

w i l l

he lp bu i ld

a

socio-

eco logic al hypothes is and

a

ch rono log ica l o rder t o enab le u s t o pu t

t h e Akwamu empire a t Nyanawase and Akan tr a d i t i o n s

i n

t h e r i g h t

h i s t o r i ca l p e r s p ec t i v e .

NOTE OF GRATITUDE

The au tho r exp resses h i s s incere g ra t i tude t o t he Un iver s i ty of

Ca lga ry, Pr of es so r Pe te r S hi nn ie , Dr .S co tt Raymond, Ghana Museums and

Monuments Board and

i t s

s t a f f ; es pe ci al ly Mr.E.K.Agorsah. With th e

same st re ng th of appre cia tio n thank Kingsley Koranteng Keteku, A . K .

Kumah and my fr ie nd s i n t he Dept.

of Archaeology, University of Ghana.


14/46

Recent e thnographic and archae ological f ie ldwor k i n Borno

by

Graham Connah

Associa te Professor i n pre his t ory and archaeology,

U niver s i ty of New England, New South Wales,

Aus t r a l i a .

Archaeo logical f i e d rese arc h i n Borno from 1963-9 has been

summarized i n

G .

Connah, The

D a i m a

sequence and the prehis tor ic

chronology of t h e Lake Chad regi on of Ni ge ri a , Jo urn al of Af rica n

H i s t o r y ,

X V 1 1

3

1976 ) ,

321-352. During

978

have been on leave

i n Nige r ia and Br i t a in p r epa r ing a book on th e archaeology of t h e

Nig erian sh ore s of Lake Chad. For t h r e e weeks du ri ng March d i d

f u r t h e r f i e l d work i n t h e s tu dy a r e a and t h i s r e p o r t

aims

t o make

a v a i l a b l e q u i ck l y a p r e c i s o f t h e r e s u l t s .

The primary purpose of t h i s rec en t f ie ldwork was not archaeolo-

g i c a l bu t t o conduct e thnograph i c i nve s t i g a t i o ns a t s e t t l e m e n t s

s i t u a t e d i n d i f f e r e n t e c o l og i ca l r e gi o ns w i t hi n t h e o v e r a l l s t u d y a re a .

My a i m was t o a ch ie ve a b e t t e r u nd er st an di ng of t h e t r a d i t i o n a l

adapta t ion s t o th e envi ronments t h a t seemed of p ar t i cu la r s igni f ica nce

i n t h e a r c h ae o l o gi c a l re c or d .

This work has re info rced my convic t ion

t h a t a t th e moment t h e most urg ent rese arch i n

West

African archaeology

i s

e thnographic not a rchaeologic a l . I n most cases th e a rchaeo logica l

s i t e s

w i l l s t i l l

be t h e r e f o r i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n 1 0 o r 20 y e a r s t im e bu t

t r a d i t i o n a l v i l la g e l i f e w i l l n o t .

Ethnographic inv es t iga t io ns were conducted i n

4

d i f f e r e n t s e t t l e -

ments but du r ing th e course of t h i s work

8

new archaeolo gica l s i t e s

were a l so loca ted .

A l l

1 2 p l a c es

w i l l

be found marked on t h e

accompanying map.

From i t s beginning th e programme of f i e l d researc h i n Borno ha s

taken the form of

a

l a r ge - s c al e r e g i o n a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n . F i e l d

a rchaeo log i ca l s ea r ch and su r f ace co l l ec t i on has been ca r r i ed ou t i n

an

ar ea of some 40,000 square ki lomet res and more s ca t t er ed inv es t ig a-

t i o n s have been conducted i n t he upland count ry south of th e main

s tudy a r ea . Within t h e main s t udy a r e a , s even s i t e s were s e l e c t ed f o r

l im i te d excavat ion and one of these (~ a im a ) a s s u b j ec t e d t o l a r g e -

sc a l e excavat ion ( s ee map). From th e ov era l l d i s t r i bu t i on of

a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s i t e s

i t

i s

p o s s i b l e t o d i s t i n g u i s h f o u r main e c o l o g ic a l

re gi on s, a l s o shown on th e map. These ar e:

1

The so uthe rn uplands

wi th evidence of poss ib ly e ar ly s tone-us ing hunter ga the rers ; 2, The

f i r k i c l a y p l a i n s on which a r e l o c a t e d g e n e r a l l y l a r g e , c l a y

et t lem en t mounds con sis t in g of t h e remains of permanent pa st or al and


15/46

ag r i cu l t ur al v i l la ge s occupied from about 1000 B C

t o t h e p re se nt

t ime;

3

The Yobe Valley sandy country i n which ar e found sc a tt e re d ,

g en e r a l l y

small,

sand set t l eme nt mounds in di ca t i ng more t r a n s ie n t

settlement from about

A D

800;

4

The region around the Rivers Ngadda

and middle Yedseram, ge ne ra ll y sandy cou ntr y where se tt le me nt mounds

o f Yobe type a l s o occur toge ther wi th f l a t se t t l emen t s i t e s .

Occupation of t h i s region da te s from a t least 1000 B.C.

The four

s e t t l em en t s s e l ec t ed f o r et hn og raph ic i n v es t i g a ti o n a r e s i t u a t ed i n

Regions 2

-

4.

E T H N O G R A P H I C

INVESTIGATIONS.

:

Sangaya ( ~ e ~ i o n: f i r k i )

A

se ttl em en t of mud bui ldi ngs w ith a

guessed population of

a t

l e a s t 500 Kanuri-speaking people . Located on

a

set t leme nt mound i n the midst o f an ex tensive i r k i c la y p la in which

f l o o d s du r in g t h e r a i n s ,

i t

i s

probable that occupation has been

continuous f o r se ve ra l thousand yea rs. Sorghum i s grown: both dawa

nd masakwa.

Masakwa growing nec ess i ta tes fa l l ing-f lood f m i n g of

t h e s u r r o u n d i n g f i r k i .

va r i e ty of l e s s impor tan t c rops i s a l s o

grown, some of them i n gardens ir r i g a t e d by a modern borehole-fe d la k e

a t

t he edge of t he v i l l ag e .

P r i o r t o t h e ex i st en ce of t h e b o r eho l e,

t h i s lake on ly held water i n the r a i ny season and wel ls o f about 30

metres depth were necessary t o g et water throughout th e year .

The

v i l l ag er s a l so keep c a t t l e , sheep and goa t s and var ious o ther an imals .

The c a t t l e a re s ta l l e d i n cow-houses: a t n igh t du r ing the d ry season ,

i n the day-time dur ing th e ra i ny season because of b i t i ng

f l i e s . I n

d r y s ea so ns t h a t a r e p ax t i c u l a r l y d r y t h e c a t t l e a r e t ak en t o Lake

Chad or t o one of th e r i ve r s but i t

i s

lack of grass r a t h e r t h a n l a c k

of water which

i s

t h e d eci di n g f ac t o r .

Fish can be caught i n the

v i l l ag e l ake and even i n t he d ry season

mud f i s h can be dug up from

th e hardened f i r k i , Sorghum

i s

the s t ap le food and i s s t o r e d f o r up

t o two years i n p i t s dug i n th e ground wi th in th e se t t lem ent . To

prepare

as

food

i t i s

usua l ly husked i n a pest le and mortar and then

ground t o a f l o u r , t r a d i t i o n a l l y on a grind ston e, now i n a d i e s e l -

powered gr in di ng machine. There

i s

l i t t l e wood a v a i l a b le i n t h e

Sangaya a r e a and dr i e d cak es of cow manure a r e used

as

f u e l .

Cooking

i s done on f i r ep la ce s of

a s i m i l a r

desi gn t o some of th ose exc avated

i n t he upper p a r t of th e Daima mound.

2: Daima ( ~ e g i o n

:

sandy a r e a ad ja ce nt t o f i r k i ) .

The vi l lage of

D a i m a

i s s i tu at ed l e s s than k i lometre from the se t t lement mound t h a t

bear s i t s name. t s i t s on a l a rg e sandy a rea but the re a re ex tens ive

a r e a s of f i r k i i n t h e v i c i n i t y a nd t h e s e f lo od d u r in g t h e r a i n s .

Daima

i s a

se ttl em ent of mud bui ldi ngs and of cor n-s tal k o r grass

bui ldi ngs . The population

i s

probab ly much t h e same

as

Sangaya but

D a i m a

has grown su bs ta nt ia l l y sin ce th e mid 1960s. The vi l l ag e

was

o r i g i n a l l y Shuwa but both Shuwa and Kanuri now l i v e t h e r e with t he

Kanuri forming th e lar ge r pa rt of th e populat ion. The Shuwa s e t t l e d

a t D a i m a i n the middle of th e n ineteen th cen tury A D and i t

i s

s a i d


16/46

t h a t t hey d id no t meet anybody a l r e ady l i v i ng t he re .

Thus , unl ike

Sangaya, the

D a i m a

se t t l emen t r ep re sen t s

a

marked di sc on ti nu it y from

the p reh i s to r i c s i t ua t i o n . The main c rop

i s

sorghum: masaktra being

t h e most important , followed by dawa. The d s s grown on sandy

s o i l nea r t he v i l l ag e , t he masakwa invo lves f a l l i ng - f l ood f a rming o f

t h e f i r k i . v a r i e t y of l e s s i mp or ta nt c r op s

i s

a l s o grown i n y e w s

when there

i s

enough rain.

Ca t t l e , sheep and goa t s a r e kep t bu t d ry

season migrat ion i s not necessary .

The c a t t l e a r e s t a l l e d a t n i g h t

dur ing t he d ry s eason bu t i n t h e day time dur ing t he r a in s .

n a t u r a l

l a k e n e a r t h e a r c h ae o l o gi c a l s i t e a lw ay s d r i e s i n t h e d r y s e as on and

b e fo r e t h e d r i l l i n g o f

a

borehol e a t t h e s e t t l emen t

i t

was

necessary

t o d i g w e l l s o f a bo ut

35

metres depth.

t D a i m a

t h e economic response t o t h e environment

i s

much th e

same

as

t ha t f ound

a t

Sangaya , des p i t e t h e cu l t u r a l d i s co n t in u i t y and

d e s p i t e t h e s l i g h t d i f f e r e n c e s i n en vi ro nm ent .

:

M a i n a r i ~ e g i o n

:

yobe). set t l emen t of corn -s ta lk and

grass

bui ld ings wi th

a

guessed pop ula tio n of no t more tha n 100 Kanuri-

speaking people .

t

i s s i t ua t ed i n l oose s andy count ry i n t h e Yobe

Val ley, about

1 5

k i lome t r e s from the r i v e r .

t

i s s a i d t o be a n o l d

vi l l ag e but on a new s i t e .

I n t h i s r eg io n i t seems t o have been a

t r a d i t i o n a l p r a c t i c e t o move t h e v i l l a g e and

f a r m

t h e abandoned s i t e

when t h e s ur ro un di ng f i e l d s l o s t t h e i r f e r t i l i t y .

The main crop

i s

mil let which

i s

grown on sandy are as i n th e ra i ny season. I r r i ga te d

wheat

i s

a l so grown and the v i l l a ge rs c laim th a t t h i s has been grown

f o r so l ong t h a t no e s t ima te can be a t t empted of t h e an t i qu i t y o f t he

p r a c t i c e . The v i l l a g e r s a l s o m ai nt ai n an i r r i g a t e d g ar de n,

by t h e s i d e

of t h e Yobe Rive r from which wat er i s l i f t e d by shadoof. Animal manure

i s

used on th e garden and an impressive va r i et y of vege tabl es

i s

grown.

Sheep , goa t s , c a t t l e and va r ious o the r anima ls a r e kep t , goa t s be ing

t h e most common.

The t r a d i t i on a l sou rce of wa t er du r ing t h e r a in y

season was t he Yobe River and dur ing t h e d ry season wel l s were dug i n

t h e bed of t h e r i v e r

i f

i t d r i e d u p. T r a d i t i o n a l l y , r i v e r f i s h i n g

was

an

important source of food.

I n t h e Yobe r eg i on r a i n f a l l

i s

markedly l e s s th a n i n t h e f i r k i

and set t lement

i s

of

a

l e s s permanent n a tu re , both i n bu i l d ing

ma te r i al s and con t in ui t y of occupat ion. The crops and animals which

a r e t h e most impor tan t r e f l e c t t h e d r i e r cond i t i ons compared t o t he

f i r k i bu t s k i l l f u l u se of t h e Yobe R iv er f o r i r r i g a t i o n m i t i g a t e s t o

some e x t e n t t h e e f f e c t s of t h e d r i e r c l i ma t e .

4: Malam

N g u p t o r i ~ e g i o n

:

~gadda/middle~ e d s e r a m )

s e t t l e m e n t

of mi l le t - s ta lk and

grass

bu i ld ings wi th

a

guessed populat ion of not

more t ha n 100 Kanuri-speaking peo ple.

The v i l l age i s s i tu a te d i n

l o o s e sandy co un tr y b ut t h e r e a x e c l a y f l a t s i n t h e v i c i n i t y .

The

v i l l ag e r s c l a im th a t t h e i r s e t t l emen t has rema ined on t he same spo t

s i nc e before th e middle of t h e nine teen th cent ury A.D.;

when t h e

f e r t i l i t y of t h e i r f i e l d s l e ss en s , t he y s h i f t t h e f i e l d s s h or t


17/46

di st an ce s but do not move the v i l la ge .

However, some vi l l ag es i n t h i s

r eg io n do move i n r es po ns e t o f a l l i n g f e r t i l i t y .

T r ad i t i o n a l l y ,

sorghum (dawa)

a s

grown on the l oc a l f i r k i c l ay

f l a t s

and mil let on

h e sandy a r ea s b ut p oor r a i n f a l l i n r ecen t y ea r s h a s l e d t o

a

concent ra t ion on mi l le t .

va r i e ty of l e s s important c rops

i s

a l s o

grown and cat t le,

sheep, goats and var ious o t her an imals ar e kep t .

C at t l e a re t he most common animals but a r e not sub jec t t o sea sonal

movement.

The t rad i t ional source of water

was

from wells dug on the

f i r k i f l a t s .

I f t h i s v i l l a ge

was

moved from t h i s s i t e ,

r e l a t i v e l y

l i t t l e ar ch ae ol og ic al t r a c e o f i t would remain.

This vi l l ag e demonstrates how people have been a bl e t o ex pl oi t

t h e d r i e r ,

sand ier environments of th e study ar ea , even when i r r i g a t i o n

was not a vai la b le a s i n the Yobe Valley .

The d is t r ibu t ion of

archaeo logical s i t e s , however, suggests th a t some p a r t s of Region

were too dr y fo r any sus ta ined occupat ion of th e same s i t e .

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES.

The ei gh t new s i t e s have been numbered i n th e same s e r i e s

as

t h o se l i s t e d i n t h e J o u r n a l of A f ri can H i s t o r x i n 1 976 .

: Maidbe m or no 89) .

The deserted remains of a Kanuri town probably

dating from sometime during the

l a s t

500 years.

t i s

s i tua ted abou t

27 kilomet res SSE. of Golumba, i n le v e l sandy coun try, and co ns is ts

of an area enclosed by

a

town

w a l l

with in which a re

a

number of

small

se ttl em en t mounds of Yobe ty pe , w ith gr ey-s taine d su rf ac e sand

sc at t ere d wi th po tsherds and o ther archae ological mate r ia l .

t

t h e

c e n t re of t h e s i t e

i s

a r ou gh ly c i r cu l a r a r ea , s a i d by l o c a l

t r ad i t io n t o have been th e Mai s palace- compound.

t

measures about

95 metres across and

i s

enclosed by a ditch and a s teep-s ided ear then

bank, t he t op of which i s

4-5

metres above the bottom of th e di tc h.

This bank

i s

prob ably t h e remain s of an ups tan din g mud

w a l l

r a t h e r t h a n

of an eart hen rampart. The enc losu re has two en tra nc es on

i t s

west

side and

a

low settlement mound a t

i t s

cen t r e .

2:

SW. of Kambile

o or o

90) .

T his s i t e

i s

s i t u a t e d 3 ki lo me tr es SW.

of Kambile o or o 56 on t h e SE. s i d e of t h e Jarawa-Golumba ro ad .

t

i s

a

f l a t s i t e l o c k t k on

a

s l i g h t ly e le vated sandy area surrounded

by f i r k i which f loods du r ing the r a in s .

A t i t s

highest po in t

i s a

t h in s ca t t e r o f po t sherds and o ther a rchaeo log ica l mate r i a l .

Th i s

s i t e a pp ea rs t o be

a

post-contac t one, probably nin ete en th and

twen t i e th centu ry i n da te , with some t r a ce s o f e a r l i e r mate r i a l

p r e s en t . t

i s

p ro babl e t h a t t h e s i t e was d e s e rt e d o n ly i n r e c e n t

decades.

The pro vis ion of bore hole water

a t

s e l e c t e d s et t le m e n ts i n

t h i s ar ea si nc e th e mid 1950s has probably caused th e abandonment of

many smaller vi l la ge s.

The s i t e

i s

of par t i c u la r va lue i n th rowing

l i g h t on the end of t he a rcha eolo gica l sequence i n Borno.


18/46

:Suwa o or o 91) .

T hi s s i t e i s s i t ua t ed about 6 k i lome t re s

NW.

of

Borno 90 i n th e midst of an exten sive

.

i r k i c l a y p l a i n which f l oo ds

d u ri n g t h e r a i n s .

I t i s

a

l a rg e se t t l ement mound of f i r k i type ,

guessed t o be about

6

metres h igh , wi th

a

modern v i l la g e on th e

SW.

end.

The

NE

end of t h e mound

i s

not occupied by buildings and has

a t h i ck s c a t t e r of po t sherds and o the r a r chaeo log i ca l ma te r i a l . The

s u r f a c e m a t e r i a l a t Suwa appea rs t o be of a l a t e Daima da t e ,

i nd i ca t i ng occupat ion from l a t e i n t he

f i r s t

millennium t o e a r l y i n

the second millennium

A D

4:

SE. of Suwa

o or o 9 2 .

T hi s s i t e

i s

s i t u a t e d 4-5 k i lome t r e s

SE

of Suwa o or o 91) on th e nor thern s i de of t he t r ac k leadi ng towards

Golumba.

I t i s a f l a t

s i t e loc a ted on a smal l sandy ar ea sur rounded

by an ex t ens ive f i r k i c l ay p l a i n which f l oods du r ing t h e r a in s . The

s i t e

cons i s t s o f a t h in s ca t t e r of she rds and o the r a r chaeo log i ca l

ma ter ial and would appear t o be of post-c ontact da te , probably

be longing t o th e n ine teenth and twent ie th century , wi th some t ra ce s

of e a r l i e r mate r ia l present . Like Borno 90 , i t

i s

p ro ba bl e t h a t t h e

s i t e

was

dese r t ed on ly i n r ecen t decades

as a

r e sponse t o be t t e r wat er

suppl ies e l sewhere .

I t s

small s i ze and i s o l a t ed pos i t i on might

sugges t t ha t

i t

was occupied only seasonally.

:

Garm Kime

o or o

93) .

Th i s

i s a

f l a t

s i t e

s i t u a t e d 4 k i lome t r e s

t o t h e west of Mongonu, 100 metres south of t h e t ar re d road from

Maiduguri t o ~ o n ~ o n uh a t

w a s

b u i l t i n t he l a t e

1960s.

T h e s i t e

i s

l o ca t ed i n

a

f l a t s andy a r e a , nea rby a r e two

small

c l ay depres s ions

th a t cou ld provide water f o r pa r t o f t h e yea r .

There

i s

a square

earthwork enclosure measuring about

75

by

53

metres , wi th a bank

about

1

metre hig h. Th is bank

i s

l i t t e r e d w ith b roken f i r e d r e d

br i ck and t he re

i s a

poss ib l e bu t doub t fu l en t r ance t o t h e enc losure

on

i t s

w es te rn s i d e . s c a t t e r of broken b r i c k l i e s i n s i d e t h e

enc losu re , pa r t i cu l a r l y on a s l i g h t l y r a i s e d a r ea . About

75

metres

away from t h e N W corner of t he enc losure

i s

a r o u g h l y c i r c u l a r

mound,

about

1 . 5

metres h igh , which a l s o ha s a s c a t t e r of broken

f i r e d r e d b r ic k .

There i s no po tshe rd s c a t t e r with in t he squa re

enc losu re ,

or on

i t s

bank, o r on th e adj ac en t mound but po tshe rds

can

be

found sca t t e r ed on grey-s ta ined sand around th e s i t e ,

e s p e ci a l ly t o t h e NE. and E. where th e re a r e a number of low s e t t l e -

ment mounds of Yobe type. To t h e no r th o f t h e t a r r e d road , pe rhaps

0 .5

k i lo m et re from t h e s i t e ,

i s

t h e modern v i l l a g e of Garu Kime,

a

Kanur i place-name t h a t t r an s l a t e s i n to Eng l ish as r e d

w a l l

The

i n ha b it a nt s sa y t h a t t h e s i t e

i s

ol de r t ha n Kukawa, prob ably meaning

t h a t

i t i s

pre-n ine teenth century

A D

They say t h a t t he square

enc losure was t h e

Mai s

compound and t h e se pa ra te mound t h e r emains

of t h e mosque.

Sur f ace ma te r i a l

a t

t h e s i t e i n di c at e s a second

millennium

A D

da te and th e s im il a r i t y of name and presence of

f i r e d b r i c k seem good r ea s on s t o c l ai m t h a t t h i s

i s

t h e s i t e o f G aru

K i m e ( a l s o known

as

~ u d i ) entioned i n t h e Mahram l i s t e d

as

Manuscr ipt 52 i n

H R

Pa lmer , Sudanese Memoirs, Volume

111

Lagos

1928, p. 28. According t o t h i s document, Garu

K i m e was

t h e

f i r s t


19/46

c a p i t a l a f t e r t h e Kanuri movement from Kanem and w a s l iv ed i n f o r

seven year s befo re th e foundat ion of Birn in Gazargamo. According t o

Palmer, t h i s would mean t h a t a r u Kime

was

the Kanuri

capi ta l f rom

1477 t o 1484 but probably th e s i t e cont inued t o be occupied long

a f t e r t h a t t im e.

6: Yedi o or no 94). T his s i t e

i s

s i t ua t ed about 14.5 ki lometres

NNW .

of Marte on th e roa d between Marte and Mongonu.

t

i s

an extens ive

but low settle ment mound of f i r k i ty pe.

low

eroded bank,

all

t h a t

remains of a defens ive w a l l was observed around the edge of the mound

on i t s NE si de . Apart from i t s NE extremity which has a t h i c k

sc a t te r of po tsherds and o the r a r chaeo log ica l ma te r ia l , the r e s t o f

t h e mound

i s

covered by a modern village.

The mound s ta nd s i n t h e

mids t of an expanse of f i r k i c lay which f lo ods dur ing th e ra i n s but

i t i s

ne ar t he e dge of t h e f i r k i p l a in s .

The surfa ce mater ial a t t h e

s i t e a ppea rs t o be of l a t e

Daima

and post

D a i m a

d a t e , i n d i c a t i n g

occupat ion from l a t e i n th e f i r s t mil lennium A.D. down t o th e pr esen t

time.

7:

W

of Kauwa o or no 95) .

This s i t e i s s i tua ted about 9 ki lometres

ENE.

of Kukawa and about 1 . 5 ki lometres W of t h e Kauwa ro ad

junc tion , on t h e t ar r ed road from Maiduguri t o Kukawa t h a t

was

b u i l t

i n t h e l a t e 1960s.

A t t h i s point th e road t o Kukawa cr es ts

a

r i s e

formed by

a

b e l t

of s t ab il iz ed sand dunes, th e sur face of which i s

very loose ,

Amongst these i s a s e r i e s of amorphous se tt le m en t mounds

of Yobe type.

A t l e a s t s i x mounds a re present but th e whole t er r a i n

i s undulat ing and the s i t e extends on both s ide s of th e ta r re d road.

A l l

th e immediate a re a has grey-stain ed sand but t h e mounds al s o have

a s c a t t e r of pots herd s (mostly r a t h e r comminuted) some animal bone

fragments , f ragments of f reshw ater s h e ll and a l o t of f i s h bone most

of which i s broken into small fragments. Other arch aeol ogic al

m a te r i a l

i s

a l s o p resen t . Apparen tly th e s i t e i s t h a t o f

a

se t t l ement

belonging t o th e second millennium A.D. The occupation of t h i s

ele va ted dune are a would have allowed exp lo it at io n of nearby cl ay pans

which f lood during th e ra in s. The kanwa (~ a u s a ) r potash tr ad e

tr ad i t io na l l y passed through th i s area , the potash being brought

ac ross Lake Chad from NE. of t h e Lake and landed on th e Baga pe ni ns ul a.

t i s possible that Borno 95

was

t h e loc at io n of one of t he more

westerly potash markets during

a

period of high Lake le v e l .

8:

Ngauro Kura

o or no

96) .

This s i t e

i s

s i tua ted about 4 ki lometres

roughly SW. of Yau on the edge of a side-chan nel of t h e Yobe Ri ver ,

l e s s than ki lometre from th e Mainar i i r r i ga te d garden. The s i t e

cons is ts of a l a r g e , very steep- side d se tt le me nt mound of Yobe ty pe ,

5-6

metres high, with a number of f a r sm al le r and lower mounds i n i t s

v ic in it y . The mounds, and t h e ar ea i n between them, a r e of grey-

s ta ined, loose sand with a s ca tt e r of potsherds and ot her archaeolo-

g i c a l m at e ri a l t h a t

i s

par t icular ly th ick on the large mound.

The

sur fac e mate ria l appears t o be of second millennium A . D . da t e ,

down

t o r ecen t t imes .

Vill ager s from Mainari say t h at th e place i s c a l l e d


20/46

Ngauro Kura and t h a t t he r e was a v i l l age t he re un t i l one yea r ago .

No s igns could be found of former houses o r o the r s t ru c t ur es .

CONCLUSION.

The re ce nt f ield work provides use fu l comparative infor mation on

th e t r ad i t io na l economies of thr ee of th e main ecolo gica l reg ions of

th e s tudy are a . S imi la r economies can be found c l ea r l y re f l ec te d i n

th e a rchaeologica l record . The newly d i scovered a rchaeologica l s i t e s

extend th e di st ri bu ti on of number of arc hae olo gic al phenomena

complete th e arc hae olo gic al sequence down t o modern t ime s and i n

Garu Kime and Maidbe provi de importan t proto-urban s i t e s t h a t would

repay excavat ion.

The recent work a l s o indi ca t es t he most des i ra b le d i re c t io n of

f u t u r e f i e l d r e s e ar c h i n t h e s t u dy

area.

Ethnographic observation

and recording toge t her wi th e thnoarchaeologica l inv es t iga t io n a r e

gr ea t l y needed i n t h i s a re a . From th e poin t of view of t he

a rc h ae o lo g ic a l r e c or d i t s e l f t h e r e

i s s t i l l

an embarrassment of

problems requi r in g a t t en t ion : both d i s t r i bu t io na l and chronologica l .

Perhaps th e major problem remains t ha t of th e s tudy are a pr io r t o

1000 1250

B C w e s t i l l

have t o f i n d s i t e s d a t i n g from b ef o re t h i s

t ime

i f

w e a r e t o unde rs tand how th e s e t t l emen t pa r t i c u l a r l y t he

a g r i c u l t u r a l s e t tl e m en t of t h i s area or ig in a ted . Perhaps indeed th e

answer l i e s ou t s ide t he main s t udy a r e a t o i t s west and t o i t s south.

Only fu r t he r fi e ldwork can t e l l .

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.

The fieldwork discussed above was made possible by a grant from

th e Nigerian Federal Department of An t iq ui t i es and consid erable

p r ac t i ca l a s s i s t an ce from the Cen tr e fo r Nige ri an C u l tu r a l S tud i e s t

Ahmadu Bello University

Zaria.

The fieldwork

was

conducted with the

permission of i s Excel lency th e Mi l i t ar y Governor of Borno St at e

and with the co-operat ion of both

H i s

High ness t h e Shehu of Borno and

H i s Hig hne ss t h e Shehu of Dikwa. There were many o t h e r peo ple who

helped.


21/46

CAPTION FOR

MAP

Map of t he Lake Chad region

of

Nigeria showing distribution of known

archaeo log ica l s i t e s The la rg e numbers ind ic at e th e ecolo gica l

r e g ions d is cuss ed i n t he t e x t

Other numbers indi ca te s i t e s and

places l i s t ed below

Excavated s i t e s New S i t e s 1978 Ethnographic in ve st ig at io ns

6: Yau 89

:

Ajere 90:

16: Birnin Gazargamo

9

24: Kursa kat a 92:

29: Daima 93

38: Borno 38 94

7 :

Shilma 95

96:

Maidbe

El: Sangaya

SW of Kambile E2: Daima

Suwa

E3: Mainari

SE of Suwa E4: Malam Nguptori

aru

Kime

Yedi

W

of Kauwa

Ngauro Kura


22/46

D M TURU

F I RK I TYPE MOUND

A VOBE

TYPE

MOUND S)

LAT

SITE

+ IU RRY SITE BUR IAL

SITE

*SITE WITH STONE INDUSTRY F j ND OVER

610

METRES

2000

FEET)


23/46

SHELL MIDDEN EXCAVATIONS I N

NIGERI

by

Nwanna Naewunwa, Univers i ty of Cambridge.

For fi f t e e n months from Ju ly 1976 t o October 1977 conducted

var ious a rchaeologica l researches i n th e ea s te r n Niger Del ta of

Nigeria .

Although t he reg ion can be divid ed i n t o thr ee major

ecolo gical zones namely mainland, fres hwat er, sal twa ter in cludi ng

sandy beach ridges, a number of micro-ecological zones a l s o e x i s t .

Each of t h es e major eones w a s sampled but th e res ear ch co ncentrated

on t he sal twa ter and t h e i r hint erl and zones where t he main archaeolo-

g i ca l f e a tu re s a re sh e l l middens.

The research was i n t e r e s t e d i n s t u d yi n g

1

the cons t ra in t s i n the loca t ion o f s e t t l emen ts and

n a t u r a l r e s ou r ce s a nd t h e i r i n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p s .

2

the subsis tence economic and materia l culture

components of Niger De lt a s h e l l middens

3

the ro le of aqua t i c re sources e spec ia l ly she l l f i sh

i n Niger D elt a s ub sis ten ce economy.

4 the reg iona l

of t h e d e l t a .

cultural and chronological development

Okoc hiri middens i n December

1976

and

sampling on s el ec te d s h e l l middens were

on midden excavation and sampling following

th e United S ta te s and widely used i n

The excavations

a t

January

1977

and midden

designed as experiments

techniques developed i n

A us t ra l i a and New Zealan d.

To my knowledge t h i s

i s

t h e f i r s t t ime

West African s h e l l middens ar e being inve sti gat ed with such

techniques . Materia ls recovered include severa l metric tons of

di ff er en t spec ies of s h el lf is h , two thousand potsherds , two hundred

bone fragments, a f a i r amount of cha rre d wood, palm ker ne l, and

t ra ces of rus ted i ron ob jec t s . A s tudy of thes e mate ria ls and thos e

from the excavations of

D r

F.N. Anozie i s being presented as

ASPECTS OF

E CONOMY AND

CULTURE IN THE

PR HISTORY

OF THE

NIGER DELTA

t o Cambridge Univers ity f o r a R . D . degree i n Archaeology t h i s w inter .

Dates obtained so f a r place t he Okochiri middens i n t he 10th century

A . D .

w i l l be glad t o communicate with any persons o r un it in te re st ed

i n s h e l l midden st ud ie s, co as ta l archaeology and asp ec ts of man-

environment interact ions

a t :

Dept. of Archaeology

Downing Street,

Cambridge, CB2 3 D Z England.


24/46

SIERRA LEONE

D r . H i l l

of t h e Univers i ty of Water loo wr i tes :

Joe Opala ha s f o r two y ear s been org anizin g an archaeology

la bo ra to ry a t Fourah Bay College. The use of la bo ra to ry space and

ass i s t ance o f a t e ch n ic i an a r e a v a i l a b l e t o v i s i t i n g r e s e a r c h er s .

With complet ion of t h i s pr oje c t ,

c a r r i e d o u t

as

a

Peace Corps

Volunteer, Opala

i s

beginning

a

de t a i l e d s tudy o f Bunce I s l a nd For t ,

a

Royal Afric an Company po st i n th e S i e r r a Leone Riv er. Th is work

i s

being done under

a

gr an t from t h e Nation al Endowment f o r t h e

Humanities

U

.S

SOUTH AFRICA

D r .

Scul l y of Har twick Col l ege sends t h i s r epo r t :

would l i k e t o announce t h a t a dd i t i on al informat ion

i s

now

av ai lab le on th e Phalaborwa I r on Age i n

a

recent ly completed

d i s s e r t a t i o n , Pha laborwa

Oral

Trad i t i on , by

R

.T K Scul ly (SUNY

Binghamton, New York, May 1978-s of t h e s t u d y a r e a v a i l a b l e

i n microfilm o r bound xer ograp hic form from Xerox Uni ve rsi ty

Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The study

i s

based on ethnographic res earc h i n t he Lowveld

Sotho-speaking ar ea s of th e no r th eas t Transvaal i n 1970,

1974 1976.

The sub jec ts of th e s tudy,

th e BaPhalaborwa people , a r e t he bea rer s

of an o r a l t r ad i t i o n o f cons iderab l e t ime dep th which t i e s i n w ith

archa eolog ica l evidence of a n I ron Age cu l tu re

a t

Phalaborwa

as

e a r l y

as

t h e e igh th cen tu ry

A . D .

The co mbination i n Phalaborwa of a w ea lt h of o r a l t r a d i t i o n , a

lon g continuum of occupat ion ev ide nt f rom archaeology and t h e absence

of wr i t te n reco rds make

i t

i n t e r e s t i n g from a methodological s tance

as a

l a b o r a t o r y f o r h i s t o r i c a l r e c o n s t r u c t i o n from su ch d a t a . The

resea rch inc luded an e thnograph ic s tudy of t h e p resen t day con tex t i n

which Pha laborwa t r ad i t i o ns e x i s t and t he sub je c t ion o f

a

wide

sampling of o r a l t r ad i t i o ns t o compara tive sc ru t iny .

Ear ly chap ters on or ig in , migra t ion, conques t and se t t l emen t

focus on the p roblems o f ch rono log ica l d i s t o r t i on and d i s t i n gu i sh i ng

h i s t o r i c a l from

a

h i s t o r i c a l i nf or ma ti on .

At t en t ion

i s

then given

t o r e c o n s t r u ct i n g a t e n t a t i v e e a r l y h i s t o r y a ~ l d h ro no lo gy o f e v en t s

down t o th e 1870 s .


25/46

The study demonstrates th a t th e Phalaborwa pas t w a s dynamic and

n o t s t a t i c .

Involving processes of growth and change re l a te d t o

some of t h e main l i n e s of sout heast Afr ican hi s t or y.

F rom t h i s

t i s

cl ea r t h a t t he BaPhalaborwa were involved i n

a

u n i q u e p o l i t i c a l

pro cess stemming from th e d ec li ne of th e Venda Empire i n t h e 1 7t h and

18th cen tur ies and th e development of la rg e s ca le iv or y huntin g and

t r a d e .

BaPhalaborwa history

i s

t hus t i e d t o t he Bakgalaka s t a t e s o f t h e

Limpopo-Mesina-Zimbabwe mining r egions i n what i s pr e s e n t l y c a l l e d

Rhodesia and i s par t o f

a

major hi s to r ic a l phenomenon: th e r i s e and

evolu tion of s t a t e l e ve l soc ie ty i n a s soc ia t ion with t he development

of an indigenous metal in du str y and tr ad e. The Phalaborwa ma te ri al

t e l l s us something about t he mechanisms by which t h e t ra ns fe r of

p o l i t i c a l and economic cont rol took place and how i n t e r e st groups

gained and l o s t hegemony.

t i s

possible f rom Phalaborwa tradit ion

t o recon s truct b iographies of key f i gu re s from th e 18th and 19th

cen tury and t o surmise the pe r sona l ch a r ac te r i s t i c s and gen ius th a t

le d t o en t r apren eur ia l ven tures and p o l i t i c a l maneuvers

as

opportuni-

t i e s waxed and waned i n t h e reg ion .

The inv es t i ga t ion dove ta i l s wi th archaeologica l informat ion t o

provide t h e rudiments of

a

diachron ic pe r spec t ive. I n do ing t h i s i t

r a i s e s ser iou s question s about ethnographic accounts which otherwise

purpo rt t o exp lain how s o ci et ie s were organized before t h e impact of

the co lon ia l pe r iod .

Report on Research i n t he Ol ifa nt s River Valley 1977

by

John Parkington

During ~ u n e / ~ u l ~977

a

t o t a l of 250 man days were spent i n th e

O li fa nt s River Va lley suppo rted by funds from th e Human Scie nce s

Research Cou nci l. The

aims

of th e researc h were mul tip le our prime

in te re s t l a y i n the way i n which p reh is to r ic popula tions o f hun te r s

o r herde r s had occupied the v a l ley , pa r t i cu la r l y i n the few mi l len ia

p r i o r t o c o lon i al pe ne t r at i on .

t w a s

assumed th a t se t t lem ent i n

t h e va ll ey would have been p a r t of wider settl eme nt pa tt er ns

involving o ther resource zones f rom th e At lan t ic coas t t o t he Karoo,

and predic t ions t o th e ef fe c t had a l ready been publ ished. I n t r y i ng

t o determine these se t t l ement de ta i l s a number of research l ines

were opened up and th e present re por t sketches in t he r e s u l ts

as

of

Apr i l 1978


26/46

Excavation

The major po rti on of ou r ener gie s i n 1977 was d i r ec t ed a t t h e

excavation of a small rock sh e lt e r ne ar t o Clanwilliam known

as

Andriesgrond. The s i t e i s lo ca te d some 900 metres west of t h e pre se nt

west bank of t he Ol ifan ts r i v e r and i s eroded into

a

Table Mountain

Series kopie

a t

about 200 metres above se a le ve l,

about 100 metr es

above the r iv e r (18051f30E, 3 2 1 1 f 4 ~ ~ )The mouth of t h e s h e l t e r

opens t o th e e a s t and sou th-e ast which means th a t some 50 m of

de pos i ts a re well prote cted from th e winter ra in s blowing i n from

nor th and west. I n the course of our exca vatio ns we removed about

8

m3

of depos i t from th i s par t of the s i t e and were ab le to p l o t t he

di st r i bu t i on of bedding and ash zones as well as t h e pos i t ions of

s i g n i f i c a n t a r t e f a c t s .

Perhaps the most s ign i f i ca n t po in t about t h i s d is t r ib u t io n of

l e n s e s

i s

th e gene ral s im il ar i t y of slee ping and cooking arrangements

here and a t oth er s i t e s excavated i n the south western Cape. However

a t Andriesgrond the deposits were marked by a significant number

(about 25 so f a r ) of heaps of pla nt food de br is and a t l e a s t one p i t

fe at ur e not encountered previously i n t h i s a re a (but known from

ex ca va tion s by

D r J

Deacon i n t h e southern and ea st er n ca pe) . The

depth of deposit

Nyame Akuma Issue 013

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