Samun Dukiya is an archeological site in Nigeria in the Nok valley where artifacts from the Nok culture have been found, dating to between 300 BC and 100 BC.[1]
Radiocarbon dating indicates that the site was occupied between 2500 and 2000 years ago.[2] No traces of occupation before the Iron Age have been found.[3] The site contained broken pottery, iron and other artifacts, and fragments of terracotta statues which may have been used in shrines.[2] Angela Fagg, daughter of the archeologist Bernard Fagg, has discovered parts of earthenware figurines and pottery, shaped stone implements including a stone axe and a large deeply grooved stone. She also found many pieces of iron objects including hooks, bracelets, knife fragments, arrowheads, spearheads and a cylinder made from a rolled metal band.[4] The iron slag has been dated to around 210 BC.[5]
Although part of the same artistic tradition, there are stylistic differences between the domestic pottery found in Samun Dukiya and that of other Nok sites at Taruga and Katsina-Ala.[6] It seems probable that the overall Nok style was adopted by various farming communities of different peoples, rather than being the work of one people.[2]
References edit
- ^ John Onians (2004). "Africa 500 BC - AD 600". Atlas of world art. Laurence King Publishing. p. 72. ISBN 1-85669-377-5.
- ^ a b c Graham Connah (2004). Forgotten Africa: an introduction to its archaeology. Routledge. p. 120. ISBN 0-415-30591-8.
- ^ Thurstan Shaw (1995). The Archaeology of Africa: Food, Metals and Towns. Routledge. p. 336. ISBN 0-415-11585-X.
- ^ Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch (2005). The history of African cities south of the Sahara: from the origins to colonization. Markus Wiener Publishers. p. 44. ISBN 1-55876-303-1.
- ^ Wolfgang Haase (1980). Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der neueren Forschung. Principat, Part 2. Walter de Gruyter. p. 1023. ISBN 3-11-007175-4.
- ^ G. Mokhtar (1981). Ancient civilizations of Africa. University of California Press. p. 611. ISBN 0-435-94805-9.