Susan Keech McIntosh
Rice University, Anthropology, Faculty Member
- African Archaeology, West African Archaeology, Development of complex societies, West African History, Archaeological Heritage Management, Illicit traffic cultural property, and 4 moreCeramic Analysis (Archaeology), Human Osteology, Bioarchaeology, Ancient DNA Research, and Ancient DNA (Archaeology)edit
Previously unpublished results of test excavations in 1986-7 at Dia, an extensive occupation mound complex on the western margins of the Inland Niger Delta in Mali, have been augmented by a series of new AMS dates. This article explores... more
Previously unpublished results of test excavations in 1986-7 at Dia, an extensive occupation mound complex on the western margins of the Inland Niger Delta in Mali, have been augmented by a series of new AMS dates. This article explores how the excavation and radiocarbon data together provide new insights into occupation sequences and site formation processes. We present details on the depositional contexts, chronology, and associated material culture at each of the 1986-7 excavation units. Using these data, we examine the role of post-depositional disturbance, secondary deposition, and re-use of earlier cultural deposits in interpreting site formation processes at the Dia settlement mounds. In addition, we emphasize the important role that studies of well-contextualized pottery from excavation can play in evaluating regional interactions through comparisons with other documented sequences in neighboring areas, including Jenne-jeno and the Mema. This focus on site formation and regional interaction enables new interpretations that also interrogate and expand the results of the larger-scale excavations at Dia by an international team between 1998-2002.
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Thurstan Shaw’s excavations at Igbo Ukwu revealed many artifacts and technologies that remain astonishing, unique, and incompletely understood, both within Africa and more broadly, even after 50 years. Among these are the textiles... more
Thurstan Shaw’s excavations at Igbo Ukwu revealed many artifacts and technologies that remain astonishing, unique, and incompletely understood, both within Africa and more broadly, even after 50 years. Among these are the textiles recovered primarily from Igbo Isaiah, where fragments were preserved by contact with the bronze artifacts gathered in what has been interpreted as a shrine. Analysis in the 1960s of 20 textile samples was unable to identify the plant fibers used to weave the fabric. In this article, we report the results of new fiber identifications based on SEM study of two Igbo Ukwu fabric samples curated by the British Museum. The combination of bast fibers from one or more species of fig tree (Ficus genus) and leaf fibers from Raphia sp. provides evidence of a complex indigenous weaving technology that has largely disappeared from Africa. An AMS date on one of the samples provides an important new element to our understanding of the culture and chronology of Igbo Ukwu. A final section positions the Igbo Ukwu cloth within the known history of textiles in Africa, emphasizing sub-Saharan West Africa over the past two millennia.
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As an introduction to several papers from the "Igbo-Ukwu at 50" symposium in September 2021, this article reviews the history of the discoveries and excavations, the early debates over chronology, and more recent research contributions... more
As an introduction to several papers from the "Igbo-Ukwu at 50" symposium in September 2021, this article reviews the history of the discoveries and excavations, the early debates over chronology, and more recent research contributions that refine and expand our understanding of this unique site. These include new field investigations at Igbo Ukwu, new radiocarbon dates, textile analysis, chemical analyses of glass and carnelian beads plus lead isotope analyses of leaded bronze and copper artifacts to identify source areas, and metallographic studies. RESUME Comme introduction à plusieurs articles du symposium "Igbo-Ukwu at 50" en septembre 2021, cet article passe en revue l'histoire des découvertes et des fouilles, les premiers débats sur la chronologie et les contributions de recherche plus récentes qui affinent et élargissent notre compréhension de ce site unique. Il s'agit notamment de nouvelles enquêtes sur le terrain à Igbo Ukwu, de nouvelles datations au radiocarbone, d'analyses textiles, d'analyses chimiques de perles de verre et de cornaline ainsi que d'études métallographiques et d'analyses isotopiques du plomb d'artefacts en bronze au plomb et en cuivre pour identifier les zones sources.
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The Akumbu Mound Complex (Méma Region, Mali): Culture Change, Complexity and the Pulse Model The Méma experienced both progressive desiccation and episodic climatic oscillations in the Late Holocene, offering exceptional opportunities for... more
The Akumbu Mound Complex (Méma Region, Mali): Culture Change, Complexity and the Pulse Model The Méma experienced both progressive desiccation and episodic climatic oscillations in the Late Holocene, offering exceptional opportunities for assessing human response to climate change in the region. This paper contributes new archaeological data on the Akumbu mound complex, one of the numerous clusters of settlement mounds in the Méma. Analysis of the pottery recovered from excavations led by R. J. McIntosh at Akumbu in 2000, plus new 14 C dates, provide details on material culture during the early first millennium CE and the occupation sequence at Akumbu mound B. The new data raise questions about the presumed contemporaneity and continuous occupation of Akumbu mounds A and B and invite critical consideration of the data supporting the Pulse Model for specialization and urbanization in the Méma during the first millennium CE.
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Several burials excavated during 1960 at Ingombe Ilede in southern Africa were accompanied by exceptional quantities of gold and glass beads, bronze trade wire and bangles. The burials were indirectly dated to the fourteenth to fifteenth... more
Several burials excavated during 1960 at Ingombe Ilede in southern Africa were accompanied by exceptional quantities of gold and glass beads, bronze trade wire and bangles. The burials were indirectly dated to the fourteenth to fifteenth centuries AD, prior to the arrival of the Portuguese on the East Coast of Africa. New AMS dates on cotton fabric from two of the burials now relocate them in the sixteenth century. This was a dynamic period when the Portuguese were establishing market settlements along the Zambezi, generating new demands for trade products from the interior, and establishing trade networks with the Mwene Mutapa confederacy. These new dates invite a reconsideration of Ingombe Ilede's relationship to Swahili and Portuguese trade in the middle Zambezi. This article is followed by four responses and a final comment by the authors.
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In the twelfth century ad, Takrur was the prominent trading polity on the middle Senegal River, exporting gold and slaves northward across the Sahara and linking local and inter‑regional networks trading salt, copper, cloth, and... more
In the twelfth century ad, Takrur was the prominent trading polity on the middle Senegal River, exporting gold and slaves northward across the Sahara and linking local and inter‑regional networks trading salt, copper, cloth, and foodstuffs. To document the development of this important center over time, the archaeological research reported here uses a question‑driven approach that provides detailed insights into societies in the Middle Senegal Valley from early settlement around 800 bc and throughout the first millennium ad. This heavily illustrated report presents extensive primary field data and analysis, and expertly engages traditional historical and ethnohistorical evidence. Included are analytical chapters by specialists on iron production, ceramics, plant and animal use, and settlement patterns through more than two millennia of occupation. A masterful, thorough study of an archaeologically challenging and understudied region, this work is a major contribution to West African archaeology and sets a new standard for research in this area.
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From the 9th to the 13th centuries ce, the eastern Niger Bend was dominated by a trading state known to Arab chroniclers as Kawkaw with its royal capital, Gao, strategically located on the Niger River at the mouth of a fossil valley... more
From the 9th to the 13th centuries ce, the eastern Niger Bend was dominated by a trading state known to Arab chroniclers as Kawkaw with its royal capital, Gao, strategically located on the Niger River at the mouth of a fossil valley leading north to the Sahara. Through control of distant salt sources and trade routes, Songhai rulers created a far-reaching kingdom that had elements of empire. Historical sources unfortunately provide little information on the military or larger political configuration of Kawkaw.Keywords:9th–13th centuries ce ;imperial history;western Africa9th–13th centuries ce ;imperial history;western Africa
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At the time of his death, Nehemia Levtzion had initiated a project to revise Ancient Ghana and Mali in the light of new scholarship since its original publication in 1973. He proposed that the question of origins and early development of... more
At the time of his death, Nehemia Levtzion had initiated a project to revise Ancient Ghana and Mali in the light of new scholarship since its original publication in 1973. He proposed that the question of origins and early development of Sudanic polities such as Ghana should be thoroughly reconsidered with regard to findings from research in archaeology and related disciplines. In this article, I discuss four topics (climate variability, sedentary-mobile interactions; external / internal dynamics; and organizational variability) central to Levtzion’s 1973 account of Ghana’s origins and the implications of research results to date for our understanding of early political consolidation in the Sahel.
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The dominating paradigm of urbanism in West Africa is steadily shifting from the city-centric to the dynamic consideration of the city's function within a wider settlement hierarchy. The authors appraise these theoretical positions and... more
The dominating paradigm of urbanism in West Africa is steadily shifting from the city-centric to the dynamic consideration of the city's function within a wider settlement hierarchy. The authors appraise these theoretical positions and discuss the methodologies appropriate to each. Following the thematic framework developed in the theory and method sections, we then consider what research at the major early town sites has to date revealed about the chronology, course, and circumstances of urbanism in West Africa. Data available from the several sites considered is highly uneven. Analysis, even when quality data are available, has in some cases been hindered by a limiting theoretical approach. Although urban investigations in West Africa are only in their infancy, it is clear that cities are but one of several institutions indicating the early, indigenous emergence of hierarchically-ordered societies. With the recent demonstration that at least some West African towns represent indigenous processes of urbanization, the comparative study of factors contributing to urban growth and alternative urban paths becomes imperative.
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The dates and circumstances of early references to Jenne have led historians to conclude that the city originated relatively late in time. It is widely believed that the city developed simultaneously with Timbuktu in the mid-thirteenth... more
The dates and circumstances of early references to Jenne have led historians to conclude that the city originated relatively late in time. It is widely believed that the city developed simultaneously with Timbuktu in the mid-thirteenth century as an artifact of trans-Saharan trade. Persistent oral traditions of the foundation of Jenne in the eighth century are generally discounted.
Recent archaeological excavations at the ancestral site of Jenne-jeno have established that iron-using and manufacturing peoples were occupying the site in the third century B.C. The settlement proceeded to grow rapidly during the first millennium a.d., reaching its apogee between a.d. 750 and 1100, at which time the settlement exceeded 33 hectares (82 acres) in size. The archaeological data are supported by the results of site survey within a 1,100-square-kilometre region of Jenne's traditional hinterland. During the late first millennium a.d., several nearby settlements comparable in size to Jenne-jeno existed, and the density of rural settlements may have been as great as ten times the density of villages in the hinterland today.
Evidence from excavation and survey indicates that Jenne participated in inter-regional exchange relations far earlier than previously admitted. The stone and iron in the initial levels at Jenne-jeno were imported from outside the Inland Delta; levels dated to c. a.d. 400 yield copper, presumably from distant Saharan sources. The importance of the abundant staple products of Jenne's rural hinterland, including rice, fish and fish oil, is examined in a reassessment of the extent of inter-regional commerce and the emergence of urbanism during the first millennium a.d. Jenne-jeno may have been a principal participant in the founding of commercial centres on the Saharan contact zone of the Bend of the Niger, rather than a product of the luxury trade serviced by those centres.
Recent archaeological excavations at the ancestral site of Jenne-jeno have established that iron-using and manufacturing peoples were occupying the site in the third century B.C. The settlement proceeded to grow rapidly during the first millennium a.d., reaching its apogee between a.d. 750 and 1100, at which time the settlement exceeded 33 hectares (82 acres) in size. The archaeological data are supported by the results of site survey within a 1,100-square-kilometre region of Jenne's traditional hinterland. During the late first millennium a.d., several nearby settlements comparable in size to Jenne-jeno existed, and the density of rural settlements may have been as great as ten times the density of villages in the hinterland today.
Evidence from excavation and survey indicates that Jenne participated in inter-regional exchange relations far earlier than previously admitted. The stone and iron in the initial levels at Jenne-jeno were imported from outside the Inland Delta; levels dated to c. a.d. 400 yield copper, presumably from distant Saharan sources. The importance of the abundant staple products of Jenne's rural hinterland, including rice, fish and fish oil, is examined in a reassessment of the extent of inter-regional commerce and the emergence of urbanism during the first millennium a.d. Jenne-jeno may have been a principal participant in the founding of commercial centres on the Saharan contact zone of the Bend of the Niger, rather than a product of the luxury trade serviced by those centres.
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Along with Ghana, Gawgaw (Gao) was an important regional trading polity mentioned by Arab chroniclers in the later first millennium CE. In the later tenth century, al-Muhallabi wrote of the dual towns of Gawgaw, one the residence of the... more
Along with Ghana, Gawgaw (Gao) was an important regional trading polity mentioned by Arab chroniclers in the later first millennium CE. In the later tenth century, al-Muhallabi wrote of the dual towns of Gawgaw, one the residence of the king and the other a market and trading town called Sarneh. The large settlement mound of Gao Saney, located seven kilometers east of Gao, has long been thought to be the site of Sarneh. Excavations in 2001–2 and 2009 were the first sustained archaeological explorations of the main, 32-hectare mound, providing new information on function, subsistence economy, material culture, and chronology, and expanding considerably on earlier investigations by T. Insoll and R. Mauny. This article presents a broad overview of the recent excavations, focusing particularly on the evidence for spatial differentiation (domestic and workshop areas), chronology (both radiocarbon and ceramic) and involvement in trade networks.
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Along with Ghana, Gawgaw (Gao) was an important regional trading polity mentioned by Arab chroniclers in the later first millennium CE. In the later tenth century, al-Muhallabi wrote of the dual towns of Gawgaw, one the residence of the... more
Along with Ghana, Gawgaw (Gao) was an important regional trading polity mentioned by Arab chroniclers in the later first millennium CE. In the later tenth century, al-Muhallabi wrote of the dual towns of Gawgaw, one the residence of the king and the other a market and trading town called Sarneh. The large settlement mound of Gao Saney, located seven kilometers east of Gao, has long been thought to be the site of Sarneh. Excavations in 2001–2 and 2009 were the first sustained archaeological explorations of the main, 32-hectare mound, providing new information on function, subsistence economy, material culture, and chronology, and expanding considerably on earlier investigations by T. Insoll and R. Mauny. This article presents a broad overview of the recent excavations, focusing particularly on the evidence for spatial differentiation (domestic and workshop areas), chronology (both radiocarbon and ceramic) and involvement in trade networks.
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One of the great attractions of the middle Senegal Valley as a locus for archaeological research is its historical importance as a primary area for the emergence of complex polities by the early second millennium CE. Beginning in 1990 and... more
One of the great attractions of the middle Senegal Valley as a locus for archaeological research is its historical importance as a primary area for the emergence of complex polities by the early second millennium CE. Beginning in 1990 and continuing for almost a decade, research by or affiliated with the Rice University/IFAN Middle Senegal Valley Archaeological Project was undertaken at a variety of sites, generating substantial data on settlement and material culture in the first millennium BCE and CE. The early focus of the project was a 460 km 2 area centered on the village of Cubalel in an interior floodplain known as the Ile à Morphil (Figure 1). This is within the broad area historically attributed to the early polity of Takrur, which was first mentioned in the 11th century by al-Bakri (Ba 2002). At that time, al-Bakri reported that trade on the Middle Senegal was primarily oriented farther upriver in the polity of Silla. A century later, according to al-Idrisi, Takrur was the dominant polity (Levtzion & Hopkins 1981).
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Excavation of the five hectare site of Walaldé revealed an occupation by iron-using agropastoralists that began [800–550] cal BC, and continued until [400–200] cal BC. The earliest occupation phase appears to document a period of... more
Excavation of the five hectare site of Walaldé revealed an occupation by iron-using agropastoralists that began [800–550] cal BC, and continued until [400–200] cal BC. The earliest occupation phase appears to document a period of transitional iron use, with some worked stone in evidence. Smelting and forging slags and tuyeres are present in considerable quantities in the later phase. Copper with the distinctive chemical signature of the Akjoujt mines in Mauritania was also present after 550 cal BC, attesting to trade and interaction over long distances. Other important aspects of the Walaldé sequence include ceramic materials and a series of red ochre burials. Possible cultural affinities with shell midden sites in the Senegal Delta, surface material from the Lac Rkiz region, and pastoralist sites of the 'Boudhida Culture' around Nouakchott are discussed. The article concludes with a consideration of Walaldé's significance to the debate over the origins of iron metallurgy in West Africa.
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Tobacco pipes are among the most frequently recorded artifacts from historic period sites in West Africa, and can be used to both establish tight chronologies and address issues of social and economic change. This paper is a discussion of... more
Tobacco pipes are among the most frequently recorded artifacts from historic period sites in West Africa, and can be used to both establish tight chronologies and address issues of social and economic change. This paper is a discussion of the 300-year sequence of tobacco pipes recovered from excavations at Jenne, Mali in 1999. The assemblage, which includes over 300 fragments, is first placed in its historical and archaeological context. The pipes are fully described using a multivariate approach, and the results illustrate a clear sequence. Following a reassessment of Daget and Ligers' previously proposed pipe chronology for the Inland Niger Delta, the pipes are analyzed using two primary frames of reference. On a broad regional scale, the assemblage is compared with those from sites throughout West Africa, while on the local level possible motivations for the types of changes seen in the assemblage are discussed.
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"The 67-ha site of Sincu Bara was discovered and extensively excavated in the 1970s. Three primary aspects of its archaeological interest were its vast size, its location in the Middle Senegal Valley, where some of the earliest regional... more
"The 67-ha site of Sincu Bara was discovered and extensively excavated in the 1970s. Three primary aspects of its archaeological interest were its vast size, its location in the Middle Senegal Valley, where some of the earliest regional polities in West Africa arose, and the extensive and diverse assortment of copper-based metal artifacts it produced. Deposits with brass appeared to be associated with radiocarbon dates as early as the fifth century AD. It appeared that most of the deposits related to a single, long-lasting occupation by people who arrived with sophisticated copper-based metallurgy in the fifth century and remained at least until the eleventh century, without discernible modification in their material culture. Results of new excavations in 1991–1992 indicate that this interpretation must be substantially modified, since considerable change in material culture, including the introduction of copper-based metals between AD 800 and AD 900, has now been documented. This article summarizes the data from these new excavations and suggests that earlier interpretations were based largely on material from disturbed, severely mixed deposits, which gave a false picture of homogeneity through time.
Les soixante sept héctares constituant le gisement du Sincu Bara étaient découverts et fouillés dans les années soixante dix. Son intérêt archéologique est lié aux trois aspects: sa grande superficie, sa location dans la vallée moyenne du Sénégal où les premières unités politiques de l'Afrique de l'Ouest existaient, et finalement, la diversité des objets métalliques en cuivre que le site a livrée. Il apparaît que la plupart des dépôts appartient à une seule occupation de longue durée par un peuple qui est arrivé pendant la cinquième siécle AD, en possession de la connaissance de métallurgie à base de cuivre et qui montrait au moins jusqu'au onzième siécle peu de modification dans leur culture materielle. Les résultats des fouilles de 1991–1992 montrent que cette interpretation doit être modifiée, car il y a eu du changement considérable dans le matèriel, comme l'introduction des métaux à base de cuivre entre AD 800–900. Dans cet article, nous avons résumé les résultats des nouvelles fouilles et nous suggérons que les anciennes interpretations ont été largement fondées sur du matériel perturbé, des dépôts mixtes qui donnaient une image fausse de l'homogenité pendant cette période.
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Les soixante sept héctares constituant le gisement du Sincu Bara étaient découverts et fouillés dans les années soixante dix. Son intérêt archéologique est lié aux trois aspects: sa grande superficie, sa location dans la vallée moyenne du Sénégal où les premières unités politiques de l'Afrique de l'Ouest existaient, et finalement, la diversité des objets métalliques en cuivre que le site a livrée. Il apparaît que la plupart des dépôts appartient à une seule occupation de longue durée par un peuple qui est arrivé pendant la cinquième siécle AD, en possession de la connaissance de métallurgie à base de cuivre et qui montrait au moins jusqu'au onzième siécle peu de modification dans leur culture materielle. Les résultats des fouilles de 1991–1992 montrent que cette interpretation doit être modifiée, car il y a eu du changement considérable dans le matèriel, comme l'introduction des métaux à base de cuivre entre AD 800–900. Dans cet article, nous avons résumé les résultats des nouvelles fouilles et nous suggérons que les anciennes interpretations ont été largement fondées sur du matériel perturbé, des dépôts mixtes qui donnaient une image fausse de l'homogenité pendant cette période.
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Thousands of earthen mounds of varying sizes, presumed to be funerary monuments, occur throughout a 32,000 km2 area of western Senegal. Previous inventory work and extremely limited excavation have not adequately addressed basic questions... more
Thousands of earthen mounds of varying sizes, presumed to be funerary monuments, occur throughout a 32,000 km2 area of western Senegal. Previous inventory work and extremely limited excavation have not adequately addressed basic questions such as the relation of tumulus sites to habitation sites, the relative chronology and cultural affinities of the tumulus phenomenon in the northern and southern parts of the tumulus zone, and the temporal and cultural relationship of the southern tumuli to the megalithic monuments whose distribution they partially overlap. We describe here the results of a field survey designed to provide preliminary data relevant to these questions. In addition to locating previously unreported habitation sites in several sectors, analysis of surface pottery has permitted recognition of several temporally differentiated assemblages associated with different types of sites encountered during the survey. The distinctive assemblages of the northern and southern tumulus zones indicate that mound construction should not be considered a unitary, homogeneous phenomenon in Senegal.
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Archaeological research since 1988 in West Africa has focused almost exclusively on the period since 10,000 B.P. Significant advances have been made in our understanding of the Late Stone Age in the Sahara and Savanna zones, the advent of... more
Archaeological research since 1988 in West Africa has focused almost exclusively on the period since 10,000 B.P. Significant advances have been made in our understanding of the Late Stone Age in the Sahara and Savanna zones, the advent of metallurgy and subsequent changes in metal technology, and the comparative trajectories of complex societies in different regions. Increasingly, data are being recovered that fail to conform to earlier Eurocentric assumptions emphasizing linear, progressive change through a series of evolutionary “ages and stages.” The search for new, more appropriate models for interpreting West Africa's past has infused the discipline with great theoretical vitality. Both ethnoarchaeological studies and traditional archaeological research programs in West Africa are contributing substantially to the articulation of new theoretical frameworks for African archaeology and potentially for the discipline as a whole.
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Earlier views saw West Africa as culturally stagnant through much of the Holocene until stimulus or intervention from north of the Sahara transformed Iron Age societies. Evidence accumulating over the past 15 years suggests that... more
Earlier views saw West Africa as culturally stagnant through much of the Holocene until stimulus or intervention from north of the Sahara transformed Iron Age societies. Evidence accumulating over the past 15 years suggests that stone-using societies from 10,000 to 3000 B.P. were far more diverse than previously thought. Against an increasingly detailed record of Holocene climate change, the complexity of local adaptation and change is becoming better understood. Although a strong case currently exists for the introduction of copper and iron to West Africa from the north in the mid-first millennium B.C., the subsequent development of metallurgy was strongly innovative in different parts of the subcontinent. Soon after the advent of metals, a dramatic increase in archaeological evidence for social stratification and hierarchical political structures indicates the emergence of societies markedly more complex than anything currently documented in the Late Stone Age. The best-documented examples come from the Middle Niger region and the Nigerian forest. In these areas, earlier diffusionist models in which complexity originated outside West Africa have yielded to evidence that indigenous processes were instrumental in this transformation. Trade, ideology, climate shifts, and indirect influences from North Africa, including the introduction of the domesticated horse to the Sahelian grasslands, are identified as factors essential to an understanding of these processes.
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This article reports over 250 new radiocarbon dates relevant to recent archaeological research in West Africa. Thanks to the continuing trend towards series of dates from either single sites or groups of related sites, some major blanks... more
This article reports over 250 new radiocarbon dates relevant to recent archaeological research in West Africa. Thanks to the continuing trend towards series of dates from either single sites or groups of related sites, some major blanks on the archaeological map of West Africa have been replaced by well-dated regional sequences. An example is the Malian Sahara, where palaeoenvironmental and archaeological investigations at a large number of sites have clarified the relationship between Holocene climatic change and Late Stone Age occupation. Other areas that were largely archaeological unknowns until the research reported in this article was undertaken include the middle Senegal valley, the Inland Niger Delta, and the Bassar region in Togo. Other research included here reinterprets previously studied, ‘classic’ Late Stone Age sequences, such as Adrar Bous, Kintampo and Tichitt. There are also new dates and details for early copper in Niger and Mauritania which prompt a reconsideration of the true nature of this proposed ‘Copper Age’. Of particular significance to general reconstructions of West African prehistory is the documentation of regional and long-distance trade accompanying the emergence of complex societies along the Middle Senegal and Middle Niger in the first millennium A.D.
The article begins with a brief commentary on calibration, in view of the recent publication of high-precision calibration curves. Several prevalent misconceptions of what calibration is and what it ought to do are addressed. We suggest that archaeologists and historians should routinely make reference to calibration in order to avoid misinterpreting radiocarbon results.
The article begins with a brief commentary on calibration, in view of the recent publication of high-precision calibration curves. Several prevalent misconceptions of what calibration is and what it ought to do are addressed. We suggest that archaeologists and historians should routinely make reference to calibration in order to avoid misinterpreting radiocarbon results.
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Technological advances are making genetic data collection and analysis feasible on a scale unimaginable only a few years ago. Early genetic research using mitochondrial DNA and the Y chromosome provided important insights for macroscale... more
Technological advances are making genetic data collection and analysis feasible on a scale unimaginable only a few years ago. Early genetic research using mitochondrial DNA and the Y chromosome provided important insights for macroscale modeling of regional and continent-wide population movements, but the capacity to study the entire genome now opens an era of finer-grained, mesoscale studies of regional and local population histories that are more compatible with the scale of archaeological analysis. The utility of integrating both types of data is illustrated by a case study from Oceania, where genetic studies were used to evaluate two models for the geographic origins of the populations that colonized Polynesia beginning ca. 3000 bp, bringing with them the distinctive Lapita cultural assemblage. A second case study considers the application of genetic studies to an understanding of Fulbe history, especially that of the pastoral Fulbe. Both archaeological and genetic data are underdeveloped for the key Fulbe homeland regions of Mauritania and Senegal, but recent research in the Middle Senegal Valley permits some conjectures on the history of Fulbe nomadic pastoralism. The article concludes with suggestions for a multidisciplinary research agenda to expand and upgrade the quality of relevant archaeological data, incorporate biodistance studies of human skeletal material, and improve and expand genetic sampling using more historically sensitive collection protocols.
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We thank the four commentators for adding new dimensions and important data relevant to interpreting the new Ingombe Ilede dates. These contribute to the recent wave of reassessments and critiques of earlier interpretations and frameworks... more
We thank the four commentators for adding new dimensions and important data relevant to interpreting the new Ingombe Ilede dates. These contribute to the recent wave of reassessments and critiques of earlier interpretations and frameworks for the development of trade and complexity in southern Africa. Such reconsiderations are made possible by more sophisticated and precise radiocarbon dating, expanded investigation of both new and previously excavated sites, and by the use of chemical analyses to identify differently sourced groups of glass beads and metals (e.g. Pikirayi 2009; Robertshaw et al. 2010; Chirikure et al. 2013, 2014, 2016; Koleini et al. 2016).
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Page 1. 500 PublicArchaeology Forum of Antiquities and development agencies was underlined by several participants. This common concern may soon lead to the establishment of bilateral agreements between the Department ...
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... our own research: 1. This particular kind of spicule (ie, Potamolipis) has been found only in the IND of Mali, south of ... included determination of particle size distribution, apparent porosity, firing temperature, and... more
... our own research: 1. This particular kind of spicule (ie, Potamolipis) has been found only in the IND of Mali, south of ... included determination of particle size distribution, apparent porosity, firing temperature, and elemental/mineralogical composition of vessel fabric, primarily using ...
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Crucibles to melt glass are very rare in archaeological contexts in sub-Saharan Africa. Recent archaeological excavations at Igbo Olokun, Ile-Ife (Southwest Nigeria) revealed abundant fragments of glass crucibles from 11th-15th century AD... more
Crucibles to melt glass are very rare in archaeological contexts in sub-Saharan Africa. Recent archaeological excavations at Igbo Olokun, Ile-Ife (Southwest Nigeria) revealed abundant fragments of glass crucibles from 11th-15th century AD deposits, matching the complete and near complete examples earlier reported from Ile-Ife. This paper provides an in-depth examination of these crucible fragments in order to understand the material quality of the crucibles, their typology, and their functions in glass- working/making. Optical microscopic and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) analyses were carried out on ten crucible samples. The composition of ceramic fabrics and the adhering glass are presented and discussed in view of their function. The crucibles were produced from specifically selected highly refractory clay and used for melting glass from its raw materials; colorants were added to the melt in the crucible. The useable capacity of the ...
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The site of Igbo Olokun on the northern periphery of Ile-Ife has been recognized as a glass-working workshop for over a century. Its glass-encrusted crucibles and beads were viewed as evidence of secondary processing of imported glass... more
The site of Igbo Olokun on the northern periphery of Ile-Ife has been recognized as a glass-working workshop for over a century. Its glass-encrusted crucibles and beads were viewed as evidence of secondary processing of imported glass until the high lime, high alumina (HLHA) composition of the glass was recognized as unique to the region. Archaeological excavations conducted at Igbo Olokun recovered more than twelve thousand glass beads and several kilograms of glass-working debris. Fifty-two glass beads from the excavated assemblage were analyzed by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) to understand the chemical characteristics of the Igbo Olokun glass beads in comparison with previously analyzed beads. The analyses affirm the prevalence of HLHA glass beads, and provide firm evidence of a new compositional group characterized by low lime, high alumina (LLHA); no imported soda-lime glass beads were among the analyzed samples. The evidence from crucibles indicates that LLHA glass was worked together with HLHA glass at Igbo Olokun and may have been made locally as part of the same technological tradition. Most likely, granitic sand with or without added calcium carbonate was used to produce these two types of glass, and colorants rich in MnO, Fe2O3, CuO, and CoO were intentionally added. Its occurrence in other West African societies, and the presence of some soda-lime glass beads in other sites in Ile-Ife suggest that Ife was involved in regional and inter-regional networks during the early to mid 2nd millennium AD and possibly earlier.
Research Interests:
The site of Igbo Olokun on the northern periphery of Ile-Ife has been recognized as a glass-working workshop for over a century. Its glass-encrusted crucibles and beads were viewed as evidence of secondary processing of imported glass... more
The site of Igbo Olokun on the northern periphery of Ile-Ife has been recognized as a glass-working workshop for over a century. Its glass-encrusted crucibles and beads were viewed as evidence of secondary processing of imported glass until the high lime, high alumina (HLHA) composition of the glass was recognized as unique to the region. Archaeological excavations conducted at Igbo Olokun recovered more than twelve thousand glass beads and several kilograms of glass-working debris. Fifty-two glass beads from the excavated assemblage were analyzed by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) to understand the chemical characteristics of the Igbo Olokun glass beads in comparison with previously analyzed beads. The analyses affirm the prevalence of HLHA glass beads, and provide firm evidence of a new compositional group characterized by low lime, high alumina (LLHA); no imported soda-lime glass beads were among the analyzed samples. The evidence from crucibles indicates that LLHA glass was worked together with HLHA glass at Igbo Olokun and may have been made locally as part of the same technological tradition. Most likely, granitic sand with or without added calcium carbonate was used to produce these two types of glass, and colorants rich in MnO, Fe2O3 , CuO, and CoO were intentionally added. Its occurrence in other West African societies, and the presence of some soda-lime glass beads in other sites in Ile-Ife suggest that Ife was involved in regional and interregional networks during the early to mid 2nd millennium AD and possibly earlier.
Research Interests:
Recent excavations at the site of Igbo Olokun in the Yoruba city of Ile-Ife, in southwestern Nigeria, have shed light on early glass manufacturing techniques in West Africa. The recovery of glass beads and associated production materials... more
Recent excavations at the site of Igbo Olokun in the Yoruba city of Ile-Ife, in southwestern Nigeria, have shed light on early glass manufacturing techniques in West Africa. The recovery of glass beads and associated production materials has enabled compositional analysis of the artefacts and preliminary dating of the site, which puts the main timing of glass-working between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries AD. The results of these studies suggest that glass bead manufacture at this site was largely independent of glass-making traditions documented farther afield, and that Igbo Olokun may represent one of the earliest known glass-production workshops in West Africa.