History and Ethnoarchaeology in Eastern Nigeria: A Study of Igbo-Igala relations with special reference to the Anambra Valley 9780860542490, 9781407334769

Citation preview

History and Ethnoarchaeology in Eastern Nigeria A Study of Igbo-Igala relations with special reference to the . Anambra Valley

Philip Adigwe Oguagha and Alex Ikechukwu Okpoko

Cambridge Monographs in African· Archaeology 7

BAR International Series 19 5 1984

B.A.R.

122 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7BP, England

GENERAL EDITORS A.R. Hands, B.Sc., M.A., D .Phil. D .R • Walker. M.A.

B.A.R.-S195,

1984: 'History and Ethnoarchaeology in Eastern Nigeria 1

© P hilip Adigwe Oguagha and Alex Ikechukwu Okpoko, 1984

The authors’ moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860542490 paperback ISBN 9781407334769 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860542490 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com

C ONTENTS P age P reface P art 1 :

A rchaeology a nd E thno-archaeology i n t he A nambra V alley b y A .I. O kpoko

i x

A cknowledgements C ontents

x i

L ist o f F igures

x ii

L ist o f T ables

XV

C hapter 1 .

I ntroduction a nd R esearch D esign

C hapter 2 .

B ackground I nformation S pecific t o t he

1

A nambra V alley

7

C hapter 3 .

E xcavations 1 976-81

2 1

C hapter 4 .

C eramic A nalysis

4 0

C hapter 5 .

A nalysis o f F inds o ther t han C eramics

9 0

C hapter 6 .

I nterpretation o f t he E xcavated M aterial

1 00

B ibliography

13

F igures

1 25

P art I I :

H istorical a nd T raditional E vidence b y P .A . O guagha

x ix

A cknowledgements

x x x xi

C ontents

x xiii

L ist o f M aps C hapter 1 .

I ntroduction a nd R esearch M ethodology

1 85

C hapter 2 .

T he I gbo a nd t he I gala P eoples

1 96

C hapter 3 .

I gbo-Igala R elations b efore c . A .D .

C hapter 4 .

T he E uropean I mpetus a nd t he I ntensification o f C ommercial R elations

2 24

T rends i n P olitical R elationships

2 44

C hapter 5 .

i ii

1 650

2 11

C hapter 6 .

T rends i n S ocial a nd C ultural R elationships

2 58

N otes o n t he S ources

2 72

L ist a nd P articulars o f I nformants

2 74

S ources o f I nformation A bbreviations

2 72

P rim ary S ources

2 78

B ibliography A ppendix I : A ppendix I I: A ppendix I II:

2 81 I gala K ing L ist a nd l inealogy S uccession t o t he O ffice o f O bi o f O nitsha L egends o f O nojo O boni o f O gurugu

2 89 2 90 2 91

F igures

2 93

C onclusions

2 96

i v

P REFACE

I n t he f ollowing v olume w e h ave a ttempted t o d emonstrate r elationships b etween t he I gbo a nd t he I gala o f t he A nambra v alley f rom p roto-historic t o h istoric t imes a s d ecipherable f rom h istorical, e thnoarchaeological, o ral t raditional a nd l inguistic d ata . S ince n o o ther w ork o f t his k ind h as b een c arried o ut i n t he A nambra v alley a nd n eighbouring a reas, t here i s a l ack o f c omparative m aterial , b ut i t w ould a ppear f rom t he o ra l t raditions o f b oth p eoples t hat b efore a bout 1 650 A .D. t he p attern o f i nteraction b etween t hem a way f rom t he r ivers w as t hat o f I gbo m igrations i nto I gala l and , a lthough a long t he N iger t he I gala t ravelled s outhwards i nto I gbo t erritory w here t hey e stablished s ome s ettlements. T he I gbo r itual c entre a t N ri h ad e xtended i ts i nfluence i nto I gala c ountry. I n a ddition , a rchaeological e vidence f rom I gbo-Ukwu i n I gboland s eems t o i ndicate t hat w hat w as c ertainly i n l ater t imes I gala c ountry w as o ne o f t he g ateways t hrough w hich e xotic c ommodities w ere i mported i nto I gboland. T he i ncreasing d emands o f t he o verseas t rade f rom p orts t o t he s outh i n t he 1 7th a nd 1 8th c enturies v astly e xpanded t he c ommercial e xchanges b etween t he t wo p eoples a nd w rought c hanges i n t he p attern o f t rade r outes, t he v olume o f t rade , a nd i ts o rganization . A long t he N iger t he d ominant p owers b ecame t he A boh K ingdom i n I gboland ,

a nd t he I dah k ingdom i n I gala c ountry.

T o a void i nternecine c onflicts w hich w ere d isruptive t o t rade, a b oundary m arket w as e stablished o n a s andbank o pposite A saba w hich m arked t he l imits o f t heir r espective i nfluences. N evertheless w ealthy m erchants f rom b oth a reas t ravelled u p a nd d own t he r iver i nto e ach o ther's s pheres o f i nfluence. O n t he o verland r outes t here w ere n o s uch r ivalries. W hile t he I gala a nd N upe m erchants o perated i n n orthern I gboland, v arious I gbo g roups s uch a s t he N ri, A wka , N ike a nd N sukka w ere a ctive i n I gala c ountry. T he A wka s miths a nd t raders w ere p erhaps t he m ost a ctive I gbo g roup i n I gala c ountry. T he a ppearance f rom t he s outh o f A ro t raders i n n orthern I gboland f rom t he 1 8th c entury a cted a n a n i ncentive f or m ore I gbo m erchants t o t ravel t o I gala k ingdom t o p rocure t he g oods r equired b y t he A ro . T he o verseas t rade a lso g ave r ise t o n ew p olitical d evelopments.

T he

t rading s tates a long t he R ivers N iger a nd A nambra s uch a s A boh a nd O somari i n I gboland ,

a nd I dah a nd O gurugu i n t he I gala s ection ,

e ngaged i n r aids o n

t heir n eighbours f or t he c apture o f s laves a nd t he c ontrol o f t rade r outes. T he t raditions o f s uch a ttacks f rom O gurugu o n p arts o f b oth t he I gala k ingdom a nd o n I gboland f eature p rominently i n t he o ral a ccounts. B y t he m iddle o f t he 1 9th c entury, t he f ame o f t he A ta o f I dah w hose k ingdom h ad g rown p rosperous a nd p owerful, b egan t o a ttact I gbo r ulers w ho u ndertook j ourneys t o t he A ta's c ourt t o o btain c onfirmation o f t heir t itles. T he u pshot o f t hese c enturies o f m igration , t rade , i ntermarriage , a nd m ilitary c lashes w as t hat m utual i nfluences a re d iscernible i n b oth c ulture a reas. A way f rom t he r ivers I gala i nfluence w as m ainly p olitical„ w hile a long t he N iger i t w as m ore c ultural; I gbo i nfluence o n t he I gala b y b oth r outes w as m ore l inguistic , a nd c ultural i n n ature . T he

a rchaeological a nd e thnoarchaeological e vidence f rom t he v alley

w ill b e s hown ,

i n P art

2 ,

t o s upport a nd a mplify t he h istorical a nd o ral-

t raditional e vidence a nd o ffers a t ime d epth o f 6 00-1000 y ears f or t he d evelopment o f r elationships b etween t he t wo l inguistic g roups.

T he o ral t raditions c ollected f rom A guleri,

O gurugu a nd I dah a nd

e lsewhere i n t he r egion b y b oth o f u s s uggest f orms o f I gbo -Igala i n tera ctions. A s d iscussed i n P art 1 , t wo m ajor p eriods o f c ontacts a re d iscernible f rom t he t raditions. T hese a re:- ( i) e arly p hase w hich w as m ost p robably d ue t o t rading a nd h unting a ctivities a nd ( ii) l ater p hase m arked b y c onflicts b etween t he t wo g roups. A rchaeological s urveys a nd e xcavations c arried o ut i n t he c ourse o f t his r esearch s imilarly s uggest a d icothomy. A lthough n o i dentifiable w eapons w ere r ecovered f rom a ny o f t he a rchaeological s ites s tudied , t he r amparts a t U muekete A guleri, N sukka , O gurugu , I fite -Ogwari a nd U mueje , a ll i n t he A nambra v alley, b ear t estimony t o a p eriod o r p eriods o f c onflict,

a s m entioned b y H artle w ho s peaks o f e leven f orts

b etween U nadu

a nd O gurugu . W ar a nd r aiding i n t he A nambra v alley, c onflicts i n w hich t he I gbo a nd t he I gala w ere i nvolved, b elong t o t he l ater p hase i n t heir r elationships. T he c ultural m aterials r ecovered f rom t he e xcavations, h owever , s uggest m ore p eaceful f orms o f I gbo

I gala i nteractions d ating m ost p robably t o a s

f ar b ack i n t ime a s t he 1 3th c entury A .D. a nd f rom t he ' early p hase' o f i nter-action . T he I gbo-Ukwu f inds s eem t o e xtend s uch i nteractions b ack t o t he 9 th c entury A .D . S imilarities i n t he p ottery ( in f orm , d ecoration , t hickness a nd m aufacturing t echniques) f rom I dah a nd A guleri s uggest a c onsiderable d egree o f i nteraction o r c ommon t radition b etween t he p eople o f t hese t wo a nd r elated a reas p erhaps f rom a bout t he 1 3th c entury A .D ., i ntera ctions w hich c ould b e i n t he f orm o f t rade o r p eaceful m ovements o f p eople f rom I gala t o I gbo a reas o r v ice v ersa . T he p resence o f h orses a t U muekete ( Aguleri) a lso s uggests t rading c onnections b etween t he I gbo a nd t heir n orthern I gala n eighbours f rom p erhaps a s e arly a s t he 1 3th c entury A .D ., w hile t he ' horseman h ilt' a nd o ther f inds f rom I gbo-Ukwu s eem t o e xtend t hese t rading c onnections b ack t o t he 9 th c entury A .D .

A lthough w e c annot

s ay w hen h orses w ere f irst i mported i nto I gboland b y I gala, i t i s w ell e stablished t hat i n r ecent c enturies t he n orthern I gbo h ave b ought h orses i n c onsiderable n umbers f rom t he I gala. W hether c ontacts b etween t he I gbo a nd t he I gala ( with a c entralized k ingship) i nfluenced t he e stablishment o f k ingship i n A guleri a nd b y e xtension t o N ri/Oreri, i s d ifficult t o d etermine, b ut i t s eems s ignificant t hat s tatus d ifferentiation i s s till t oday h igher i n A guleri a nd N ri/Oreri t han i n a ny o f t he o ther n eighbouring I gbo a reas t o t he s outh . T his

s tudy a lso d iscusses

a spects

o f

I gbo a nd I gala s ubsistence

a ctivities. T he f aunal r emains f rom t he v arious s ites s how a h eavy d ependence o n d omesticated a nimals s upplemented b y f ishing a nd h unting a ctivities. E ven t hough t here i s n othing i n t he e xcavations s uggesting f arming m ethods o r t he t ypes o f f ood p roduced, h istorical, o ral a nd e thnographic e vidence s uggest t hat y am c ultivation i n A guleri, O gurugu a nd I dah i s o f g reat a ntiquity . T he c eramic p roducts ( including t he s moking p ipes) a n d o ther i ndustrial a rtefacts

l ike

s pindle

w horls,

i ron

s melting/smithing

d ebris,

a lso

s how

t hat t hroughout t he A mambra v alley s imilar t echnological a ctivities w ere u ndertaken f rom t he 1 3th t o 1 6th c enturies A .D . b y b oth p eoples. H owever , t he I gbo a nd I gala p eoples s topped t he s melting o f i ron a nd w eaving o f c loth w ith t he i mportation o f i ron p roducts a nd c lothing m aterials f rom E urope, a nd i t i s o nly t he s imilarities b etween t he p resent d ay a nd t he e xcavated p ottery w hich r emain t o s uggest a l ong c ontinuity i nto r ecent t imes i n b oth t he I gbo a nd I gala a reas.

v i

T his s tudy i s t he f irst o f i ts k ind i n N igeria i n w hich h istorical e vidence a nd o ral t raditions h ave b een u sed t o g enerate h ypotheses t hat w ere t ested a rchaeologically a nd t he a rchaeological d ata s eems t o c orroborate t he h istorical a nd o ral t raditional e vidence. I n t his i nstance , t herefore , i t a ppears t o h ave b een c onfirmed t hat o ral t raditions ( including t raditions d ealing w ith o rigins), i f p roperly c ollected a nd i nterpreted, h ave s ignificant c ontributions t o m ake t o h istorical r econstructions. T he s tudy o f t he e xcavated c ultural m aterial d epended a g reat d eal o n e thnographic i nformation; t his a pproach m akes i t m uch m ore f easible t o r elate t he m aterials t o t he c ultural n uances o f t he p eople c oncerned. T he r esults s uggest

t hat

t he

I gbo a nd I gala g roups i nteracted w ith e ach o ther f rom a t

l east t he 1 3th c entury A .D ., l ong b efore t he c olonial p eriod , a nd s tudies o f t his k ind, w hich d emonstrate m utal i nteractions a mongst N igerian p eoples i n t he p re-colonial t imes, w ould b e o f m uch s ocio-political v alue e specially d uring t his p eriod o f n ational d evelopment a nd i ntegration . T here a re c ertain i ssues w hich s hould f orm s ubjects f or f uture r esearch i n t he v alley. F or i nstance , at estable h ypothesis d erivable f rom t he o ral t raditions i s t hat A guleri w as t he d ispersal p oint f or t he d escendants o f E n, t he p rogenitor o f t he U mueri c lan. E thnoarchaeological s tudies c arried o ut i n t he U mueri t owns ( using t he m ethods a dopted i n t hese s tudies) m ay p rove u seful i n t esting t his h ypothesis. E ven H enderson

t hough

s tudies

( 1972::60-61)

b y

G ray

s uggest

t he

( 1962:182), a ntiquity

o f

O nwuejeogwu y am

( 1972)

c ultivation

a nd

i n t his

v alley , w e d o n ot k now w hen t he s pecies w as f irst c ultivated a nd w hen a nd h ow i t s pread. T ropical c onditions d o n ot o ften f avour t he p reservation o f l eaves, t uber o r w oody f ragments a nd t he c hances o f p reservation o f c ooking o r f arming e quipment, l ike w ooden m ortars a nd p estles u sed f or p reparation o f t uberous c rops a re q uite l ow . S ince d irect a nd i ndirect a rchaeological e v idence i s d ifficult t o c ome b y, w e b aue t o r ely o n e ntomological, o ral t raditional,

l inguistic

a nd

e thnographic

e vidence

t o

s upplement

a rchaeological e vidence ( see A lexander a nd C oursey 1 969 ; A lexander O kiy 1 960 , C oursey 1 965 , 1 966 , 1 967 , a nd 1 980 ; A yensu a nd C oursey

t he 1 971; 1 972;

S haw 1 972). T he p resence o f i ron s lag, t uy &es, f urnace f ragment a nd i ron o re l umps a t A guleri a nd I dah s how t hat t hese a re p otential a reas f or t he f urther s tudy o f i ron s melting p rocesses a nd t he b eginning o r i ron t echnology i n t he L ower N iger B asin . I t i s s till p ossible t o o btain i nformation a bout l ocal i ron-technology ( including f urnace f orms, q uantities o f o re a nd c rude i ron p roduced), a nd a ssociated s ocial a nd r itual b ehaviour f rom A guleri a nd I dah w here d etailed i nformation o n i ron s melting p rocesses i s s till a vailable. S uch i nformation w ill b e o f v alue t o h istorians a nd e thnoarchaeologists i n t he f uture ( Schulze 1 971; G iven

t he

a vailable

A nozie 1 981). o ral

t raditional

a nd

e thnographic

e vidence,

t he

A nambra v alley i s a lso a s uitable a rea f or t he f urther s tudy o f s ettlement p atterns.

I n

t he A nambra v alley,

a s i n o ther p arts o f W est A frica ,

t he

s lave t rade a nd t he c olonial c onquest w hich l ed t o t he p lunder o f n atural r esources a nd i ntroduction o f c ash c rops h ave g one a l ong w ay t o d estroying s ome a spects o f i ndigenous s ociety ( which i ncludes t raditional b uildings a nd b uilding p rocesses a nd s ettlement p atterns). N evertheless, o f a ll c ultural f orms, a rchitecture i s o ne o f t he m ost p ersistent a nd c onservative ( see A niakor , 1 980). T hus f or a b etter u nderstanding o f t ypes o f b uildings, b uilding p rocesses a nd s ettlement a rrangement i n t he A nambra v alley d uring

v ii

p re-colonial o r p roto-historic p eriod , i t i s f irst n ecessary t o s tudy a nd p roperly d ocument t ypes p resently i n e xistence i n t his v alley, b y m aking u se o f e thnographic d ata, o ral t raditional a ccounts, w ritings o f c olonial o fficials a nd m issionaries. L astly,

t he A nambra v alley,

N ri a nd O reri s hould c onstitute a k ey a rea

i n t he s earch f or m ore r eliable d ating a nd i nterprettion o f

t he

I gbo-Ukwu

f inds a nd t he d evelopments o f t he 1 st m illennium A .D . i n t he L ower N iger V alley a nd s hould g o o n s ide b y s ide w ith N iger D elta s tudies ( Nzewunwa 1 980).

v iii

P a r t i

A rchaeo logy a nd E thnoa rchaeo logy l i nt h e A namb ra V a ley A . I . Okpoko

A CKNOWLEDGMENTS

I n t he c ourse o f t his r esearch I h ave r eceived h elp f rom m any p eople, b ut I w ould l ike t o t hank s pecifically m y t eacher a nd s upervisor -Professor B .W. A ndah ; D r. F .N . A nozie , w ho i ntroduced m e t o p arts o f t he A nambra v alley a nd m ade u seful s uggestions i n m y f ield t rips, a nd M r. S .G.H. D aniels w ho g enerously a llowed m e t o u se h is e xcavated b ut g ave m e a ccess t o h is f ield n otes. P rofessor

u nstudied m aterial a nd H . H offman, o ffered

s uggestions o n l inguistic a spects a nd t he t echnical s taff o f t he D ept.

o f

A rchaeology,

A .

U niversity o f N igeria ,

N sukka ( Merrs,

B .

O zomadu,

G .

O doh ,

A bu a nd J . U gwanyi) f ormed p art o f t he f ield t eam a t t he e xcavations a t A guleri, J .C.

O gurugu a nd I dah .

O nyango-Abuje,

P rofessors C . C leland a nd L . R obbins,

a nd D r.

h elped i n t he a nalysis o f t he a nimal b ones a nd D r .

A .A .

E lueze a nd R . O chulo d id t he m ineralogical a nalysis o f t he p ottery s amples. M essrs. B .J. T ubosun a nd D . C alvocoressi ( both o f A rchaeology D epartment, U .I.) o ffered s uggestions u seful f or t he s tudy o f t he p ottery a nd s oil s amples. M r.

L .T.

O suma a nd M r.

Q uist a nd M rs. J . W illiams d rew t he i llustrations a nd M rs. S .

O hwarhua t yped t his s tudy.

D r.

F .N .

A nozie a nd M r.

J . D .

C alvocaressi r ead t hrough t he d rafts a nd m ade u seful s uggestions. Im ust t hank U niversity o f I badan a nd U niversity o f N igeria , N sukka f or t heir f inancial a ssistance a nd f acilities. Ia lso t hank t he A ta o f I gala , A lhaji A liyu O baje a nd T agbo U kwella C hief o f O gurugu a nd, M rs. I . M anafa a nd U muekete e lders. Ia m i mm ensely i ndebted t o m y w ife ( Amaka),

c hildren ( Ikechukwu ,

N neka

a nd I feoma a nd b rother ( Patrick) f or h elp a nd f or h aving t heir c alm a nd c heerfulness d uring p eriods w hen I c ould h ardly f ind t ime f or t hem .

Id edicate t his w ork t o m y p arents M r. F idelis E kwunife O kpoko a nd M rs. P hilomina

O nuekwunma

O kpoko

a nd m y w ife

M rs.

t heir l ove.

A lex I kechukwu O kpoko

J osephine

A maka

O kpoko

f or

T ABLE O F C ONTENTS P art 1 P age L ist o f F igures

x ii

L ist o f T ables C hapter 1 . C hapter 2 .

x v

I ntroduction a nd r esearch d esign .

1

B ackground I nformation S pecific t o t he A nambra

7

V alley. C hapter 3 .

E xcavations:

C hapter 4 .

C eramic A nalysis.

C hapter 5 .

A nalysis o f f inds o ther t han c eramics.

C hapter 6 .

I nterpretation o f t he E xcavated m aterial

B ibliography. A ppendix .

1 976-81.

2 1 40 9 0 1 00 13

L ist o f F igures P art 1 F igure 1 .

I gala a nd I gboland l ocation o f a rchaeological s ites m entioned i n t he t ext.

2 a.

G eological M ap o f t he A nambra V alley a nd i ts E nvirons

2 b .

V egetation M ap o f S outheastern N igeria.

2 c.

P opulation D ensity M ap o f S outheastern N igeria .

2 d.

L inguistic b oundaries i n S outheastern N igeria.

3 .

M ap o f A guleri s howing t he s ites l ocated .

4 .

M ap o f I dah s howing t he s ites l ocated.

5 .

M ap o f O gurugu s howing t he s ites l ocated.

6 .

U muekete ( Aguleri), s howing t he w alled a rea .

7 .

C ontour m ap o f U muekete ( Aguleri) m ound s howing t he e xcavated a rea .

8 .

C ontour m ap o f O ketekakini ( Idah) m ound s howing t he e xcavated a rea .

9 .

C ontour m ap o f A tida ( Ogurugu) m ound s howing t he e xcavated a rea .

1 0 . 1 1.

A c ross-section o f O gurugu t own w all. S ite p lan s howing t he l ocation o f O batamu ( Ogurugu) e xcavated a reas.

1 2.

C ontour m ap o f O batamu ( Ogurugu) m ounds s howing t he e xcavated a reas.

1 3 .

S ection d rawing o f U muekete ( Aguleri) m ound ; w estern w all.

1 4.

S ection d rawing o f O ketekakini ( Idah) m ound;

1 5 .

S ection d rawing o f A tida ( Ogurugu) m ound ; n orthern w all.

1 6 .

S ection d rawing

o f

O batamu

( Ogurugu)

s outhern w all.

m ound-test

a rea

I ( eastern w all). 1 7.

S ection d rawing o f O batamu ( Ogurugu) m ound -test a rea I I ( eastern

1 8.

w all).

S ection d rawing o f O batamu ( Ogurugu) m ound -test a rea I II ( western w all). x ii

1 9.

U muekete ( Aguleri) s ite ; v essel t ypes.

2 0.

P iechart o f p ercentage o ccurrenceof v essel t ypes;

2 1.

U muekete ( Aguleri).

H istogram o f p ercentagedistribution o f v essel t ypes a ccording t o s pit levels/layers; U muekete ( Aguleri).

2 2.

P ottery r im d iameter c hart.

2 3.

P iechart o f p ercentage o ccurrenceof t he d ecorative c ategories;

2 4.

U muekete ( Aguleri).

H istogram o f p ercentage o ccurrence o f t he d ecorative c ategories a ccording t o s pit l evels/layers; U muekete ( Aguleri)..

2 5.

U muekete ( Aguleri);

d ecorated s herds.

2 6.

herds) a nda O ther s herds ( besides r im a nd b ody s ; U mukete ( Aguleri). r econstructed c lay t uy &.e

2 7.

O juwo A ta O gu ( Idah) ; v essel t ypes , as pindle w horl a nd r econstructed c lay tuy &e.

2 8.

P iechart o f p ercentage o ccurrenceof t he d ecorative c ategories; O juwo A ta O gu ( Idah).

2 9.

H istogram o f p ercentage d istribution o f t he d ecorative c ategories a ccording t o s tratigraphic l ayers; O juwo A ta O gu ( Idah).

3 0.

O juwo A ta O gu ( Idah);

d ecorated s herds.

3 1.

O ketekakini ( Idah); v essel t ypes.

3 2.

P iechart o f p ercentage occurrence o f v essel t ypes; O ketekakini ( Idah).

3. 3

H istogram o f p ercentagedistribution o f v essel t ypes a ccording t o s pit levels; O ketekakini ( Idah).

3 4.

P iechart o f p ercentage o ccurrenceof t he d ecorative c ategories ;

3 5.

O ketekakini ( Idah).

H istogram o f p ercentage d istribution o f the d ecorative c ategories a ccording t o s pit levels; O ketekakini ( Idah).

3 6.

O ketekakini ( Idah);

d ecorated s herds.

3 7.

O ther s herds ( besides r ima nd b ody s herds), a t anged k nife a nd c opper r od f romOketekakini ( Idah).

3 8.

A tida ( Ogurugu); v essel t ypes.

3 9.

P iechart o f p ercentage o ccurrence o f t he d ecorative c ategories; A tida ( Ogurugu).

4 0.

H istogram o f p ercentage d istribution o f t he d ecorative c ategories a ccording t o s tratigraphic l ayers ; A tida ( Ogurugu).

4 1.

A tida ( Ogurugu); d ecorated s herds.

4 2.

O batamu ( Ogurugu);

v essel t ypes, a

l id a nd r econstructed c lay t uy re. 4 3.

P iechart o f p ercentage o ccurrence o f v essel t ypes; O batamu ( Ogurugu).

4 4.

P iechart o f p ercentage o ccurrence o f t he d ecorative c ategories; O batamu ( Ogurugu).

4 5.

H istogram o f p ercentage d istribution o f t he d ecorative c ategories a ccording t o s pit l evels; O batamu ( Ogurugu).

4 6.

O batamu ( Ogurugu);

d ecorated s herds.

4 7.

T ypes o f s moking p ipes f rom O ketekakini ( Idah).

L ist o f T ables P art 1 T able

1 .

P age

U muekete ( Aguleri) s ite- number a nd w eight o f t he r ecovered m aterialsaccording t o s pit l evels/ l ayers.

2 .

O juwo A ta O gu ( Idah) s ite -number a nd w eight o f r ecoveredmaterials a ccording t o s tratigraphic l ayers.

3 .

31

O ketekakini ( Idah) s ite -number a nd w eight o f r ecovered m aterials a ccording t o s pit l evels.

4 .

2 8

3 2

O batamu ( Ogurugu) s ite -number a nd w eight o f t he r ecovered m aterials a ccording t o s pit l evels.

34

5 .

R adiocarbon d ates f rom I gbo-Ukwu e xcavations.

3 6

6 .

R adiocarbon d ates f rom O juwo A ta O gu ( Idah) s ite.

3 7

7 .

R adiocarbon d ates f rom U muekete ( Aguleri) s ite.

3 7

8 .

U muekete ( Aguleri) s ite s howing d istribution o f r im s herds.

9 .

47

ercentage U muekete ( Aguleri) s ite s howing n umberand p renches d istribution o f v essel t ypes a ccordingto t a nd b aulks.

1 0.

U muekete ( Aguleri) s ite s howing n umber a nd p ercentage d istribution o f v essel t ypes a ccording t o s pit l evels ( percentage b ased o n t otal d iagnostic r im s herds).

1.

51

U muekete ( Aguleri) s ite s howing d istribution o f b ody s herds.

1 3.

52

U muekete ( Aguleri) s ite s howing n umber a nd p ercentage d istribution o f t he d ecorated s herds.

1 4.

5 0

U muekete ( Aguleri) s ite s howing r ange a nd m ean o f r im d iameters.

1 2.

4 8

53

U muekete ( Aguleri) s ite s howing n umber a nd p ercentage d istribution o f t he d ecorative c ategories a ccording t o s pit l evels/layers ( sherds w ith u nclear d ecorations a re n ot i ncluded i n t he c olumn o f d ecorated s herds).

1 5.

5 4

D istribution o f p ottery ( besides r im a nd b ody s herds) a nd p arts o f c lay n ozzles a ccording t o s pit l evels/ l ayers a t U muekete ( Aguleri) s ite.

XV

5 6

1 6.

U muekete ( Aguleri) s ite s howing t hickness o f p lain a nd d ecorated b ody s herds.

1 7.

58

O juwo A ta O gu ( Idah) s ite s howing n umber a nd p ercentage d istribution o f v essel t ypes a ccording t o s tratigraphic l ayers ( percentage b ased o n t otal r im s herds f rom e ach l ayer).

1 8.

O juwo A ta O gu ( Idah) s ite s howing r ange a nd m ean o f r im d iameters.

1 9.

62

O juwo A ta O gu ( Idah) s ite s howing n umber a nd p ercentage d is tribution o f t he d ecorative c ategories.

2 0 .

6 1

63

O juwo A ta O gu ( Idah) s ite s howing n umber a nd p ercentage d istribution o f t he d ecorative c ategories a ccording t o s tratigraphic l ayers ( sherds w ith u nclear d ecorations a re n ot i ncluded i n t he c olumn o f d ecorated s herds).

6 4

2 1.

O juwo A ta O gu ( Idah) s ite s howing t hickness o f s herds.

6 5

2 2.

O ketekakini ( Idah) s ite s howing n umber a nd p ercentage d istribution o f v essel t ypes.

2 3.

O ketekakini ( Idah) s ite s howing n umber a nd p ercentage d istribution o f v essel t ypes a ccording t o s pit l evels ( percentage b ased o n t otal d iagnostic r im s herds).

2 4.

70

O ketekakini ( Idah) s ite s howing n umber a nd p ercentage d istribution o f t he d ecorative c ategories.

2 6 .

2 7.

O ketekakini ( Idah) s ite s howing n umber a nd p ercentage d istribution o f t he d ecorative c ategories a ccording t o s pit l evels ( sherds w ith u nclear d ecorations a re n ot i ncluded i n t he c olumn o f d ecorated s herds).

A tida ( Ogurugu) s ite s howingn umber a nd p ercentage 7 7

A tida ( Ogurugu) s ite s howing n umber a nd p ercentage d istribution o f the d ecorative c ategories.

3 1.

7 4

76

o ccurrence o f v essel t ypes. 3 0 .

7 2

O ketekakini ( Idah) s ite s howing t hickness o f p lain a nd d ecorated s herds.

2 9.

71

D istribution o f p ottery ( besides t he r im a nd b ody s herds) a ccording t o s pit l evels a t O ketekakini ( Idah) s ite.

2 8.

6 9

O ketakakini ( Idah) s ite s howing r ange a nd m ean o f t he r im d iameters.

2 5.

68

7 8

A tida ( Ogurugu) s ite s howing n umber a nd p ercentage d istribution o f t he d ecorative c ategories a ccording t o as tratigraphic l ayers ( sherds w ith u nclear d ecorations a re n ot i ncluded i n t he c olumn o f 7 9

d ecorated s herds).

x vi

3 2.

O batamu ( Ogurugu) s ite s howing d istribution o f r im s herds.

3 3.

3 4.

3 5.

8 0

O batumu ( Ogurugu) s ite s howing n umber a nd p ercentage d istribution o f v essel t ypes a ccording t o s pit l evels ( percentage b ased o n t otal d iagnostic r im s herds).

8 1

O batumu ( Ogurugu) s ite s howing r ange a nd m ean o f r im d iameters.

8 2

O batumu ( Ogurugu) s ite s howing d istribution o f b ody s herds.

3 6.

8 3

O batumu ( Ogurugu) s ite s howing n umber a nd p ercentage d istribution o f t he d ecorative c ategories.

3 7.

8 4

O batumu ( Ogurugu) s ite s howing n umber a nd p ercentage d istribution o f t he d ecoraLive c ategories a ccording t o s pit l evels ( sherds w ith u nclear d ecorations a re n ot i ncluded i n t he c olumn o f d ecorated s herds).

3 8.

8 5

O batumu ( Ogurugu) s ite s howing t hickness o f p lain a nd d ecorated b ody s herds.

8 7

3 9.

F aunal r emains f rom U muekete ( Aguleri) s ite.

9 0

4 0 .

F aunal r emains f ram O ketekakini ( Idah) s ite.

9 2

4 1.

F aunal r emains f rom A tida ( Ogurugu) s ite.

9 4

4 2.

F aunal r emains f rom O batumu ( Ogurugu) s ite.

9 4

4 3.

C owrie s hells r ecovered f rom O ketekaki ( Idah) s ite.

9 5

4 4.

C owrie s hells r ecovered f ram O batumu ( Ogurugu) s ite.

9 6

4 5.

T ype 2 E uropean s t acking p ipes r ecovered f rom O ketekakini ( Idah ) s ite.

4 6.

9 7

N umber a nd p ercentage o ccurrence o f v essel t ypes 1 07

i n e ach o f t he s ites. 4 7.

N umber a nd p ercentage o ccurrence o f t he d ecorative c ategories i n e ach o f t he s ites.

x vii

1 09

C HAPTER O NE I NTRODUCTION A ND R ESEARCH D ESIGN T his v olume d eals p rimarily w ith I gbo-Igala r elations f rom p rotoh istoric t o h istoric t imes a s i s d ecipherable t hrough a rchaeology i n p arts o f t he A nambra v alley w hich l ie i n t he b orderlands b etween t he t wo p eoples. I n 1 959/60 a nd 1 964 a rchaeological e xcavations w ere u ndertaken i n t he L ower N iger r egion b y S haw a t I gbo-ukwu ,a nd b y H artle ( 1967 , 1 972) s outh o f t he A nambra v alley b ut h aving l inks w ith i t, a nd i n A pril 1 966 t he f irst e xcavation i n I galaland t o t he n orth w as c arried o ut a t I dah b y D aniels. T en y ears l ater i n e arly 1 976 , A nozie c arried o ut t he f irst a rchaeological s urvey o f A guleri i n t he A nambra V alley. T hus, p rior t o t he a uthor's r esearch i n 1 976-83 l ittle o r n o a rchaeological w ork h ad b een d one i n t he A nambra v alley. W ithin t his v alley, f or m y r esearch I s pecifically c hose f our l ocalities: n amely A guleri, I gbo-ukwu , O gurugu a nd I dah . A mong t he f actors m otivating t he c hoice o f t hese a reas f or s tudy w ere: ( 1) S haw's a ssociation ( 1970 :268-285) o f t he a rchaeological f inds a t I gbo-ukwu w ith t he i nstitution o f E ze-Nri a t O reri/Nri, a nd t he t raditional c onnection b etween N ri/Oreri a nd A guleri ( Boston 1 960:52-57; O nwuejeogwu 1 974a). ( 2) T he s uggestion t hat t he I gbo-ukwu f inds s how s ome f orms o f c ontacts b etween t he I gbo a nd I gala s peaking p eoples i n t he 9 th c entury A D ( Shaw 1 970 :258 , 2 62, 2 81-2). ( 3) A guleri a nd O gurugu o n I gbo-Igala b orderland h ave o ral t raditions s uggesting c onnections b etween t hem a nd I dah f rom a t l east t he 1 7th c entury A D. ( 4) O gurugu s erved a s t he b ase f rom w hich O noja O boni i nvaded a nd c onquered s ettlements a long t he A nambra r iver i ncluding A guleri. ( 5) S ince t he p resent I gala r uling g roup s ettled a t I dah i t w as d eemed n ecessary t o o btain i nformation f rom t here a bout m ovements o f

I gala p eople

a t d ifferent p oints i n t ime. ( 6) L inguistic a nd e thnographic i nformation a s f t his s tudy s uggest s ome f orms o f i nteractions a mongst o utlined i n P art 1 o t he I gbo a nd I gala p eoples i nhabiting t he A nambra v alley f rom p roto-historic • t o h istoric t imes. T he r esearch o bjectives w ere : i ) R econstructing t he r elationships b etween t he I gbo a nd I gala p eoples o f t he A nambra v alley f rom p roto-historic t o h istoric t imes a s d ecipherable m ainly f rom a rchaeological b ut u sing i n c onjunction o ral t raditional, l inguistic a nd e thnographic d ata. i) i

A ssessing

a nd d etermining w hat

a rchaeological

v alue

t o p lace

o n t he

o ral t raditions d ealing w ith o rigins. ii) i

I dentifying

s uch

a spects

o f

I gbo

a nd I gala p eoples'

t echnology a nd

s ubsistence a ctivities i n t he p ast a s c an b e d iscerned f rom a rchaeological a nd e thnographic s ources a nd d etermining w hat l ight t hese t hrow o n t he r elationships b etween t he t wo p eoples. T his v olume i s d ivided i nto t wo m ain s ections.

T he f irst c omprises i n

t wo c hapters a n a ccount o f m y m ajor o bjectives, t he r esearch d esign f or m y e xcavation p rogramme a nd a rtifact a nalysis, a nd a t reatment o f e thnographic , l inguistic , o ral t raditional a nd a rchaeological b ackground i nformation.

1

T he

s econd s ection ,

c omprising f ive c hapters c ontains a r eport o n t he r esearch

p rogramme a s f ollows: a d escription o f t he a rchaeological e xcavations a nd s urveys c arried o ut, f indings a nd s ite c hronologies. T his i s f ollowed b y t he a nalysis a nd d escription o f t he a rtifacts a nd o ther i mportant r emains, a nd t he i nterpretations a nd i nferences m ade f rom t he f inds. T he f inal c hapter o utlines t he j oint c onclusions w e d raw f rom t he s tudy.

R ESEARCH D ESIGN I t w as d ecided t o u se a n e thnoarchaeological a pproach t o t he m aterial. E thnoarchaeology h as b een d efined i n v arious w ays b y d ifferent s cholars ( Oswalt 1 974 ; S tanislawski 1 974 ; S tiles 1 977 ; G ould 1 978 ; T righam 1 978 ; S chiffer 1 978; K ramer 1 979). H owever, a fter a r eview o f t he p ertinent l iterature a nd t aking i nto a ccount t he s pecific a rchaeological p roblems t o b e i nvestigated i n t he A nambra v alley , Ic oncluded t hat, a t l east f or t his p roject, e thnoarchaeology w as b est r egarded a s t he s tudy o f a spects o f t he h istory ( including o ral t raditions), m aterial c ulture a nd l inguistic c haracteristics o f p resent i nhabitants o f t he A nambra v alley i n o rder t o e licit

i nformation u seful

f or

t he

l ocation o f a rchaeological s ites,

t heir

i nterpretation , a nd t he r econstruction o f m aterial a nd n on-material a spects o f t he w ays o f l ife o f f ormer i nhabitants. N ot o nly d oes t his d efinition t ake p roper a ccount o f t he c ontroversies r aging a s t o t he v alidity o r o therwise o f t he u se o f e thnographic a nalogy i n a rchaeological i nvestigations b ut e ndorses t hose o bjections w hich I r egard a s l egitimate. O ver t he l ast c entury a rchaeologists h ave b ecome " increasingly a ware o f t he d ifficulties a nd l imitations i n t he i nterpretation o f t heir m aterials" ( Orme 1 974:199), e specially i n a tttempts a t i dentifying " what a nd h ow r eligious, s ocial a nd p olitical i deas g uided t echnology , s ubsistence a nd s ettlements" a nd h ow t hese i nfluenced a spects o f c ulture ( Andah 1 980 :59). T he v ariables o f t ime a nd s pace h ave b rought a bout a d istinction b eing m ade b etween t wo g eneral t ypes o f e thnographic a nalogy. T he f irst t ype, " New A nalogy" -(Ascher 1 961) o perates i n c onditions w here t he e thnographic a nd t he a rchaeological d ata a re " broadly d isparate i n t ime a nd s pace" ( Stiles 1 977:95). I n s uch a s ituation i t i s n ot n ecessary t o d emonstrate a ny c onnection b etween t he c ulture p roviding t he a rchaeological m aterials a nd t he c ulture p ossessing t he e thnographic d ata . A t t his l evel t he u se o f e thnography i n a rchaeology i s f raught w ith s everal d ifficulties. F or i nstance, i n e cological a nalogy ( in w hich a n a nalysis_of p resent e cological c onditions

o f a n a rea a ids

t he r econstruction o f

t he s ubsistence a nd

s ettlement s ystems o f e arlier i nhabitants o f s uch a n a rea),

a p ossible

c onstraint

a nd m odern

i s

t he

l ack

o f

c ontinuity b etween t he a ncient

m icroenvironment o f t he a rea u nder i nvestigation ( Coe a nd F lannery 1 964 :6506 54). N ot

o nly

m ust

t he

i nvestigator

e cological c onditions h ave i n s eems

a lso

t hat

t he p roponents

r easonably

f act

r emained

o f

t he a bove

a ssure

r elatively

h imself

u nchanged ,

v iew a ssume w rongly

c rucial v ariable i n h uman c lutural h istory i s e cology ; s uch e cological d eterminism i s u nproved.

t hat

b ut t hat

i t t he

a lways a nd n ecessarily W ith t he p assage o f t ime

p eople's t echnology a s w ell a s t heir p sychology c hanges n o m atter h ow i mperceptibly, a nd c onsequently t he f unctions o f o bjects c hange t hrough

2

t ime.

A lso ,

s ince h uman b eings h ave d iverse w ays o f d oing t he s ame t hing

a nd c an d o d ifferent t hings i n w ays w hich l eave s imilar m aterial t races, i t i s a t t imes d ifficult t o k now t he r elationship b etween p atterns o f b ehaviour a nd t heir m aterial m anifestations. T o

m inimise

t hese

d ifficulties

p osed

b y

t he

" new

a nalogy"

a rchaeologists h ave t ried t o d evelop m ethods w hich w ill a llow e xplanatory p ropositions r egarding t he o peration o f c ultural s ystems t o b e t ested b y b oth a rchaeological a nd e thnographic d ata. ( Binford L .R . 1 968 :269). T he s econd g eneral t ype o f a nalogy -"Direct H istorical A pproach" ( Ascher o p.cit.) -occurs w hen a c onnection i n t ime a nd/or s pace c an b e d emonstrated b etween t he a rchaeological a nd e thnographic c ultures. S ome d egree o f h istorical/cultural c ontinuity b etween t he p ast a nd p resent p opulation c an t hen b e a ssumed. T his a pproach r ecognises t hat e thnographic d ata w ill b e m ore r elevant t o t he p eople b eing s tudied a rchaeologically i f i t c an b e e stablished f rom o ral g roup p resently o ccupying t he , t hat w hich o ccupied t he a rea i n o f o bjects c hange w ith t ime b ut m ore r eliable t he e thnographic

t radition , w ritten o r o ther s ources t hat t he a rea i s h istorically/culturally r elated t o t he p ast. I t r ecognises a lso t hat f unctions t hat t he m ore r ecent t he p eriod o f s tudy t he i nference. I n s uch a s ituation i t i s o ften

e asier t o t race d irect h istorical c ontinuity w ith t he p ast. L astly , e thnographic i nferences a re m ore r eliable i f t he e thnographic a nd a rchaeological d ata a re c ollected f rom a reas t hat a re g eographically i dentical o r a t l east c ontinguous. D espite c hanges w hich m ight h ave o ccurred t hrough t ime, t he p ossibility o f c ultural a nd e nvironmental s imilarity i s h igher i n s uch c ontinguous a reas t han i n a reas t hat a re g oegraphically s eparated. S cholars h ave e mphasised t hat t he p ositive c ontribution o f e thnographic a nalogy t o a rchaeological i nvestigations i s i n t hose a reas w here a nalysis o f c urrent o r r ecent p ractices a nd a rchaeological d ata i ndicate c ontinuity ( Ascher 1 961:317) o r w here t he e thnographic i nformation c omes f rom a g roup c losely r elated t o t he p rehistoric c ulture b eing s tudied ( Anderson o p.cit:134). T o u se t he " Direct H istorical A pproach" p roperly a rchaeologists n eed t o c arry o ut e thnographic s tudies t hemselves: s ince t hey a re i n t he b est p osition t o d etermine w hat s tudies a re r elevant t o t heir a rchaeological i nvestigations. T his i s b ecause, a part f rom t he f act t hat e thnographic s tudies i n a reas r elevant t o a rchaeology a re f ew , t here m ay b e d ifferences b etween t he e thnographic a nd a rchaeological s tudies

w ith

r egards

t o a ims,

m ethods

a nd

d ata a vailable

( Orme

1 974:205

K ramer 1 979:5). I n t his s tudy t he " Direct H istorical A pproach" h as b een u sed. A lthough t here h as n ot b een a ny e thnoarchaeological s tudy i n t he A nambra v alley p rior t o t he p resent r esearch , t here e xist s tudies i n o ther p arts o f t he w orld i n w hich s cholars h ave s uccessfully m ade u se o f t he " direct h istorical a pproach"

f or

a rchaeological

i nvestigations

d epth t han t he p resent r esearch).

( some

c overing a g reater

T he w ork o f G ould

t ime

( 1971 a nd 1 978),

S chmidt ( 1975 a nd 1 978), A rnold ( 1975) h ave s pecial b earing o n t his s tudy , e specially i n d ealing w ith t echnological p rocesses a nd u tilizing o ral t raditions. H ere e thnoarchaeological m ethods w ere u sed t o: ( i)

l ook a t a spects o f t he s ettlement p atterns, d iet, e conomy a nd t echnology ( with e mphasis o n af acet o f t echnology - p ottery) o f t he p resent i nhabitants o f t he A nambra v alley i n o rder t o

3

b etter u nderstand a nd i nterpret t he a rchaeological f eatures a nd a rtifacts t here. ( ii)

l ook c ritically a t o ral t raditions w ith a v iew t o p ostulating h ypotheses w hich c ould b e t ested b y t he a rchaeological d ata a nd b e u sed i n c hoosing s ites f or s urvey o r e xcavation .

A s h as b een s hown i n P art l ithe h istorical e vidence s uggests d irect c ontinuity b etween t he p ast a nd p resent i nhabitants o f t he p arts o f I gboland a nd I galaland b eing s tudied. T he w orks o f J effreys ( 1934 , 1 956); B oston ( 1960,

1 962,

1 968);

D aniels

( 1966);

S haw

( 1970);

S helton

( 1971);

a nd

O nwuejeogwu ( 1974a , 1 974b) s uggest t hat t hese p arts h ave b een o ccupied b y t he p resent g roups f rom a t l east t he 1 3th c entury A D . E thnographic a nd a rchaeological

d ata

o n

t he

p ottery

i ndustry

h as

t herefore

b een

c ollected

f rom a reas t hat a re g eographically c ontinguous -A guleri, I gbo -Ukwu, O gurugu , a nd I dah ; s tudied t o s ee t he e lements o f s imilarity i n t erms o f f orm , d ecoration a nd t echniques o f m anufacture , t hereby c ommenting o n t he c ontinuity i n p ottery t echnology f rom a t l east t he 1 3th c entury A D .

M ethods o f E thnographic d ata c ollection A s pecial s tudy w as m ade o f e thnographic d ata r elating t o p otting t raditions. V isits w ere m ade t o v arious p ottery m anufacturing c entres i n r elevant p arts o f I gboland a nd I galaland a nd p ottery m aking p rocesses w ere o bserved. ' Data w ere a lso c ollected f rom t he a reas o f r esearch ( Igbo -Ukwu , I dah a nd O gurugu) w hich a re n on-potting c entres. I n s tudying p resent d ay p otte r y , f eatures t aken n ote o f i ncluded t he m anufacturing t echniques , t he f orms, t he d ecorative a nd o ther s tylistic f eatures, a nd i nforamtion w as o btained w ith r egards t o p ottery f unctions. A part f rom p ottery, i nformation w as a lso o btained o f i ron s melting/smithing , f arming, h unting , f ishing a nd t rading a nd o f a spects o f s ettlement p atterns i ncluding h ouse t ypes.

T he c ollecting o f o ral t raditional d ata A lthough s cholars l ike B ohannan ( 1953), J ones ( 1965), J ones ( 1970) a nd H enige ( 1971, 1 973 , 1 974) h ave q uestioned t he v alidity o f o ral t radition s pecifically a s as ource o f c hronology a nd g enerally a s as ource o f h istory. O thers l ike V ansina ( op. c it., 1 960 , 1 965 , 1 978), A lagoa ( 1966a , 1 966b, 1 972), A figbo ( 1966), O nwuejeogwu ( op. c it.), S pear ( 1974, 1 981), R eefe ( 1977), a nd T waddle ( 1975) h ave d emonstrated t hat o ral t raditions c an b e t rustworthy b ut t hat w e m ust b e c autious i n h andling o ral t raditions e specially t hose d ealing w ith t he o rigins o f p eoples.

T raditions o f o rigin

m ore o ften t han n ot r efer t o i mportant h istorical e vents i n t he l ife o f a p eople o r p eoples ( events w hich m ight h ave i nvolved t he m ovements o f s uch a p eople o r p eoples f rom o ne p lace t o a nother -see R eefe o p.cit.: 1 83-205 ; S pear 1 974: 6 7 -84; A figbo 1 979; I kime 1 979). B ut t he n ature o f s uch h istorical e vents c an o nly b e d eciphered b y a c ritical b ut c autious s tudy o f t he o ral t raditions. A s A lagoa ( 1979) r ightly p uts i t : " traditions o f o rigin l ike o ther f orms o f o ral t raditions, r epresent m erely t he r aw m aterials f or t he u se o f t he h istorian , a nd n ot h istory i n i ts f inal f orm . Ap re-requisite o f p roper o ral t radition -c ollecting i s " a s ound

4

k nowledge o f t he p eople's s ocietal s et-up , ak nowledge o nly p ossible t hrough d etailed e thnographic s tudies"

( Andah a nd O kpoko

i n

p ress;

a lso

s ee

O nwuejeogwu o p.cit.: 4 5, A lagoa 1 972: 6 ; D oward 1 974: 4 57). T his h as b een d iscussed a t s ome l ength i n P art 1 a nd e ven t hough I d id n ot c arry o ut a d etailed

s tudy

o f

t he

s ocietal

s et-up

i n A guleri,

i nterviews w ere a rranged a nd c onducted w ith i ts a rchaeological w ork i n m ind. I n A guleri t itled h olders,

O gurugu

s ignificance

a nd

I dah

f or t he

e lders a nd r epresentatives o f v arious

c ompounds a re v ery s ignificant i n t he s ocio-political o rganisation o f t heir t own. T herefore, i n A guleri I c ollected i nformation f rom a ll t he c ommunities f orming t he t own . I n t hese c ommunities I c ollected i nformation f rom t he o zo t itle h olders, p riests, f armers a nd h unters k nowledgeable i n t he h istory a nd g eography o f t he a rea . Iw as c onducted r ound A guleri b y M r. I ke M anafa , a l ocal h istorian . I n I dah t he o verall r uler , A ata, o r a nybody c ommissioned b y h im i s s een a s t he r epository o f t he I gala t raditions w hile i n O gurugu, t he c hief a nd l eaders o f t he v arious q uarters a re t he r epositories o f O gurugu h istory. I n I dah I c ollected i nformation f rom t he A ta o f I gala ( Alhaji A liyu O baje), m embers o f h is c ouncil ( including C hief I modi, t he O dekina A ta), a nd w as c onducted r ound I dah a nd n eighbouring a reas b y t he O dekina A ta a nd A lhaji A duku I doko ( a c ouncellor). I n O gurugu I o btained i nformation f rom t he c hief a nd m embers o f h is c ouncil a nd f rom e ach l eader o f t he v arious q uarters f orming t he t own. I w as c onducted r ound O gurugu a nd i ts a bandoned s ettlements b y O kono T agbo ( son o f t he c hief o f O gurugu), B oniface C hukwurah ( Chairman, L ocal S chools B oard), a nd C hukwuemekan O gbali ( a c ouncillor).

F rom t he v arious v ersions o f o ral

t raditions c ollected f rom A guleri, O gurugu a nd I dah I w as a ble t o s ee h ypotheses g enerated b y t hese o ral t raditions w hich c ould b e t ested w ith t he a rchaeological d ata . I n o ther p arts o f s ub-saharan A frica ( for e xample , V an d er M erwe a nd S cully 1 971, A nozie ( 1976) O nwuejeogwus 1 976 , 1 977 ; E ffahG yanff 1 978 ; S chmidt 1 975 , O kpoko i n p ress), t hese t raditions h ave p roved u seful i n t he l ocation a nd c hoice o f s ites f or s tudy a nd i n t he i nterpretation o f s uch s ites, a rtifacts a nd f eatures.

T he c ollection o f L inguistic d ata T his h as b een d iscussed i n P art

1a nd g enerated t wo h ypotheses o ne o f

w hich I w as a ble t o t est w ith t he a rchaeological d ata a vailable. d ) C ollection o f A rchaeological d ata T wo l evels o f a rchaeological d ata w ere m ade u se o f; t he f irst l evel r elates t o a rchaeological w ork d one i n t he a reas o f s tudy p rior t o t he p resent r esearch , a nd t he s econd l evel r elates t o a rchaeological s urveys a nd e xcavations u ndertaken b y o ne a t A guleri, O gurugu a nd I dah f rom 1 976 -81 t o t est

h ypotheses

d erived

f rom

t he

o ral

t raditional,

l inguistic

a nd

e thnographic d ata .

T he A nalysis o f t he A rchaeological f inds T wo

l evels

o f

a nalyses

w ere

u ndertaken ;

g eneral

a nalysis

o f

s tratagraphies t o d efine t he r elative s equence o f t he c ultural m aterials, a nd t he a nalysis o f s pecific c ategories l ike p ottery, s moking p ipes, a nimal b ones

e tc.

I n

s tudying

t hese

i nformation w as m ade u se o f.

c ultural

m aterials ,

r elevant

e thnographic

F or e xample i n s tudying t he p ottery t he

5

f eatures t aken n ote o f i ncluded t he m anufacturing t echniques , t he f orms , d ecorations a nd i nferences w ith r egards t o f unctions. T he c riteria u sed i n t he s tudy o f t he s moking p ipes w ere m orphological a nd a esthetic -bowl , s tern ,

b ase,

d ecoration a nd a ngle

a nd

m aker's m arks.

A nimal

b ones

w ere

s tudied t o i dentify t he t ypes o f a nimals p resent i n t he p ast i n t he a reas o f s tudy w ith a v iew t o d etermining c haracter o f t he s ubsistence , e conomies a nd w here p ossible i dentifying a nimals i ntroduced f rom I gala t o I gbo a reas o r v ice v ersa. D ating ,

o ther t han b y

s tratigraphy w as

b y r adio

c arbon d ating ;

s ome

r elative d ates w ere o btained f rom t he s moking p ipes. T he t imetable o f t he f ield r esearch F ieldwork s tarted i n D ecember 1 976 w hen P rof. A ndah a nd I c arried o ut a n a rchaeological s urvey o n N ri. I n t hat s ame m onth I v isited I gbo-Ukwu t o s ee t he e xcavated a reas a nd c ollect e thnographic i nformation r elevant t o t he I gbo-Ukwu f inds. I n M arch/April 1 977 , D r. A nozie a nd I c arried o ut t he e xcavation a t U muekete ( Aguleri). D uring t his p eriod w e a lso v isited s ites l ocated b y D r. A nozie a t A guleri. F rom S eptember t o O ctober 1 977, D r. A nozie , D r. N zewunwa a nd I c arried o ut a n a rchaeological s urvey o f p arts o f t he A nambra v alley -these i nclude O gurugu , U mueje a nd I fite-Ogwari. I n J anuary/February 1 980 I c arried o ut a nother a rchaeological s urvey o f O gurugu . I n t hat s ame p eriod w ith t he h elp o f D r. A nozie a n a rchaeological s urvey o f I dah w as u ndertaken . I n F eburary/March 1 980 I e xcavated p arts o f t he O ketekakini ( Idah) a nd A tida ( Ogurugu) m ounds. I n S eptember 1 981 I c arried o ut a nother e xcavation a t O gurugu o n t he O batamu m ounds. D uring t hese p eiods I a lso c ollected r elevant o ral t raditional a nd e thnographic d ata. S tudies o f t he p otting t raditions a t I nyi, O werre-Ezukala, O jjor a nd I gga w ere d one i n D ecember 1 977 a nd M arch 1 978 w hile t he s tudy o f N kpologu p otting t raditions w as d one i n M arch 1 981.

4

6

C HAPTER T WO

B ACKGROUND I NFORMATION S PECIFIC T O T HE A NAMBRA V ALLEY A s s et o ut i n aw ider c ontext i n P art 1 , t he A nambra v alley i s o ccupied b y I gbo a nd I gala s peaking p eoples o f 7m ain c entres. A guleri , p resently o ccupied b y t he I gbo s peaking p eople,

i s o n l atitude 6 .4°2 0N a nd l ongitude 6.

5 1 Ea nd i s i n t he A nambra L ocal G overnment A rea o f A nambra S tate ; O gurugu ( latitude 66 4 4 N a nd l ongitude 6(' 5 5 E )i n t he U zo-uwani L ocal G overnment A rea o f A nambra S tate i s p resently o ccupied b y I gala-speaking p eople , I dah ( the s eat o f t he I gala k ing) i s o n l atitude 7 0 5 Na nd l ongitude 6 °4 3 Ea nd i s i n t he I dah L ocal G overnment A rea o f B enue S tate ( Fig.

1 ).

T he g eomorphology o f t he A nambra v alley T he A nambra b asin i s p art o f t he N iger s edimentary b asin .

T his b asin

r esulted f rom t ectonic m ovements t hat o ccurred p rior t o t he C retaceous O rajaka 1 975: 5 ; K ogbe 1 975: 2 37-357 a nd w as f illed w ith a s eries o f t ransgressive a nd r egressive s ediments, l argely s andstones, s hales a nd c lays, d uring t he C retaceous O fomata 1 975 :8 . T hese s ediments s ubsequently u nderwent u plift a nd f olding ; t hen e rosion a nd a s a r esult o ther p resently e xisting

l andscape

f eatures

i n

t he

f ormer O nitsha,

O werri

a nd B enue

p rovinces w ere f ormed ( Simpson 1 954:4). T he p resent d ay p lain w hich i s t he d ominant f eature i n s outh-eastern N igeria h as a g ently r olling t opography g enerally a bout 1 22 m etres a bove s ea-level.

T his r esulted f rom a lternating

g gradational a ctivities.

d enudational a nd

T he A nambra i tself ( Figs 1 & 2 a) w hose h eadwaters a re i n B enue S tate, i s a pproximately 2 30 k ilometres l ong f rom i ts s ource i n t he f alse b edded s and-stone f ormations o f A nkpa ( Wigwe 1 975 :10). I t f lows s outh t hen w est f or a lmost 1 20 k ilometres b efore i t i s j oined b y t he O kulu a nd a t O gurugu b y t he O fu . F rom O gurugu t he A nambra f lows i nto t he N iger i n a s eries o f m eander o f v arying l engths o ver a l owland p lain r oughly 1 20 m etres a bove s ea-level w hich i s c ompletely f looded f or m ost o f t he r ainy s eason. T he r iver N iger a lso o verflows i ts b anks i n t he r ainy s eason , t he f lood f rom b oth r ivers h elping t o p rovide r ich s oils f or a griculture i n A guleri, O gurugu a nd I dah . A s c orrectly n oted b y O fomata 1 975 :41-42, t he s oils o f t he A nambra v alley a re b asically y oung, d erived f rom r ecenly d eposited a lluvium . T hey r ange f rom p ale b rown l oamy t o i mmature y oung s oils w hich a re n ot i ntensively c ultivated. T he l oamy s oils h ave a c rumbly s tructure a nd h igh h umus

c ontent a nd a re m ore f ertile c onsequently .

a re s pecially f avoured i n ( Grove 1 951:5).

s ome a reas

A lluvial s oils

f or g rowing c oco-yam a nd

l arge

y ams

T emperature a nd r ainfall M ean a nnual

t emperature

i n t he

b asin r anges b etween 2 6 ° -28 °

h ottest m onths o f t he y ear a re F ebruary, d ropping

M arch a nd A pril w ith

i n D ecember a nd J anuary d ue t o t he h armattan w inds.

7

T he

t emperature A nnual

r ainfall r anges f rom 1 600-2000 m m w ith t he r ainy s eason l asting f rom A pril t o O ctober , t hough b riefly i nterrupted b y a d ry s pell i n A ugust. T he d ry s eason l asts f rom N ovember t o M arch. T he p attern o f r ainfall, c ontrolled b y t he m ovement o f t he s un , h as n ot b een c onsistent t hrough t he y ears. I n s ome y ears t he r ains o r e ven t he " little" d ry s eason m ay b e p rologned w hile i n o ther y ears t he r ains d o n ot s tart w hen t hey a re

s upposed

t o.

T hese

v ariations m ay a dversely a ffect p easant f arming i n s uch a reas a s A guleri, O gurugu a nd I dah w here t he c rop c alendar f or c learing l and , p lanting a nd h arvesting c rops i s d irectly c ontrolled b y t he r ainfall p attern. C rop f ailure m ay o ccur i f t here i s a ny i nterruption o r c hange i n t he a nticipated r ainfall p attern . T he l ittle d ry s eason i n A ugust i s a ssociated w ith a n i nversion i n t he t ropical m aritime a irmass. H owever , h umidity r emains h igh ( Monanu 1 975 :25).

V egetation T wo

p rincipal

v egetation

b ands

a re

p resent

-the

f resh-water

s wamp-

f orest d irectly a long t he r ivers a nd s treams; a nd w oodland s avannah w ith p redominantly t all, c oarse g rasses, f lanking t he f orests. T he s wampy t errain , c haracterised b y v ery w et s oils, a re v ery r ich i n t ree s pecies a nd h erbs. T he w oodland s avannah z one i s m ainly c haracterised b y a f ew t rees i ncluding o il p alm t rees, f an p alms, s ilk c otton t rees a nd s ome g rasses, t he m ost d ominant o f w hich a re I mperata c ylindrica ( spear g rass) a nd P ennisetun p urpureum ( elephant g rass).

F ood r esources M onkeys,

b aboons ,

e lephants,

b uffaloes a nd s nakes t hrive i n t he s wamp

f orest while antelopes, g rass c utters ( cane r ats ) . , s quirrels, l eopards, wild ice i nhabit t he s avannah . D omestic a n imals s uch a s c attle, c ats, m s heep , d ogs a nd f owls t hrive i n b oth a reas.

g oats,

W ith r egards t o d omesticated p lants A guleri a nd O gurugu a re t he m ajor s ources o f s upply a nd d istribution o f y ams t o n eighbouring p eoples m ainly D ioscorea a lata ( ji a bana), D . r otundata ( ji o cha), D . C ayenesis ( ji a yogbe), D . d umetorum ( ona).

O ther c rops e xtensively c ultivated a re c assava

a nd r ice. M illet i s e xtensively c ultivated i n I dah . P lants c ultivated o n a s mall s cale i n t he a rea i nclude p lantain , b anana, m aize a nd p ineapple. A lso a vailable i n t he a reas a re o ranges, p awpaw a nd k ola-nut. W ild p lants p rotected f or e xploitation i nclude r affia p alm ( Raphia v inifera) a nd o il p alm ( Elaeis g uineensis) a nd t rees l ike N ewbouldia .1 aevis ( ogilisi) a nd D etarium e lastica ( ofo) f ound i n A guleri a re o f r itual i mportance. N ewbouldia l aevis i s s acred, o ften p lanted i n g roves i n f ront o f s hrines a nd t heir l eaves a re u sed f or s acrifices; s ometimes t hey a re u sed a s b oundary m arkers. S ome o f t he a bove m entioned p lants a nd a nimals m ust h ave b een l ong e xploited. B ut h ow f ar b ack i n t ime i s n ot y et k nown b ecause , a s w ith m any o ther p arts o f W est A frica , t he b eginnings o f f ood p roduction a re y et t o b e c larified. H owever, w ith r egards t o t he A nambra v alley, s tudies b y O nwuejeogwu ( 1972 , 1 974a) a nd G ray ( 1962:184), o f o ral a nd e thnographic i nformation s uggest t hat y am c ultivation i n t he A nambra v alley i s o f s ome a ntiquity. F or e xample, O nwuejeogwu s uggests t hat I gbo c ultural t raits a ssociated w ith t he b eginnings o f y am c ultivation a nd a y am f estival w ere i n n orthwest I gboland o n t he A nambra r iver , o n t he n orthern f orest m argins.

8

G ray i s o f t he o pinion t hat t he g rassland f ringe f ound h ere i ndicates e arly a gricultural c learings.

T he o ral

t raditions

( Henderson

1 972:60-61)

o ffer

g limpses a s t o h ow c ultivation o f y am a nd c oco-yam b egan i n A guleri a nd t heir p robable s pread t o o ther p arts o f I gboland. O ral i nformation s uggests t hat i n p re-European t imes t itle-taking i n A guleri a nd O gurugu w as d ependent o n t he n umber o f l ines o f y ams a vailable i n a m an's b arn . A lso t he p eople o f b oth a reas h ave g ood k nowledge o f c ultivation a nd p reservation o f y am . F or e xample,

l arge e ating y ams a re c ultivated i n h eaps,

w hile s eed y ams a re

c ultivated i n r idges. Y ams a re w ell-preserved i n b arns s uitably c onstructed f or t he p urpose. A nd a s i n m any I gbo a reas t he p eople o f A guleri h ave r espect f or I fejioku s pirit ( deified y am s pirit). V arious

p lants/trees

p rovide

t he i nhabitants

o f A guleri,

O gurugu a nd

I dah w ith f irewood a nd m aterials f or r oofing t heir h ouses. F or i nstance , t he s tem o f d ate p alm ( Phoenix d actylifera) , s pear a nd e lephant g rasses a re u sed f or t hatch. S ome h erbs w ere i mportant i n t he p ast f or m edicinal p urposes. F or e xample i n U muekete v illage ( Aguleri) p lant s pecies w hose u ses t he p eople s till k now i nclude: ( i)

O lax s p.

( osu-aja) -said t o b e u seful f or t he c ure o f s nake b ites.

( ii) C rinum s p. ( ulede o r o lodu) -mainly u sed b y t he l ocal d octors ( dibia) f or " ochi" -a p rocess i n w hich i mpure b lood i s s ucked o ut o f t he b ody t o r elieve i t o f p ains. ( iii) C issus s p. ( elim-utara) -k nown a s ( okoho) i n I gala l anguage a nd i n N sükka a rea ; ac limbing t ree , t he s tem i s u sed i n p reparing a t ype o f g ummy s oup . ( iv) O chna s p. m alaria. ( v)

( nwanyi-Ocha) -t he l eaves a re u seful f or t he c ure o f

A nnona s enegalensis ( mbu-mbu) w hose l eaves c ould b e u sed i n p reparing a

p urgative d rug a nd t he b ark f or m alaria m edicine.

T he f ruits c ould a lso b e

e aten . ( vi)

R ubiaceous

p lant

( elimejuna

o r

o lanjune)

u sed

l ocally t o t reat

a ny

o pen w ound.

C lay C lay

f or m aking

p ots,

b ricks

a nd

o ther

c eramic

i tems a re

f ound

g enerally o n b anks o f r ivers o r i n t he f lood v alleys ( s r o n s lopes o f h ills. T he p otting t radition i s n ow o n t he d ecline a nd i n A guleri f or e xample.

T he

f ew w omen w ho h ave k nowledge o f p otting a re v ery o ld a nd a re n o l onger w illing t o m ake p ots. T he y ounger w omen a re n ot i nterested i n s uch a n o ccupation b ecause i t i s r egarded n ow a s b eing t edious a nd n o l onger l ucrative. A t O gurugu a nd I dah d espite t he p resence o f s uitable c lay , o ral i nformation m aintains t hat i n t he p ast t he p eople g ot t heir p ottery p roducts f rom t heir n eighbours; t his i s s till t he p ractice t oday.

L and a nd w ater r outes C ommunications

i n

t he

r egion i nclude v arious

o verland

r outes

r unning

t hrough N sukka-Udi h ighland n orth-westward i nto t he I gala c ountry a nd w ater

9

b orne c ontact a long t he r iver N iger a nd i ts t ributary, T hese h ave b een d isucssed i n P art 1 .

t he A nambra r iver.

T HE I GBO A ND I GALA P EOPLES T he I gbo A g eneral d iscussion o f

t hese p eoples h as b een g iven i n P art

1 .

H ere

o nly p oints s pecific t o t he A nambra B asin w ill b e i ncluded. A ll I gbo g roups p ossess a c ommon l anguage ( Fig. 2 d) a lthough w ith d ialect d ifferences. B ut m ost l inguists a gree t hat t here a re c onsonants i n a ll t he d ialects a nd t hat/... t hese c onsonants m ake t he I gbo l anguage a r ecognizable l inguistic w hole u nderstood b y a nyone w ho g rows u p w ithin a ny I gbo-speech c ommunity o r w ho u ndertakes a s tudy t he l anguage ( Ebeogu 1 980 : 6 7-68). A ccording t o A rmstrong

( 1967 :

4 -5) o ne o f

t he

v ery s triking u nifying

f actors i n I gbo l anguage i s " the e xtraordinary s tability o f t one t hrough t he w hole r ange o f t he d ialects" . A part

f rom t he l anguage

f actor ,

p atrilineality a nd a gnation a re w ell

d efined i n m ost v illages a nd r esidence i s n ormally p atrilocal. B ut i n s ome N sukka v illages w here I gala l ineages w ere f ounded t he I gbo r eckon d escent o vertly t hrough t he m ale l ine ( father's a gnates) b ut c overtly t hrough t he l ine o f m other's f ather ( EGO's I kwunne o r m other's u munna) i n o rder t o m aintains I gbo c ontrol o ver I gbo g ods a nd p ersons ( Shelton 1 971:33) . I n A fikpo t here i s t he d ouble u nilineal d escent o r d ouble d escent s ystem w hich s tresses t ies t hrough t he m other a s w ell a s t he f ather , i n b oth c ases i n l imited w ays ( Ottenberg 1 968:3). I n s uch a n a rea p artilineal a nd m atrilineal l and h oldings

e xist s ince i ndividuals

( both m ales a nd f emales)

r eckon d escent t hrough m ales b y w ay o f t heir m other f orming u terine t ies w hich a re q uite d istinct f rom t he a gnatic o nes ( Ottenberg 1 968: 4 -5). G enerally s peaking, h owever, t he I gbo l ive i n p atrilineages c alled u munna. U munna w hich

l iterally

m eans

" children

o f

t he

f ather"

c onnotes

b iological a nd s ociological r elationships. I kwunne o n t he o ther h and l iterally m eans " relations o f m other" ( see E beogu 1 980 : 3 7-47 w ho ( op.cit. 3 9) h as p ointed o ut t hat i n

b oth

t he

p urely

p atrilineal

k inship s ystems o f t he I gbo s ociety ,

a nd

d ouble

t he i nterplay

o f t he p aternal a nd m aterial e lements i s r esponsible f or t he s tability i n t he I gbo s ocial s ystem . T he t ypical I gbo h ousehold i s m ade u p o f am an a nd h is w ife o r w ives, h is u nmarried c hildren a nd h is m arried s ons a nd t heir w ives a nd c hildren . T he w ife/wives c o-operates/co-operate w ith t he m an i n t he u pbringing o f t heir c hildren b ut d ecision-taking l ies u ltimately w ith t he m an w ho c ontrols t he a ffairs o f t he h ouse. A n umber o f h ouseholds f orm a c ompound

1 0

( obu) a nd c losely r elated

c ompounds

f orm

a l ineage

( umunna)

w hile

r elated

l ineages

f orm a v illage

( ogbe) a nd a n umber o f v illages f ederate t o f orm a t own ( obodo). U chendu ( 1965:40) r ightly p oints o ut t hat i t i s i n t he c ompound t hat t raditional a uthority m ainly l ies. T he c ompound h ead h as n umerous r itual, m oral a nd l egal r ights a nd o bligations a nd a ll h ouseholders a nd t heir d ependents r ecognise h is a uthority a nd w ill n ot m ake a ny m ajor p olitical d ecision w ithout f irst c onsulting h im. H e o ffers s acrifices f or m embers o f h is c ompound, s ettles d isputes b etween a h usband a nd h is w ife/wives a nd c onfers n ames o n a ny c hild b orn i n h is c ompound. H e a lso r epresents h is c ompound i n a ll e xternal a ffairs affairs d ealing w ith o ther c ompounds. A t a h igher l evel i t i s t he l ineage h ead w ho a cts a s i ntermediary b etween t he l ineage a nd t he a ncestors. H e i s ac ompound h ead b ut m ay b e t he o ldest m ember o f t he l ineage. H e p lays r itual a nd p riestly f unctions f or h is l ineage , s acrificing t o t he e arth d eity ( Ani o r A la) o n i ts b ehalf. H e h as n o p olitical a uthority -he o nly p resides o ver m eetings o f t he l ineage b ut c annot p unish o r i nterfere i n t he i nternal a ffairs o f t he c omponent u nits f orming t he l ineage. H is s ymbol o f a uthority m ade f rom t he b ranch o f D etarium e lastica .

i s

t he c lub-like

o fo

A t t he v illage l evel t here i s n o v illage-head. E very a dult m ale p articipates i n r unning t he a ffairs o f t he v illage. H owever , l eadership i s p rovided b y o fo-holders a nd t itled m en . A ffairs o f g roups o f v illages a re r un b y r epresentatives f rom t he v illages s elected a t e ach o ccasion d epending o n t heir a bility t o r epresent t heir v illages. I n t he v illage-group a ssembly e very v illage h as e qual v oice a nd n o d ecision o f t he a ssembly i s b inding o n a v illage w hich i s n ot r epresented o r w hich d isagrees w ith o thers. H owever , m ost v illages t end t o c o-operate w ith o ne a nother . T he s ettlement p attern i n v arious p arts o f I gboland r eflects d irectly t he r elation b etween t erritorial a nd s ocial o rganisation ( Udo 1 964:134). S tructurally , t he v illage i s d ivided a long t he l ines o f c omponent l ineages; b oundaries o f t he l and b eing d efined b y s uch t hings a s t raditions o f o wnership o r b y t rees s uch a s o gilisi ( Newbouldia l aevis), p alms e tc. W ithin t he l and o f al ineage e ach c ompound h as a s hare m eant f or t he v arious h ouseholds f orming t he c ompound. I ndeed i n m ost p arts o f I gbo a reas v illages a re n ot o vercrowded. T here i s s pace e nough f or e ach f amily ( household) t o h ave i ts o wn h ouse, c ompound a nd a t t imes f arm a t c lose q uarters. I n t he a rea s elected f or d etailed s tudy ( Aguleri), t he s ettlement p attern i s t hat o f c ompact v illages w hile i n m ost p arts o f n orthern I gboland t he d ispersed c ompound v illages p revail. F or e xample , i n N ri, I gbo -Nkwu , E zira e tc. t he v illages c onsist o f d ispersed c ompounds. E ach c ompound i s e nclosed w ith a m ud w all o f a bout 1 .5m h igh c overed w ith p alm f round t o p revent r ainwash . I n t he m odern p eriod s uch a w all i s b uilt w ith c ement b locks. I n m ost c ases e ach c ompound h as a ttached l and f or p lanting y ams, c ocoyams a nd v egetables. O utside t he s ettlement a rea o pen t racts o f f armland a nd p atches o f s hrubs p redominate. A guleri c onsists o f i ndividual m ud h ouses -some o f s ingle r ooms.

T he

h ouses a re b uilt v ery c losely t ogether s o t hat t here i s j ust a w alking s pace b etween t hem . A f amily u nit ( a m an , w ife/wives a nd t heir c hildren) h as t wo o r m ore h ouses d epending o n t he n umber o f w ives a nd t he m an's h ouse ( often t he b iggest) i s f lanked o n o ne s ide b y t hose o f h is w ives.

1

T he m ales l ive

t ogether i n t heir f ather's h ouse w hile t he f emales m other's.

l ive t ogether i n t heir

T he h ouses o f r elatives a re b uilt n ear o ne a nother a nd t he s eparation o f

t he

h ouses

o f

o ne

l ineage

g roup

n oticeable. H owever , f eatures l ike s eparate v illages f rom o ne a nother.

( umunna)

f rom

f armlands,

a nother

w oodland

a nd

i s

h ardly

o pen

s paces

I mmediately p rior t o E uropean a dvent a nd s ubsequent i nfluence t he p eople o f A guleri l ived i n h ouses, s ome o f w hich w ere r ound , b ut m ost w ere r ectangular a t t heir b ase. T hese h ouses h ad r espectively r ound o r r ectangular g rass r oofs a nd n o w indows. C ooking w as d one i n f ront o f a ny o f t he h ouses, b ut a f amily u nit m ay b uild a s mall h ouse w ith h alf w alls i n f ront f or t his p urpose.

R efuse i s t hrown a nywhere o utside t he c ompound.

O n b oth s ides o f t he b anks o f r iver A nambra, a s f or e xample a t U muezeanam , o pposite A guleri, h ouses a re b uilt o n r aised p latforms o r o n l ong a nd t hick w ooden p iles a bout t wo m etres h igh . e ntering t he h ouses d uring r ainy s easons. T he

p rincipal o ccupations

o f

t he

T hese p revent w ater f rom

I gbo h ere a re a griculture,

t rading ,

s mithing , p otting a nd t extile m anufacture ( see P art 1 ).

T he I gala T he I gala i nhabit a n a rea s outh o f t he B enue r iver a nd e ast o f t he N iger a nd s hare c ommon b oundaries w ith t he I gbo a long t he A nambra r iver a s f ar s outh a s O gurugu . T he

I gala p eople

l ike

t he I gbo ,

c omprise s everal g roups w hose s ocial

o rganisation a nd v alue s ystems a re g enerally s imilar. U nlike a m ajotiLy o f I gbo g roups, h owever, t he I gala r ecognise o ne p aramount k ing -Ata ( literally f ather) -b ased a t I dah, a s t heir p olitical r uler ( Shelton 1 971:17). T hus a mong t he u nifying f actors, I gala-speaking p eople h ave a c ommon l anguage, ( Fig.2d) a nd a c ommon p olitical c oncept. T he I gala l anguage h as s everal d ialects b ut S ilverstein ( 1973 :xii) m aintains t hat t here a re a f ew e ssential d ifferences b etween t hem a nd c ommunication i s n ot i mpared. U nlike t he I gbo t he

I gala

a re m ore c oncerned w ith n otions

o f

r ank a nd

h ierachy t han w ith n otions o f i ndividual a chievement c ompetitive s ociety .. t itles a re a ssociated h ereditary d ifferences i n r ank ( Boston 1 977 :13).

i n a w ith

I n I galaland a n umber o f s ibling g roups f orm l ineages a nd r elated l ineages f orm c lans ( Part 1 ) a nd c lan o rganisation a nd t erritorial c ommunity f orm t he b ases o f I gala s ocial a nd p olitical o rganisation . T he c lan s ystem e xisted i n i ts o wn r ight a s a f ramework w ithin w hich p olitical a uthority w as d elegated p ermanently a mong c lans o f d ifferent o rders; a nd 1 25). A mong

( Boston 1 968 :

2 8

T he r oyal c lans b eing t he l argest a nd m ost c omplex . t he

o ther

n on-royal

c lans

t he m ost

s enior m ember o f

t he u pper

m ost a ge-group b ecomes t he o gujo o lopu o r r itual e lder. W hen h e d ies t he n ext i n a ge t akes o ver t he a ffairs o f t he c lan. T he a uthority o f t he o gujo

1 2

o lopu i s r itual a nd m oral i n c haracter. T he o ffice o f o gujo o lopu i s l imited a dministratively b y t he f act t hat I gala c lans t end t o b e w idely d ispersed b eyond t heir o riginal c entres a nd a lso b ecause o f t he e xistence o f o ther o ffices i n w hich t he e xternal l eadership o f t he c lan i s v ested. H owever,

t he b asic u nit o f s ettlement i s t he h amlet ( aja);

i t i s a

s elf-contained c ommunity w hich i n m ost c ases a re m ade u p o f k insmen w ho a re r elated t o o ne a nother e ither b y b irth o r b y m arriage. I n ah amlet h ouses a re g rouped a round t he c ompound o f t he f ounder b ut t he h ouse o f t he a ff i ns a re f urther a way f rom t he c entre t han t hose o f t he f ounder's s ons a nd a gnatic r elatives. T he f ounder's s ons a nd h is a gnatic r elatives o ccupy a h igher s ocial p osition i n t he h amlet t han t he g roup o f a ff i ns. E ven w ithin t he g roup o f b look k insmen , t he s maller g roup w hich r eally c ontrols t he s ocial a nd e conomic l ife o f t he h amlet i s m ade o f a gnatic k insmen w ho d escended f rom t he f ounder o r a re r elated t o h im p atrilineally. M ainly f or e conomic p urposes h amlets g roup l oosely t ogether i nto a v i llage ( ewo). M embers o f e ach h amlet o btain l and t hrough t he v illage-group b ecause t he r ight t o a pportion l and i s d elegated t o t he h ead o f s enior h amlet i n e ach v illage b y t he c lan t hat h olds s overeign r ights o ver l and i n e ach d istrict.

H amlets a ccept v illage c ontrol o ver s uch r esources a s w ater ,

m arket, p aths, f armland a nd w oodland. T he h ead o f t he s enior h amlet b ecomes h ead o f t he v illage ( onu e wo). H e p erforms s ome a dministrative f unctions. H e i s r esponsible f or t he c ollection o f t ributes a nd t ries t o m aintain l aw a nd o rder i n t he v illage. B ut i t i s w ith t he h amlet h ead t he r eal a uthority i n a dministrative m atters l ies. T he v illage h ead g overns o nly w ith t he c onsent o f t he h amlet h eads a nd h e h as n o p ower t o i mplement d ecisions i n t he h amlet f or w hich t he e lders d o n ot g ive t heir s upport. A ny a ttempt b y t he v illage h ead t o o vers tep h is a uthority w ill b e l ooked u pon b y m embers o f t he v illage a s o ppression a nd m ay " lead i n t he l ong r un t o d epopulation o f t he v illage t hrough e migration" ( Boston o p. c it: 1 48). V illage g roups a re b rought t ogether i nto d istricts w ith a n o nu a ne ( chief o f l and) a s t he a dministrative a nd p olitical h ead. T he O nu a re i s r esponsible t o t he c entral g over ment f or t he m aintenance o f l aw a nd o rder i n h is d istrict a nd h e a cts a s a m ajor w itness i n a ny d ispute s ent t o t he p rovincial c ourt o r c ourt a t I dah f or s ettlement. T he o nu a ne's d uties a re a lso r eligious a nd r itualistic ;

h e l ooks a fter t he r itual w elfare o f w hole

m embers o f h is d istrict. D istricts

a re

g rouped

t ogether

i nto

p rovinces

u nder

t he

c ontrol

o f

A ta's r epresentatives -Ata'a c ouncillors. T hey a ct a s i ntermediaries b etween t he l ocalities a nd t he c entral g overnment i n j udicial , p olitical a nd o ther m atters. I n a t ypical A nambra B asin h amlet t he c ompound o f t he f ounder i s t he b iggest a nd p laced i n ac entral p osition . T o s ome e xtent t he e ntire n etwork o f p aths a nd b uildings t hat m ake u p t he h amlet i s c o-ordinated b y t he m ain a xes o f t his p rimary h omestead ( Boston o p. c it:

1 29).

H ouses a re n early a ll r ound w ith c onical t hatched r oofs ( comparable w ith h ouses a t U muekete v illage i n A guleri). T heir r oof-bears r est n ot d irectly o n t he m ud w alls b ut u sually o n a r ing o f v ertical p osts w hich s tand j ust o utside o r a re s ometimes e mbedded i n i t. C ompounds a re n ot u sually w alled r ather t hey c onsist o f h ouses b uilt t ogether a round o pen

1 3

s paces

( compact

s ettlement

a s

i n A guleri).

T he h ouses u sually

c ontain a

s ingle r oom e ach b ut s ometimes a s mall s pace i s p artitioned o ff f or a s tore o r s leeping r oom . T he o nly a dmission o f l ight a nd a ir i nto t he h ouse i s b y as mall d oor w ay ( see A rmstrong 1 955 : 8 6). T he m ain o ccupations o f t he I gala a re f arming, f ishing , i ron w orking a nd w eaving ( Part 1 ).

t rading,

h unting,

I GBO -IGALA C ONTACTS I N T H E A NAMBRA V ALLEY E thnographic ,

l inguistic

a nd

h istorical

( including

o ral

t raditional)

I nformation s uggest t hat t he I gbo a nd t he I gala o f t he A nambra v alley h ad b een i n c ontact a nd i nteracting w ith o ne a nother f rom t he v ery e arly p eriods o f t heir h istories.

E thnographic _ : nformation A t

l east

f rom p re-colonial

t imes

t he p eople o f

A guleri,

O gurugu a nd

I dah h ave b een p redominantly a gricultural , t hough t rading h ad a lways b een i mportant. T he p eople c ultivate m any c rops e specially y am w hich i s p rominent i n t heir d iet ( see t he s ection o f f ood r esources). T hey p ractise s hifting c ultivation w ith t he h elp o f h oes a nd c utlasses , p lanting y ams i n t he b est l and a vailable. A p iece o f l and i s c ultivated t wice c onsecutively a nd a llowed a f our o r t wo y ear f allow p eriod ( depending o n t he r ichness o f t he s oil) b efore i t i s r ecultivated. O pen p atches w ithin s ettlements a re f armed.

I n s uch g ardens c rop r otation i s p ractised.

T he p eople o f A guleri,

O gurugu a nd I dah a lso h unt a nd f ish .

A g ood

n umber o f t hem e ngage i n f ishing m ostly o n p art-time b asis a nd f ish a re c ollected b oin f or c ommerical p urposes a nd d omestic c onsumption . W ooden s pears, t raps o f d ifferent t ypes a nd s izes ( including n ets) a nd h ooks a re t he r udimentary i mplements u sed f or f ishing a nd f ishing i s a lso d one f rom c anoes i n t hese a reas. A lthough f ishing i s d one b y b oth m en a nd w omen , am an's a ctivity i n A guleri, O gurugu a nd I dah . a nd a rrows a nd t raps a re s till u sed f or h unting.

h unting i s e xclusively

U p t ill p resent t imes b ows T raps o f d ifferent t ypes -

f ence a nd b ait t raps, r ope-traps e tc. a re m ore e ffective i nstruments o f h unting t han c lubs, b ows a nd a rrows w hile l ocally m ade a nd f actory g uns a re t he m ost e ffective. T he p eople

A lso d ogs a re u sed f or h unting .

o f O gurugu a nd I dah d o n ot s eem t o h ave m anufactured p ots

f rom t he r ecent p ast. B ut s tudies o f t he p otting t radition i n s elected I gbo a reas ( Inyi, O werre-Ezukala w hich h ave t rading l inks w ith I gbo-Ukwu a nd A guleri w ithin t he A nambra v alley) a nd I gala a reas ( Ojjor, I gga a nd N kpologu) s how t hat d espite m inor v ariations t here a re s trong e lements o f s imilarities i n t he a ctual m anufacturing t ehcniques , t ypes o f d ecorations a nd f orms o f p ots i n t hese a reas ( see r elevant s ection i n c hapter F our). O ral i nformation m aintains t hat i ron s melting h as b een a ntiquity a t I dah ( Alhaji A liyu O baje, A ta o f I gala, M rach 1 981: c ommunication).

T he

p eople

o f

A guleri

c laim

t o

h ave

g ot

o f s ome p ersonal

i tinerant

s melters/smiths f rom A wka ( 40km e ast o f A guleri) w ho s melted i ron a nd p roduced i ron i mplements f or t hem (enafa a nd s ome A guleri e lders M arch 1 981:

p ersonal

c ommunication).

A t

O gurugu

1 4

t here

i s

n o

t radition o f

i ron

s melting b ut s mithing a ppears t o h ave b een g oing o n h ere u p t o r ecent t imes ( Chief T agbo U kwella S ept.

1 981:

p ersonal c ommunication).

A t b oth A guleri

a nd I dah i ron s melting s eem t o h ave d ie o ff w ith t he i mportation o f i ron f rom E urope. W eaving o f c loth s eems a lso t o h ave d ied o ff i n A guleri, O gurugu a nd I dah w ith t he i mportation o f c lothing m aterials. F ollowing h is s tudies o f t he d istribution p attern o f t he c eremonial g ongs a nd i kenga's f igures ( symbol o f t he s pirit c ult w hich e mphasizes i ndividual a chievement a s a gainst a scribed s tatus) B oston ( 1964 :46) n oted t hat t he c eremonial g ongs i n I gbo a nd I gala a reas " are s imilar i n c onstruction a nd t hat t heir " dimensions a re r oughly t he s ame". H e w as h owever , o f t he o pinion t hat o ne c annot s peak o f as tandard s hape f or e ither t he I gbo o r I gala g ongs. H e ( Boston 1 977) a lso o bserved s imilarities b etween t he i kenga f igures i n I gbo t erritory a nd t hose o f n eighbouring E do a nd I gala p eoples. I n t he t hree a reas t he i kenga o r o kega ( Igala) i s r epresented b y ac arving o r c asting a s i n s ome c ases a mong t he E do . B ut t he d istinctive f eature o f t he i kenga i n a ll t he a reas i s t hat i t i s g enerally h orned. A ccording t o B oston ( 1977:2-3) t he m ain d istribution o f t he o kega f igures i n I gala a reas w as t he I baji d istrict w hich w as b etween I dah a nd t he b order w ith t he I gbo t o t he s outh . H owever , h e f ound a f ew e xamples a t I dah a nd n earby v illages. T he

I fejioku

c ult

( prominent

i n

I gbo a reas)

a nd

I gbo

s ymbol

o f

a uthority o fo a re a lso p resent i n s outhern I gala c ommunities ( for e xample, O gurugn a nd I baji) b ut a bsent i n c entral I gala a reas. A ge g rade a ssociations w hich c haracterize t he I gbo s pecial o rganisation h ave b een a dopted i n O gurugu a nd I baji a reas. A lso f ound i n O gurugu a nd I baji a reas a re I gbo m asquerades w ith " prominent h ead-dresses a nd w ith b uffalo h orns a nd n umerous s ymbolic c arved o bjects" ( see O guagha o p. c it: 2 22-262). M any t owns a nd v illages

i n N sukka a rea h ave

t raditions w hich s uggest

t hat t heir k ingship i nstitution w as d erived f rom I dah .

T his i s a lso e vident

i n t he f orm o f a dministrative t itles f ound i n N sukka a rea ( titles c ollectively k nown a s t he A ma t itles). S ome I gbo t owns, l ike N sukka, E ha A lumona a nd E nugu E zike , " adapted t he I gala c oncept o f l ocal g overnment". I n s uch t owns t he " earth p riest w a a lso t he s ecular h ead l ike t he o nu a ne i n I gala k ingdom" ( Oguagha o p. c it: 2 29). A lso t he E gungu c ult a ssociated w ith t he I gala E gu f estival ( "celebrated i n c ommemoration o f t he a ncestors a t t he b eginning o f t he y am h arvest" f eature i n s ome I gbo t owns l ike O nitsha, O somari, I llah , O dekpe a nd O nitsha ( Oguagha o p. c it.: 2 30). I t h as b een s uggested t hat t he h orizontal n arrow l oom a nd t he v ertical b road l oom ( both u sed f or w eaving) f ound i n N sukka a reas w ere p robably i ntroduced b y t he I gala a nd I doma p eoples ( see O guagha o p. c it: 2 47). I n A guleri , O gurugu a nd I dah t he s ettlement p attern i s o f c ompact t ype. H ouses t hose

a re o f

b uilt

t ogether

( not u sually

w alled

t he n eighbouring v illages/quarters

r ound)

a nd

s eparated

f rom

b y t racks o f i ntervening

w oodland o r f armland. I n I dah h ouses a re n early a ll r ound w ith c onical t hatched r oofs ( comparable w ith h ouses a t U muekete v illage i n A guleri); w hile i n A guleri a nd O gurugu s ome o f t he h ouses a re r ound b ut m ost a re r ectangular

( feature

t ypical

o f h ouses i n I gbo a reas).

T hese h ouses h ave

f our c ornered o r r ound g rass r oofs. I n t he t hree a reas t he h ouses h ave n o w indows. T he o nly a dmission o f l ight a nd a ir i nto a ny o f t he h ouses i s b y a

1 5

s mall d oor w ay. T hus w e c an o bserve e lements o f s imilarities i n t he h ouse t ypes, s ubsistence a ctivities, s ocial o rganisations a nd a spects o f t echnology ( arts a nd c rafts) o f t he I gbo a nd I gala p eoples i nhabiting t he A nambra v alley. S ome o f t hese s imilarities m ay r esult f rom t he f act t hat d ifferent p eoples r esponded i n as imilar v ein t o s im ilar e nvironmental c onditions w hile o thers m ay b e d ue t o i nteractions b etween t hese t wo g roups o f p eople t hrough t ime. T his l ast h ypothesis w as t ested b y t he a rchaeological d ata .

L inguistics i nformation L inguists l ike A rmstrong ( 1964,

1 965) a nd H offman ( 1978:

p ersonal

c ommunication) s uggest t hat I gala a nd I gbo l anguages d iverged f rom P roto-Kwa t housands o f y ears a go. U sing t he m ethod o f g lottochronology t o g et s ome i dea o f a bsolute t imes, A rm l ,crong c omes u p w ith s eparation p eriods o f 4 ,000 t o 6 ,000 y ears b etween Y oruba a nd I gbo ( Armstrong 1 964:12) a nd 2 ,000 b etween I gala a nd Y oruba ( Armstrong o p. c it.). S ince I gala i s m ore c losely ' related' t o Y oruba ( Armstrong 1 965) a nd p robably d iverged f rom Y oruba a fter I gbo a nd Y oruba d iverged f rom e ach o ther t he s eparation p eriod b etween I gbo a nd I gala c ould b e e stimated t o s omewhere b etween 4 ,000 a nd 6 ,000 y ears a lso. B ut t he u se o f g lottochronology f or a bsolute d ating i s h ighly q uestionable. V arious o pinions a re h eld a s t o t he v alidity o f t he m ethod. A lthough t he d iffering s chools o f t hought r egarding g lottochronology d o n ot c oncern u s h ere, t hese d ares a ppear t o s eparation p eriods o f t he a bove l anguages.

g ive u s a n i dea o f r elative I t w ould h ave b een i nteresting

t o

i nvestigation

s ee

h ow

i ndependent

a rchaeological

o f

I gbo-Igala

r elationship c ompares w ith s uch g lottochronological p ostulation. W hile t his i s b eyond t he s cope o f t his s tudy i t c onsttutes a v iable t opic f or y et a nother s tudy p erhaps o f t his k ind . T here a re s imilarities b etween t he I gbo a nd I gala l anguages w hich m ay b e d ue t o g enetic r elationship ( Hoffman 1 978 : p ersonal c ommunication). F or e xample , I gala e wo

I gbo

( goat)

g wu

( goat)

T his i tem i n b oth l anguages s till r etains s ome f eatures w hich m ake i t r ecognisable a s c oming f rom t he s ame s ource ( Hoffan 1 978: p ersonal c ommunication). F urthermore , i n h is s tudy o f t he I gala l anguage S ilverstein ( 1973 :1) m aintains t hat t he I baji d ialect s poken i n t he s outhwest c orner o f t he I gala a rea a nd t he A doru d ialect s poken i n t he s outhwest c orner o f t he I gala a rea h ave I gbo l inguistic i nfluences w hile E bu h as a w estern I gbo l inguistic i nfluence. T here a re s imilarities a lso b etween t he I gbo a nd I gala w ords f or m arket d ays w hich c learly i ndicate l ong t rading c ontact :

1 6

I gbo

I gala

E ke ( first d ay o f t he m arket w eek)

E ke ( fourth d ay o f m arket w eek

O ye

E de

A fo

A fo

N kwo

U kwo ( see S helton 1 971: 2 61

S ome I gbo p eople i n t he I gbo a reas) b ear I gala n ames l ike O noja,

I gala b orderland ( for O boli, A sama , O gbedo ,

e xample , N sukka A meh , A jogu N ad

O joma w hile s ome I gala o f t he s outhern c ommunities ( for e xample , O gurugu a nd I baji) b ear I gbo n ames l ike O kolo , I gbokwe, T agbo , I gwedimma a nd C hukwurah . A part f rom t his, m any s outhern I gala c ommunities ( for e xample, O gurugu , I gga, O jjor , A saba a nd I baji) a re b ilingual i n I gbo a nd I gala l anguages a nd I gbo s erves a s as econd l anguage i n t hese a reas ( also s ee O guagha o p. c it: 2 48 , 2 51 a nd 2 58). B oth i n I gala a nd I gbo l anguages t he w ork o kpe o r e kpe i s u sed t o r efer t o d efensive w alls o r e arth-works w hile t wo t owns -one n ear I dah a nd t he o ther i n N sukka a rea -have a c ommon n ame ( Nkpologu). M oreover , m any N sukka t owns h ave s ome p eople o f I gala a ncestry ( Meek 1 930 : 3 -126). A ccording t o S helton ( 1971:xii) t he c onquest o f N sukka b y t he I gala r esulted " in d efinite s ubstitution o f t he I gbo s hrine p riests b y I gala a ttama ( also s ee p ages 1 3 -14 , 1 21 -122, 1 59 -162, 2 33 -234). T he l inguistic i nformation s uggests: ( i)

t hat I gbo

' gala r elationship k i t ay d ate f rom t he v ery e arly

p eriods o f t heir h istories; ( ii) t imes.

c ontacts b etween t he I gbo a nd t he I gala i n t he m ore r ecent

T his l atter h ypothesis h as b een t ested h ere a rchaeologically.

O ral T raditions W hile P art

I t d ealt w ith t he h istory a nd o ral

t raditions

o f a ll

I gbo

c ommunities w hich h ave h ad r elationships w ith t he I gala ( for e xample, O nitsha , I llah , O somari, E bu e tc) i n t his p art a m ore d etailed s tudy o f o ral t raditions t hat p ertain t o t he h istory o f t he I gbo a nd I gala p eoples i n t he A nambra r iver v alley i s d one.

T he A nambra c onnection w ith t he I gala k ingdom

i s c ontained e specially i n t he t raditions o f a g roup o f r elated v illages t hat f orm a c lan k nown a s U mueri. T he U mueri s ettled i n t wo s ections r oughly m idway b etween O nitsha a nd A wka , A guleri,

t he n orthern

o n t he l eft b ank o f t he r iver A nambra ,

N ri s ome 4 6 k ilometres e ast o f A guleri.

s ection

c entred

o n

a nd t he s outhern s ection a t

T he t owns

f orm t he n orthern g roup

a re A guleri , N teje, A manuke a nd I gbariam ; a nd t he s outhern c omprises N ri a nd O reri ( Boston 1 960:54). T hese t owns f orm a g roup w hose e lders c alim a c ommon o rigin a nd t he s ame a ncestor ( Jeffreys 1 934 :14). T he t wo v ersions o f t he t radition a re d iscussed i n P art U sing

t he

p rinciples

o f

g enerational

i nterval

( interval

b irth o f a f ather a nd t he b irth o f h is f irst s urviving s on) ,

1 7

b etween

t he

N ri a ge-grade

s ystem a nd N ri k ing l ist ,

O nwuejeogwu

( op. c it:

6 -54) w orked o ut a t ime -

c hart f or N ri h istory. H e p laces t he N ri p eriod a t A guleri i n t he A nambra v alley a s f rom a bout A l ) 9 48 -1041. T here a re m any s hort c omings i n t his m ethod o f d ating b ut i t m ay g ive u s a n i dea o f t he t ime d epth o f N ri c ulture h istory a nd t he t radition s uggests s ome f orms o f i nteraction b etween t he I gbo a nd I gala p eople w ithin t he A nambra v alley f rom e arly p eriods i n t heir h istories. A ccording t o B oston ( 1960 :55) t he I gala o n t heir p art d o n ot c laim a ny g enetic r elationship w ith t he U mueri t owns, b ut t heir t raditions s uggest t hat t hey h ave h ad l ong h istorical c onnection w ith t he I gbo. I t w as p ointed o ut i n P art I, t hat t he o rigin l egends o f p resent d ay I gala k ingship t end t o f all i nto t wo c ategories , o ne c entering u pon f ounders o f n oble b irth a nd t he o ther u pon f ounders w ho a re s aid t o h ave b een h unters b y p rofession . I gala t raditions p oint t o a w ar h ero -O noja O boni -as t he f ounder o f t he k ingship s ystem i n O gurugu -an I gala t own b y t he b ank o f t he A nambra r iver . P art I I nterviews c onducted b y m e i n S eptember 1 977 a nd F ebruary 1 980 w ith C hief T agbo U kwella , h is c ouncillors a nd s om e O gurugu e lders p oint t o O noja O boni a s t he i llegitimate s on o f O batamu ( an I gbo h unter) f rom h is u nion w ith O boni , a n I dah w oman . F rom a b ase a t O gurugu h e r aided t he I gbo b order c ountry f rom t he N sukka e scarpment t o t he N iger. T he s ituation o f h is b ase, c oupled w ith t he s trong t radition t hat O boni c onquered t he t own o f A saba a nd I gala t rading s ettlements a long t he N iger -near O nitsha , m akes c onnections b etween h is a ctivities a nd t he I gbo s ettlement a t A guleri m ost p robable ( Boston o p. c it: s ee S eton o p. c it a nd M eek o p. c it.). H owever , t he w alls a round O gurugu a nd s ome s ettlements o f t he A nambra v alley s uggest a p eriod o r p eriods o f r aiding i n t he A nambra v alley, c onflicts i n w hich t he I gbo a nd I gala m ight h ave p articipated .

A rchaeological i nformation f rom t he A manbra V alley O n t he N sukka c ampus o f t he U niversity o f N igeria, H artle ( 1966:4) l ocated r emains o f a f ortified s ite p resently c onsisting o f a lmost a c ircular e arthen w all a bout 2 00 m etres i n d iameter . H artle ( 1967:136) w as o f t he o pinion t hat i t w as o ne o f e leven f orts b etween U nadu a nd w hich w ere u sed b y t he I gala a s s lave p ens. S helton ( op. c it: i nformed t hat t his f ort i s c alled O kpe'garra ( the I gala w all) a nd w as o ccupied b y t he p eople f rom I dah a l ong t ime a go. H e w as o f t he

O gurugu 2 3) w as t hat i t o pinion

t hat t he c onquest o f N sukka b y t he I gala t ook p lace w ell b efore t he 1 850's. S haw i n 1 959-60 a nd 1 964 e xcavated t hree s ites a t I gbo-Ukwu. T hey a re " a s tore h ouse o f r egalia" ( Igbo I saiah), a b urial c hamber/shrine a nd a n a ncient c istern ( Igbo R ichard) a nd t he p its ( Igbo J onah). T he " store h ouse" w as f ull o f r itual b ronze v essels a nd r egalia w hile b ronze o bjects a nd m any b eads w ere r ecovered f rom t he b urial c hamber/shrine, t he a ncient c istern a nd t he p its. P otsherds w ere r ecovered f rom t he t hree e xcavations. T here f inds.

i s

s till

a n

u nresolved

p roblem

i n

i nterpreting

t he

I gbo-Ukwu

T his i s b ecause t hey a re i solated g eographically, s tylistically a nd

i n t ime. F or i nstance , a part f rom E zira , a bout 2 0km n orth o f I gbo-Ukwu , w ith b ronzes d ated t o 1 5th c entury A D b y H artle t here i s n o o ther s ite i n s outh-eastern N igeria w ith m aterial s imilar t o t hose f rom I gbo-Ukwu . A nd i n t he w hole o f s outhern N igeria t here i s n o o ther s ite w ith e vidence o f b ronze t echnology d ating b ack t o 9 th c entury A D .

1 8

T he e arliest b eing a t B enin 1 3th

t o 1 4th c entury A D , a nd a t I fe 1 2th c entury A D. A lthough t he t echnique o f m anufacture o f I gbo-Ukwu, b ronze

o bjects

d ifferences:

i s

B enin a nd I fe

s imilar t he r aw m aterials a nd a rt s tyles s how s ome

w hereas t he I gbo-Ukwu b ronzes a re a m ixture o f l ead ,

c opper t hose o f B enin a nd I fe a re a m ixture o f t in,

t in a nd

z inc a nd c opper a nd

s trictly s peaking s hould b e r eferred t o a s b rass; t he d ecorative m otifs o n t he I gbo-Ukwu b ronze o bjects a re q uite d istinctive a nd d ifferent f rom t hose o f I fe a nd B enin .

E ze

S haw ( 1969 :45; 1 970 : 2 68-271) a ssociated t he I gbo-Ukwu f inds w ith t he N ri, k ings o f U mueri g roup o f t he I gbo , a nd t he s ite i s v ery c lose t o

O reri, t he o nly p lace w ith A gukwu t o h ave a k ing w ith t his r ite. S haw w as ( 1970 :284-5) o f t he o pinion t hat I gbo-Ukwu w as l inked t o t he t rans-saharan t rading n et-work a s f ar b ack a s 9 th c entury A D. H e s uggests t hat t he w ealth e xhibited a t I gbo-Ukwu w as b ased o n t he e xport o f i vory , s laves a nd k olan uts t o t he n orth a nd i n r eturn c opper a nd o ther n ecessities f or b ronze c asting , b eads a nd p robably c loth w ere r eceived . A figbo ( 1971: 2 05-18) a greeing w ith S haw , h as e xpressed t he v iew t hat b y t he 9 th c entury A .D . a l arge p ortion o f I gboland w as a lready t he s cene o f h ighly a rtistic c ulture a c ulture w hich d erived t his s ustenance f om a n e conomy b ased p artly o n f ood p roduction a nd p artly o n w ide r anging c ommercial c ontacts. P osnansky ( 1973a: 3 09-11, 1 973b: 1 -14) a nd L awal ( 1972a: 7 2-97 1 972b: 3 13-21) 1 973: 1 -8) q uestioned t he i nvolvement o f

t he

I gbo-Ukwu i n t rans-saharan t rade a s

f ar

b ack a s 9 th c entury A .D . w hen t here i s n o e vidence a nywhere e lse i n W est A frica f or s uch a l ong d istance t rade a t t hat t ime. P osnansky w ould h ave p referred a 1 2th t o 1 5th c entury A .D . d ate b ecause a t t his p eriod t here i s o ther e vidence f or s uch t rade b etween s outhern N igeria a nd N orth A frica. T he O nwuejeogwus ( 1976 , 1 977: 1 69188) w ho s aw n othing w rong w ith t he 9 th c entury A .D. d ates h ave s uggested r elatively l ocal s ources ( AbakalikiA fikpo a nd C alabar a reas) f or t he r aw m aterials u sed i n t he m anufacture o f t he b ronze o bjects. I n ar ecent r eview U mueji a nd C hikwendu 1 983 ( in p ress) s upport t hem. I f t his w ere i ndeed t he c ase t here i s s till t he n eed t o d etermine h ow f ar b ack i n t ime t he e xploitation o f c opper , t in a nd l ead b egan i n A bakaliki-Afikpo a nd C alabar a reas; a s w ell a s t o w hat e xtent t hese r aw m aterials w ere e xploited . T he i s t he n eed t o h ave m ore e xcavated s ites a nd d ates i n I gbo-Ukwu a nd r elated a reas l ike N ri , O reri a nd A guleri ( Okpoko i n p ress). I f t he p resence o f s uch m aterials a s c opper ,

g lass a nd b ronze i ndicate

f ar-ranging c ommercial c ontacts p robable p attern o f s uch t rade w ould i nvolve n umerous i ntermediaries b etween t he s ource o f c ommodities a nd t heir d estinations. I t i s l ikely t hat t rading a ctivities b etween t he I gbo a nd t he n orth m ost p robably p assed t hrough t he A nambra v alley ( especially t hrough A guleri a nd O gurugu) a nd t he I gala c ountry. T he p ortrayal o f a h orse a mongst t he I gbo-Ukwu b ronze o bjects p oints a ccording t o S haw ( 1970 : 2 62) t o n orthern c onnections. H ow h orses w ere i ntroduced i nto t he L ower N iger B asin d iscussed i n P art I . O ther n orthern c onnections a re t he c alabash h andle o f c opper c omparable t o t hat o f t he r itual c alabashs f rom I dah -(Shaw o p. c it. P art I I p lates 2 42-251) a nd t he b ronze p ectoral m asks p resently w orn b y E ze N ri o f O reri a nd A ta o f I gala w hich s uggest i nteractions b etween t he I gbo a nd t he I gala i n i Fjpast. C rowther ( 1962:52-3; a lso s ee S haw o p. c it: 2 58) a lso s uggests t hat t he t echnical s kill w hich p roduced t he I gbo-Ukwu c astings w ere d erived f rom I dah .

T his i s v ery d ebatable, h owever.

1 9

I n I dah , t he e xcavation o f t he O juwo A ta O gu m ound b y D aniels w as n ot c ompleted b ut r evealed t hat t he m ound w as m an m ade. P otsherds, a s pindle w horl a nd i ron s lag w ere t he m ain m aterials r ecovered. C omments o n t his m aterial, b y c ourtesy o f t he e xcavator, i s r eported i n t he a ppropriate s ections.

2 0

C HAPTER T HREE E XCAVATIONS 1 976-81

C hoice o f s ites f or s tudy O ral t raditions d irected t he c hoice o f s ites f or e xcavation a nd s tudy a nd a lso h elped i n t he i nterpretation o f t he m aterials r ecovered. S ince I w as s pecifically i nterested i n l ocating a nd s tudying s ites i n b oth I gbo a nd I gala s peaking a reas w hich w ould t ell o f I gbo-Igala i nteractions i n t he p ast , Ir elied m ainly o n l ocal i nformants a t A guleri, O gurugu a nd I dah . ( see r elevant s ection i n C hapter O ne). T he A guleri D istrict N ear A guleri, ( 1)

t hree s ites w ere s elected ( Fig.3):

" Okpuno I gala"

( an a bandoned s ettlement),

w as

c hosen

f or s tudy

b ecause o f t he h istorical r elationship b etween t his s ite a nd t he I gala. O ral t radition ( Manafa a nd U muekete e lders M arch , 1 977) c laimed t hat t he w alled a rea o f " Okpuno I gala" w as o ccupied b y a r uler k nown a s t he A ta ( father i n t he I gala l anguage) w hile h is s ubjects o ccupied t he a reas o utside t he w all. T he r uler w as s aid t o h aw o ccupied t he h ighest s pot w ithin t his w alled a rea i n o rder t o o versee h is s ubjects. T hese s ubjects w ere s aid t o h ave l ived i n a djacent v illages o f w hich o nly U muekete i s n ow i nhabited. T he A ta a nd m ost o f h is s ubjects a bandoned t heir a reas o f h abitation m any y ears a go a nd w ent t o I gala c ountry a fter a s eries o f i nvasions. T he p resent

U muekete v illagers w ho a re

w ith t he I gala.

I gbo s peakers

c laim b lood r elationship

T his t radition s eemed t o s uggest t hat

' Okpuno I gala' w as

f ormerly o ccupied b y I gala s ettlers a ttracted t o t his a rea b y t rading p ossibilities a long t he A nambra r iver a nd t hat t hey l ater a bandoned t he a rea u nder p ressure f rom t he i ndigenous I gbo g roups. ( 2) " Ekpe U muleri" -T his i s a l inear e arthwork o r aw all a round U n luleri t own . T his t own i s p resently i nhabited. ( 3) " Okpuno N ri" ( Okpuno i n t he I gbo l anguage r efers t o a n a bandoned h abitation s ite). T his s ite w as s aid b y C hukwuemeka, A jani p riest o f A guleri , i n M arch 1 977 :

T he I dah D istrict. 1 .

t o b e a n a bandoned N ri s ettlement.

S even s ites w ere s elected f or s tudy ( Fig .4).

O juwo A ta O gu a nd a t I dah w as s tudied b ecause i t w as e stablished

f rom o ral t raditions r elated b y A lhaji A liyu O baje , p resent A ta o f I gala a nd O dekina A ta i n F ebruary 1 980 t hat t his s ite h ad a n h istorical c onnection w ith

I gbo-speaking p eople.

T he m ound w as

s aid

t o

h ave

b een

b uilt

b y

a

f emale A ta E belejonu -to o versee h er s ubjects. A t t he t ime, ( before t he J ukun i nvasion), t he A ta's p alace w as n ear t he m ound. E belejonu a lso o rdered a h ouse t o b e b uilt f or h er s uitor ( an I gbo h unter w hom s he m ade t he f irst A shadu) e ast o f h er c ompound. S o E belejonu's c ompound , h er s uitor's h ouse a nd t he m ound w ere i n t he s ame v icinity d uring t he p eriod u nder

2 1

d iscussion .

I t s hould b e n oted t hat E belejonu w as o ne o f t he f irst f our

I gala r oyal a ncestors B oston ( 1968: 7 -8) d escribed a s " Proeo-dynasty a ncestors " who a re n ot s harply d ifferentiated f rom e ach o ther" B oston ( op. c it. 7 -8) p laced t he d ate o f t he b eginning o f p resent I gala k ingship b etween t he 1 3th a nd 1 6th c enturies A .D . I t i s p ertinent t o m ention t hat t hese d ates c orrespond w ith t he d ates f rom O juwo A ta O gu w hich r ange b etween t he 1 3th a nd 1 6th c enturies A .D . ( see P art I ) .The m ound w as a lso t he s cene o f c ertain f unctions. I t w as s aid t hat a fter t he w ar t he A ta m ounted t he m ound t o a nnounce t he r esult t o h is p eople, a nd , i f s omeone h ad p erformed a b rave a ct, ( for e xample , k illing o ne o f t he A ta's e nemies) h e w as t aken t o t he m ound w here r ituals w ere p erformed s o t hat h e w ould n ot b e h aunted b y t he s pirit o f t he i ndividual w hom h e h ad k illed ( Alhaji A liyu O baje F ebruary 1 980 :

p ersonal c ommunication).

2 . O ketekakini a t I dah w as s tudied b ecause o f t he t raditional c onnection b etween i t a nd O gurugu a nd A guleri. A ccording t o o ral t raditions g iven b y A lhaji A liyu O baje,

p resent A ta o f I gala F ebruary 1 980 ;

b ut c ompare S helton 1 971: 1 4 , 2 0-27), O noja O boni ( a p rince f rom I dah) a nd h is f ollowers t ried t o b uild a l adder t o t he s ky a t O ketekakini i n a n a ttempt t o f ight t he p eople a bove, b ut t he l adder b roke a nd a ll e xcept O noja d ied. U ndaunted b y t his , O noja p lanned t o f ight p eople u nder t he e arth . H e a nd a nother s et o f f ollowers d ug a p it a t O ketekakini; e ntered t he p it a nd a ppeared a t O gurugu.

F rom h ere t hey u ndertook t he m ilitary e xpeditions

t o m any p arts o f I gboland i ncluding A guleri. ( It i s p ossible t hat t he a ttempt a t c onstructing a l adder t o t he s ky r efers t o e fforts a t e xpanding n orthwards w hile u nder t he e arth r efers t o m ovements s outhwards). 3 . " Ubuduapa": T his w as a p urported b urial p lace o f t he J ukun s oldiers w ho i nvaded I dah d uring t he I gala-Jukun w ar ( of t he 1 5th c entury). I t i s s aid b y A lhaji A liyu O baje, p resent A ta o f I gala F ebruary 1 980 a nd M arch 1 981 t hat m ost o f t he s oldiers d ied a fter d rinking w ater a nd e ating f ish f rom r iver N achala. 4 . O gbola ; ' Oketeogbe'; a nd ' Oketeorata' a re m ounds a bout 3 0-50 m a way f rom t he e astern p alace w all a t I dah a nd ' Opata' i s a m ound b y t he I dah-Makurdi r oad a nd a bout 1 00m w est o f t he p alace m ain g ate. w as t he h ighest o f a ll t he m ounds l ocated .

T he O gurugu D istrict. A t

O gurugu

S even s ites w ere s elected t o s tudy h ere.

t wo m ounds,

a t

O batamu a nd A tida ,

w ere

c hosen

O ketekakini

( Fig. 5 ). f or

s tudy.

O batamu i s s aid b y C hief T agbo U kwella , h is c ouncillors a nd O gurugu e lders S eptember 1 977 a nd F ebruary , 1 980 ; E ze O nyibo N wokolo M arch 1 981; t o b e t he e arliest a rea i n O gurugu b eing ( occupied b efore t he a rrival o f O noja O boni a nd h is f ollowers f rom I dah . b y O batamu ,

I t i s s aid t o h ave b een f irst o ccupied

t he f ounder o f O gurugu a nd t he f ather o f O noja O boni.

A tida

w as s tudied b ecause O noja a nd h is f ollowers w ere s aid t o h ave s ettled a t t he A tida q uarters. T hree a bandoned s ettlements M anejo, A gayaji a nd O kete O foloko w ere a lso l ocated a t O gurugu , a s w as a f ormer d yeing c entre ( Ikpo) a nd a s mall m ound -Omadane w hich w as ( purported t o b e t he b urial p lace o f O noja O boni) ( Fig.5). O kete O foloko a nd O madane , A tida a nd O batamumounds a re l ocated i nside t he O gurugu t own w alls w hile M anejo, A gayaji a nd I kpo a re l ocated o utside.

T he I kpo w as a c loth d yeing c entre,

t he a rtisans

b eing

s aid t o h ave c ome f rom I dah m any y ears a go. T he d yeing c entre c eased t o e xist b ecause o f t he i mportation o f c lothing m aterials.

2 2

T he s urvey i ncluded p art o f t he O gurugu w alls, w hich w ere s aid t o h ave b een b uilt b y O noja O boni , t o f ortify h is b ase ( Ogurugu) a nd t o w ard o ff a ttacks f rom n eighbouring I gbo g roups ( Chief T agbo U kwella , h is c ouncillors a nd O gurugu e lders S eptember 1 977 a nd F ebruary 1 980: p ersonal c ommunication). ( Henderson , 1 972: 8 6-90 , 9 4 a nd O nwuejeogwu 1 974a: 6 9).

R esults o f t he S urvey A . ' Okpuno I gala' a s m entioned a bove i s l ocated a t U mueketa i n A guleri. I t h as a d itch a nd w all a round i t; i ts s hape b eing s ubr ectangular w ith t he s outhern t hird e xtended t o as emicircle. T he m aximum l ength o f t his s ite i s a bout 8 00 m , w hile t he m aximum w idth i s a bout 5 00 m . T he w all i s l argely d estroyed b ut t races o f t he b ank, i n s ome c ases q u ite s ubstantial t races a re s till v isible ( Fig .6). A lmost a t t he c entre o f t he e nclosed a rea i s a m ound a bout l m h igh a nd 3 0m a cross ( Fig.7 & P late 1 ). T he p eople o f U muekete d escribe t he m ound a t u kpo-eze ( king's d ais). W iLhin t he e nclosed a rea a re g roves o f p alm t rees a nd c lusters o f m edicinal p lants w hich w ere s aid b y t he p eople o f U muekete t o h ave b een d eliberately p rotected . B . l ocated

T he O ketekakini m ound -a

p art

o f w hich w as

e xcavated

( A)

-is

i n ar oughly t riangular f ield ( about 6 5 x 8 0 x 8 5 m ) w hich l ies b y

t he n orthern w all o f t he p resent A ta's p alace. T he f ield i s a lmost b are a nd a n umber o f h ouses b elonging t o t he c ustodians o f t he s econd g ate o f A ta's p alace s urround t his f ield a nd t he m ound w hich i s a t i ts m ost n orthern c orner. T he m ound i tself i s r oughly e lliptical i n s hape. I t i s a bout 8 0 c m h igh a nd 2 0 ma cross a t t he l argest s ection ( see F ig. 8 a nd P late 3 ). C .

O juwo A ta O gu a t I dah , a n o val m ound s urrounded b y h ouses a nd w ith

h ardly a ny v egetation a round i t w as s urveyed. a cross a t t he w idest p oint. D .

I t i s c .

6m h igh a nd 3 0 m

( see P late 2 ).

S everal m ounds i n O gurugu w ere s urveyed.

T he A tida m ound i s

l ocated i n t he A tida q uarter a bout o ne t hird o f a k ilometre n orth-east o f C hief T agbo U kwuella's c ompound. T he m ound i s c ompletely b are a nd a bout 6 0 c ms h igh ( Figs. 9 a nd 1 0). O ne o f t he t wo O batamu m ounds ( A), i n t he O batamu q uarters, i s l ocated i n f ront o f t he o bu o f E zek O nyibo N wokolo w hile t he o ther ( B) i s b ehind h is w ife's h ouse. T he f irst m ound h as p atches o f g rasses w hile t he s econd i s a lmost b are w ith a f ew o range t rees. B oth m ounds a re a bout 2 6 m eters e ast o f t he N sukka-Ogurugu r oad, a re s urrounded b y h ouses a nd e lliptical i n s hape. M ound 4 i s c . 9 0 a m h igh a nd 9m w ide a t t he w idest p oint s ection w hile t he B i s a bout 6 0 c m h igh a nd 8 .5 mw ide a t t he l argest s ection ( Figs.

2 a nd P late 4 ). 1 &1

E xcavation t echnique S ince e ach o f t he e xcavations w as i ntended t o d elineate c ultural u nits a nd c hanges t hrough t ime, t rench e xcavation w as p referred t o a rea e xcavation w hich t ends t o s how m ore o f h orizontal c hanges. ( Fagan 1 975 : 1 48) ( see C oles 1 972: 1 40143).

Iw as a ware o f t he p otentials o f s ettlement s tudy i n

t hese areas b ut t he w ork w as n ot l ooking f eatures/structures d epicting s ettlement p attern .

2 3

f or

h ouse

t ypes

o r

I n t he e xcavations a t A guleri , O gurugu a nd I dah d igging w as i n 1 0 e ms s pit l evels a nd e fforts w ere m ade t o o btain i nformation a bout c ultural c hanges t hroughout t he s pit l evels. D igging i n a ll t he s ites w as t aken d own t o s terile s ubsoil ( the o riginal g round l evels o n w hich t he m ounds h ad b een c reated). S oil d ug f rom a ll t he s ites w ere d ry-sieved ( with s ieves h aving m esh s izes o f 4 -6 mm), a nd t he c ultural m aterial w as a nalysed a ccording t o t he s pit l evels. P rocedure T he

e xcavation

o f

U muekete

( Aguleri)

s ite

w hich

t ook

p lace

i n

M arch/April 1 976 w as c onducted b y D r. F rederick A nozie a nd m yself , w ith f ive t echnical a ssistants f rom t he l aboratory o f A rchaeology, U niversity o f N igeria , N sukka a nd f ourteen l abourers w ho w ere r ecruited l ocally. F rom t he m iddle a nd h ighest p art o f t he m ound t hree t renches o f 4 x 1i ne ach ( A l, A 2 a nd A 3) w ere l aid o ut o n a s traight l ine b ut s eparated f rom o ne a nother b y t wo b aulks ( A1/A2 o r 2 x 1i na nd A 2/A3 o f 1 x 1m ). D igging s tarted a t t he s outhern e nd ( trench A 3) w hich w as t he l owest p art o f t he m ound a nd T rench A l a t t he h ighest p art o f t he m ound w as d ug l ast. H owever , t o g et a c lear p icture o f t he s tratigraphic u nits , w e l ater e xcavated t he t wo b aulks a nd t hen h ad a s ingle t rench o f 1 5 x 1i nw hich w as a bout 2 .4 m d eep a t t he c entre a nd d ecreasing g radually t o a bout 5 0 c m a t t he s outhern e nd o f t he t rench. Ie xcavated t he O ketekakini s ite i n F ebruary 1 980 w ith t he h elp o f t wo t echnical a ssistants, B enedict O zomadu a nd G odwin O doh , f rom t he A rchaeology l aboratory, U niversity o f N igeria , N sukka, a nd t en l abourers. A t rench o f 1x 4i nw as l aid o ut w ith i ts w estern e nd a t t he h ighest p art o f t he m ound a nd w as e xcavated t o ad epth o f 2m . I n M arch 1 980 , I c arried o ut a n e xcavation a t A tida w ith t he h elp o f M essrs O zomadu a nd O doh , a nd s even l abourers. At rench o f 1x 4m w as s et u p w ith i ts w estern e nd a t t he h ighest p oint o f t he m ound a nd w as d ug d own t o ad epth o f 6 0 c m .

t wo

I e xcavated t he t wo O btamu m ounds i n S eptember 1 981 w ith t he h elp o f t echnical a ssistants -Godwin O doh a nd J onathan U gwuanyi -from t he

D epartment o f A rchaeology, U niversity o f N igeria , N sukka, a nd t en l abourers. T wo t est t renches o f 1x 2i n ( trenches I a nd I I) w ere s unk i n t he m ound b ehind C hief N wokolo's w ife's h ouse w hile t est p it I II w as s unk i n t he m ound i n f ront o f t he o bu ( the C hief's h ouse). T rench I w as s unk a t t he h ighest s ection o f t he m ound. T rench I I w as s unk i n a n a rea 1 3 c m b elow t he r eference p oint a nd t rench I II w as s unk i n a n a rea o f t he s ame h eight w ith t he r eference p oint. W e t hen d ug d own t o 10 c m ( in .trench I ); 8 3 c m ( in t rench I I) a nd 8 0 c m ( in t rench I II).

E xcavation r esults -stratigraphy O n t he b asis o f c olour a nd t exture o f t he s oil a nd ö f t he o rganic a nd i norganic m aterials c ontained i n i t i t w as p ossible t o d ivide a ll t he e xcavated m ounds i nto s tratigraphic l ayers. U muekete:

( Aguleri)

I n t renchs A l a nd A 2 a nd b aulk A 1/A2 a t U muekete f our l ayers w ere d istinguished.

( Fig. 1 3).

T hese a re:

2 4

L ayer I ( top l ayer),

d ark b rown i n c olour ( 7./5 Y R 4 /2 M UNSELL),

f ine g rained s oil. I t c ontains w orm c asts, m aterial a nd a l ot o f t iny r ootlets. L ayer I I

d ark

r eddish b rown i n c olour

i s a l oose

p articles o f b urnt

( 5 Y R 3 13 M UNSELL),

c lay-like

c omprises l oose

f ine g rained s oil w hich i s d usty w hen d ry a nd f airly s ticky w hen w et. c ontains c harcoal s pecks, t iny r ootlets a nd p articles o f b urnt m aterial. I n t rench A l t his l ayer c ontains f our a sh l enses. L ayer I II

d ark r eddish g rey i n c olour ( 5 Y R 4 /2

I t

c lay-like

M unsell), c onsists a lso o f

l oose f ine g rained s oil. I t i s d usty w hen d ry a nd f airly s ticky w hen w et. I t c ontains c harcoal s pecks. L ayer I V ( basal l ayer) i s af airly c ompact r eddish b rown ( 5 Y R 4 /4 M UNSELL) f ine g rained s oil. I t i s s ticky w hen w et a nd b reaks i n c lods. I t c ontains v ery f ew c harcoal s pecks. T rench A 3 c ontains o nly l ayers I I a nd I V.

I a nd I V w hile b aulk A 2/A3 c ontains I ,

T he a rbitrary s pit l evels a re c orrelated t o t he s tratigraphic l ayers a s f ollows:

T rench

A l

0

S tratigraphic

C orrelated s pit l evels

l ayers

I ( top s oil)

1 , 2a nd 3

I I

4 , 1 5 ,

A 2

5 ,

6 ,

1 6 ,

7 ,

8 ,

9 ,

1 0 ,

I II

1 9 , 2 0 , 2 1, 2 2 a nd 2 3

I V ( basal l ayer)

2 4

I ( top s oil)

1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5a nd 6

I I

7 , 8 , 9 ,

( III

1,

1 2,

1 3 ,

1 4 ,

1 7 a nd 1 8

1 0 ,

1,

1 2,

s mall s ections o f 1 5 ,

1 3 a nd 1 4 1 6 ,

1 7 ,

1 8 ,

1 9

a nd 2 0 L ower S ection o f m ound

( IV ( basal l ayer)

( these s ections o f t he s pits c ontain c ultural m aterials). m ost o f 1 5 , 1 6 , 1 7 , 1 8 , 1 9 , 2 0 ( these s ections

o f

t he

s pits

c ontain

n o

c ultural m aterials) a nd 2 1. A 3

I ( top s oil)

1 , 2 , 3 , a nd m ost o f 4 , 5a nd 6 .

I I

s mall s ections o f 4 , 5 , 6 , a nd a ll o f 7 , 8 , 9 , 1 0 , 1, 1 2 a nd 1 3.

( basal l ayer)

2 5

O ketekakini ( Idah)

H ere i n t he m ound f ive l ayers w ere i dentified ( Fig.

1 4): L ayer I ( top s oil) d ark b rown i n c olour ( 7.5 Y R

4/ 2

M UNSELL),

l oose f ine g rained s oil w hich i s d usty w hen d ry. I t s pecks, t iny r ootlets a nd a l ot o f l ateritic c oncretions. L ayer I I d ark r eddish b rown i n c olour

i s av ery

c ontains

( 5 Y R 3 /4 M UNSELL),

c harcoal

i s a l oose f ine

g rained s oil, d usty w hen d ry b ut f airly s ticky w hen w et a nd b reaks i n c lods. I t c ontains a l ot o f l ateritic c oncretions a nd f ew c harcoal s pecks. A t t he t op s ection ( spit l evel 3 ) w hich i s q uite c lose t o l ayer I ( the t op s oil) i t c ontains v ery f ew t iny r ootlets. L ayer I II i s s imilar t o c oncretions t han L ayer I I. L ayer I V

L ayer

I I

b ut

i t

c ontains

l arger

d ark r eddish g rey i n c olour ( 5 Y R 4 /2 M UNSELL),

l ateritic

i s a f ine g rained

s oil w ith a l ot o f f airly l arge l ateritic c oncretions. w et a nd b reaks i nto c lods. I t c ontains c harcoal s pecks.

I t i s d usty w hen

L ayer V ( basal l ayer) i s a f airly c ompact r eddish b rown ( 5 Y R 4 /4 M UNSELL) f ine g rained s oil w ith f ewer p ieces o f l ateritic c oncretions a nd c harcoal s pecks c ompared w ith t hose i n t he a bove l ayers. I t i s s ticky w hen w et a nd b reaks i n c lods. S poradic a sh l enses

o ccurred a t

s pit

l evels

3 '5

( 20 — 5 0 c m) a t

d ifferent s ections. T he a rbitrary s pit l evels a re c orrelated t o t he s tratigraphic l ayers a s f ollows:

S tratigraphic l ayers

C orrelated s pit l evels

I ( top s oil)

1 , 2a nd a s mall s ection o f 3

I I

m ost o f 3 , a nd t hen a ll o f 4 , 5 , 6 , 7a nd 8

I II

9 ,

I V

1 3 ,

V ( basal l ayer)

1 9 a nd 2 0 .

A tida ( Ogurugu)

1 0 , 1 4 ,

1 1 a nd 1 2 1 5 ,

1 6 ,

1 7 a nd 1 8

I n t his m ound o nly t wo l ayers w ere i dentified

( Fig.

1 5) — t he t op s oil a nd a n u nderlying u nit. T he t op s oil,

d ark r eddish b rown i n c olour

l oose f ine g rained s oil. T he b asal l ayer ,

( 5 Y R 3 /4 M UNSELL),

i s

a

I t c ontains f ew t iny r ootlets.

y ellowish r ed i n c olour ( 5 Y R 5 /6

M UNSELL),

i s m ade

u p o f c ompact s ilty s oil w hich i s d usty w hen d ry b ut v ery s ticky w hen w et

2 6

a nd b reaks i n c lods. S tratigraphic l ayer

C orrelated s pit l evels

I ( top l ayer)

1 , 2 , 3 , a nd 4

I I ( basal l ayer)

5a nd 6 .

O batamu ( Ogurugu)

1 6 ,

I n t he m ounds f our l ayers w ere i dentified i n t est p its I a nd I II ( Figs. 1 7 a nd 1 8).

L ayer I

( top

s oil)

d ark r eddish b rown i n c olour

c omprises o f l oose s ilty s oil w ith s andy i nclusions. b ut n ot a s s ticky a s l ayers I I , I II a nd I V w hen w et. r oots a nd r ootlets. L ayer I I

r eddish b rown i n c olour ( 5 Y R 5 /4 M UNSELL),

c ompact s ilty s oil;

( 5 Y R 3 /4 M UNSELL), I t i s d usty w hen d ry I t c ontains a l ot o f

c onsists o f a f airly

d usty w hen d ry a nd f airly s ticky w hen w et.

I t

c ontains t iny r ootlets. L ayer I II b rown i n c olour ( 7.5 Y R 5 /2 M UNSELL), i s a l oose s ilty s oil. I t i s d usty w hen d ry a nd f airly s ticky w hen w et. I t c ontains t iny r ootlets. L ayer I V

( basal l ayer) y ellowish r ed i n c olour

u p o f c ompact s ilty s oil.

( 5 Y R 5 /6 M UNSELL),

i s m ade

I t i s d usty w hen d ry a nd v ery s ticky w hen w et

a nd b reaks i n c lods. T rench I I c ontains

l ayers

I I a nd I V

I ,

( layer I II i s c ompletely

a bsent). T he a rbitrary s pit l evels a re c orrelated t o t he s tratigraphic l ayers a s f ollows:

2 7

T renches

I I

I II

S tratigraphic l ayers

C orrelated s pit l evels

I ( top s oil)

1a nd 2

I I

3 , 4 , 5a nd a p art o f 6

I II

ap art o f 6a nd a ll o f 7a nd 8 .

I V

9 , 1 0 a nd 1

I ( top s oil)

1a nd 2

I I

3 , 4a nd 5

I V ( basal l ayer)

6a nd 7

I ( top s oil)

1

I I

2 , 3a nd 4

I II

5a nd 6

I V ( basal)

7a nd 8

1 . C ultural S equences T he f ollowing t ables ( tables 1 -4) s how t he d istribution p attern o f t he c ultural m aterials i n t he v arious s ites a ccording t o s pit l evels o r l ayers.

T able l a U muekete ( Aguleri) s ite;

n umber a nd w ieght o f r ecovered

m aterials ( weight i n g rams) N O =n umber ;

1.

W T =w eight

S urface c ollection P ottery

L umps o f B aked e arth

N O .36

3

W T .1000

5 0

1 . T he r ecovered m aterials f rom e ach l evel/layer w ere w eighed i n o rder g ive t he r eader a n i dea o f t he s ize o f t he m aterials u sed i n t he a nalysis.

2 8

T able l b U muekete ( Aguleri) s ite;

n umber a nd w eight o f r ecovered m aterials

a ccording t o s pit l evels ( weight i n g rams). T RENCH A l L evels

N O &W T

P ottery

S tones

L umps o f

I ron

B aked e arth

S lags

N O .

5 78

1 2

2 4

1 2

1 .

W T .

6 800

4 50

5 00

1 00

2

N O . W T .

1 22 1 500

3 .

N O . W T .

5 89 1 0200

N O .

1 76

4 .

W T .

3 500

5 .

N O . W T .

1 83 4 500

N O .

1 05

6&6

W T .

3 000

8 .

N O . W T .

2 29 6 000

9& 1 0

1.

1 2.

1 1 000

2

2 1

2 4 2

1 2 50

3 1 00

2 9 2

2 5 00 6

4

3 00

1 62

3 49

W T .

5 000

5 0

N O . WT .

5 58 8 600

4 4 00

2

4 5

5 5 0

2 107

N O .

4 37

1 2

4 0

1

W T .

7 300

6 00

1 800

5 0,

N O .

3 59

W T .

1 0200

1 5

W T .

N O .

1 52 2 800

B ones

1 0

1 2 5 00

N O .

1 3 &1 4

& 1 6

2 2

G lass

4 2 50

1 9

1

6 00

6

1 5

1 7

8 00

4 00

2 9

4 1 69

1 7 &1 8

N O . W T .

1 83 2 500

2 1 1 000

3 1 00

1 5 0

3 35

1 9 &2 0

N O . W T .

1 30 2 000

3 2 5

2 57

2 1 -23

N O . W E .

2 66 3 700

3 5 0

2 69

T able i d U muekete ( Aguleri) s ite , n umber a nd w eight o f r ecovered m aterials a ccording t o s tratigraphic l ayers ( weight i n g rams). B aulk A 1/A2 L ayers

N O. & W T . P ottery

S tones

L umps of

G lass

K ernells

B ones

b aked e arth

N O .

1 79

1

W E .

4 100

N O .

5 77

1 8

1 8

W E.

1 4200

1 500

7 00

1 . 0.5

3

2

2 . 0 .33

49

2

N O . 3 .

2 23

W E.

N O . B AULK A 2/ A3 N O .

9 4

W E .

1250

N O .

2 56

W E .

6250

N O .

2 30

4

W E .

3 000

1

W E .

3 000

1

1.

2 .

4 .

2

T able 2 O juw A ta O gu ( Idah) s ite: n umber a nd w eight o f a ccording t o s tratigr aph ic l ayers ( weight i n g rams).

L AYERS

N O. & W T .

S TONES

L UMPS O F B AKED E ARTH

N O .

4 0

W T.

1 068

B LOCKS

P OI1ERY

O F S OIL

1

7

r ecovered m aterials

I RON

B EADS

K ERNELS

B ONES

S LAGS

2 59

1

1

3 724

2

0 .5

I I

N O.

7 9

2 02

2

2 60

I I W T.

N O . I II

w r ..

1 2

2 701

11

4 1 38

1 364

N O .

2 4

1 3

1 63

W T.

4 84

1 43

2 009

N O .

2 5

1

2 8

1 82

W T.

9 63

9

6 14

1 482

1 1 2

1

I V 0 .5

V

N O .

2

4

4 2

V I W T.

1 20

2 97

3 1

1 69

^

-

T able 3 O ketekakini

( Idah)

s ite:

n umbers

a nd w eight

o f

r ecovered

m aterials

a ccording t o s pit l evels ( weight i n g rams)

t c f )

1 .

2 .

3 .

4 .

5 .

6 .

7 .

8 .

9 .

1 0 .

1.

N O . W T.

1 53 2 497

c n r : 1 4

4 3 1 496

4 9

N O.

9 8

4 8

2

W T.

2 408

1 872

5

N O .

8 2

1 0

W T.

2 368

4 60

N O.

9 0

8

W T .

3 265

.N O.

7 4

W T.

2 556

6 29

3 0

N O.

8 8

1

9

W T .

2 685

4 45

N O .

4 7

WT.

1 847

8 15

3

7 4 20

1 4 2 22

8 1 25

4 2 5

8 2 60

1 5

2 7 0

1 1

3

8 2 07

2 7 7

9 2 0

N O .

8 2

6 3

W T .

2 778

3 750

1 4

1 4 2 0

5 3 00

5

5 4 5

1 4 8 7

2 6 15

3 7 1 87

2 5 2 02

2

-

1 -

2 10

1 0

1 8

2 40

2 4

2 69

1 00

1

1

3 8

1 -

1 2 8

2 7

2 45

1 -

-

9 1 2

2

1 01

1 3

3 3 2

-

5 405

7 27

1 6 1

1 50

1 22

4 4

8 1 0

4

2 071

1 567

2 1 70

-

N O .

N O .

5 5

2 4

W T.

W T .

1 2 2 22

2 55

1

2 3 81

1 1 27

N O .

9 7

5 5

-

-

-

-

W T .

3 878

7 140

-

-

-

-

3 2

2 125

1 2.

N O . W T .

4 6 1 664

1 3.

N O. W T.

1 57 4 604

1 4.

1 5.

1 6.

1 7.

1 8.

1 9 .

9 9 42

3 1 00

4 5 1 432

N O .

2 57

1 0

W T .

8 841

6 82

N O .

6 5

W T.

2 310

5 8 00

2 8 2

3 1 44

N O.

6 3

W T .

2 037

2 87

9

N O . W T.

6 2 1 498

1 9 3 089

1 5

N O .

6 7

W T .

2 076

N O .

4 2

W T.

8 47

4

6 3 7

4 1 70

7 6 70

2

4 1 39

1 1 7

A lso r ecovered i n l evel 7 em :

1 6

3

1 09

- 204

6 1 4

4 2 5

4 1 7

4

-

2

-

1 78

1

2

5 0

( a) o ne k nife w ith t ang a bout 1 8 a n l ong a nd 3 .5 a n

a t t he b roadest s ection . I t w eighs 4 7 g m a nd 2 mm i n d iameter . I t w eighs l gm .

( b)

o ne t hin r od a bout

1 1cm l ong a nd

T able 4 a O batamu

( Ogurugu) s ite;

n umber a nd w eight

o f

t he

r ecovered m ater ials

( weight i n g rams) S ur face c ollection P o ttery N o .

1 44

W t.

1 ,310

T able 4 b O batumu ( Ogurugu) s ite;

n umber a nd w eight o f t he

r ecovered m aterials

a ccording t o s pit l evels ( weight i n g rams)

L evels

N o .

&W t.

P ottery

L umps o f

B ones

b aked e ar th

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

C owrie

S tone

N o .

8 9

4

1 0

1 1

5

W T .

2 ,100

1 90

8 0

1 0

6 00

W . f .

N o .

2 7 1 ,800

4 3 00

1 1 0

N o . W T .

5 8 1 ,500

4 1 00

5 4 0

N o .

5 2

1

W t.

1 ,500

2

N o . W t.

2 7 1 ,000

1 3

N o .

4 2

W t.

1 ,300

N o . W t.

5 5 1 ,805

1 6 0

3 4

K ernel

S hell

8 4 0

1 2

1

U muekete ( Aguleri) T he m ain

c ultural m aterials

r ecovered f ra n

t rench A l

o f

t he

s ite w ere

p ottery , u nworked s tones ( pebbles , s and s tones a nd i ron s tones) a nd b ones ( table l a). T hese o ccurred t hroughout t he l evels. Ho wever , l umps o f b aked e ar th ( po ssible f urnace w alls) a nd i ron s lag o ccur o nly i n t he u pper l evels ( 1-18 ; l ayers I a nd I I). ( No c ultural m ater ial w as r ecover ed f rom l ayer I V -the b asal o r p re-mound l ayer). I n t rench A 2 p ottery a nd u nworked s tones a re p resent i n a ll t he l evels ( table 1 c). A gain , l umps o f b aked e arth a nd i ron s lags o ccurred o nly i n t he u pper l evels ( 113; l ayers I a nd I I). I n t rench A 3 ( table l c) a ll t he c ultural m ater ials, ( pottery , u nworked s tones , l umps o f b aked e ar th a nd i ron s lag) o ccurred i n b oth l ayer s ( the t op s oil a nd t he b asal l ayer ). I n b aulk A 1/A2 ( table 1 d) p ottery o ccur r ed i n l ayer s I a nd I I w hile b ones w ere p resent i n l ayers I I a nd I II. Ho wever , u nworked

s tones a nd l umps

o f

b aked e arth

o ccurred

o nly

i n l ayer I I.

b aulk A 2/A3 ( table 1 d) p o ttery o ccurred i n a ll t he l ayers. o f b aked e ar th r ecovered fr a n t he b aulk c ame f ra i l l ayer I V.

T he

I n

o nly l ump

T here i s c ontinuity i n t he o ccurrence o f p o ttery , s tones a nd b ones ( the m ain c ultural m aterials) i n t he u pper a nd l ower l evels/layers o f t he t renches a nd b aulks. B ut t he p resence o f i ron s lag a nd l umps o f b aked e arth i n t he u pper l evels o f A l a nd A 2 m ay s uggest t he p resence o f t wo s uccessful c ultural u nits f or t he s ite -probably t he p er iod w ith o ut a nd p eriod w ith i ron s melting/smithing. A 3 c ould b e d ue t o d isturbances

T he o ccurrence o f i ron s lags i n t rench

( mo st p robably e ro sion -t rench A 3 b eing a t

t he lo west s ection o f t he m ound).

O juwo A ta O gu A t

t his

s ite

( table 2 ) t he m ain c ultural m ater ials

( pottery,

s tones a nd

p ieces o f f allen w alls) w ere r ecovered t hroughout t he l ayers ( 1-6). O nly t wo i ron s lag f ragments w eie r ecovered -one f rom l ayer I a nd t he o ther fr a n l ayer I II ( both u pper l ayers), b ut t wo l umps o f b aked e arth ( possible f urnace w alls) o ccurred i n u pper a nd L ower l ayer s ( I a nd V ). I t s eems f rom t he d istribution o f t he c ultural m aterials t hat o ne c ultural u nit i s r epresented a t t his s ite.

O ketakakini ( Idah) A t t his s ite ( table 3 ) t he m ain c ultural m aterials, ( pottery , s tones , l umps o f b aked e arth a nd s moking p ipes), o ccur t hroughout t he s equence ( layer I -V). H owever , t he E uropean i mpor ts ( China w ares , p ieces o f g in b ottles a nd E uropean s md (ing p ipes) a nd c cwr ie s hells a re p resent o nly i n t he u pper l ayers ( I a nd I II). T he d istr ibution p attern o f t he c ultural m aterial s uggest t wo c ultural u nits -m ost p robably p eriod w ithout a nd p er iod w ith E uropean i n fluences. A tida ( Ogurugu) I n t his m ound m ost o f t he c ultural m aterials c a ne fr a n t he t op s oil. O nly 2 0 p otsherds a nd a f ew c owr ie s hells w ere r ecovered f ra n t he b asal l ayer which w as r ather v ery t hin -a bout ( 20 c m) a s a gainst ( 40 c m) t hickness o f t he t op s oil.

3 5

O batumu ( Ogurugu) I n t est p it I o f t his s ite ( table 4 ) t he m ain c ultural m aterials ( pottery , b ones a nd l umps o f b akes e arth -possible f urnace w alls) o ccur a t a lmost a ll t he l evels. I n p it I I ( table 4 c) p otter y , l umps o f b aked e aryh , b ones , c owr ie s hells a nd b eads ( the m ain c ultural m aterials) a re p resent a t m ost o f t he s pit l evels ( inlcuding t he b asal l evel). I n p it I II ( table 4 c) p ottery ( the o nly c ultural m aterial p resent i n l arge n umber ) o ccurs i n a ll t he l evels ( levels 1 -6). L umps o f b aked e arth o ccur i n l evels 1 , 5a nd 6 . T he c ultural m aterials a ppear c onstant i n t heir d istribution p attern i n t he v arious s pit l evels i n t he t hree p its. I t s eems f rom t he d istribution o f t he c ultural m aterials t hat o ne c ultural u nit i s r epresented a t t his s ite.

( iii)

C hronology C .

1 4 d ates h ave b een o btained f rom t hree s ites.

A .

S haw ( 1975 :

5 03 -

5 17) h as p ublished t he f ollow ing d ates o n h is I gbo-Ukwu e xcavations.

T able 5

L aboratory

P rovenance

R adio c arbon A ge H alflife

1 -2008

W ood f ra n

R adio c arbon

R ange i n

A ge H alf-life y ears A D

110+ 120

133± 120

1 075+ 130

107+130

100+ 110

143+ 110

7 00-920

5 05+70

5 20+70

1 3601500

110+ 145

143+ 145

6 60-950

7 00-940

D endrochronol ogically c orr ected

7 301000

s tool I gbo R ichard

H V1514

P it V I I gbo J onah

7 10-970

7 70-1030

3 .35-4.27m

H V5151

P it I V I gbo J onah

7 301000

1 .37-1.68m

H V1516

P it I V I gbo J onah

1 3501430

1 .52-1.68m

1 -1784

P it I V I gbo J onah

7 001020

1 .6-2.9m

O nly o ne d ate w as o btained f rom I gbo R ichard ( a b urial c hamber/shr ine a nd a n a ncient

c istern) a nd n one f rom I gbo I saiah ( a s tore

3 6

o f

r egalia).

M ost

o f

t he d ates c a ne f rcm I gbo J onah ( the p it). F our o f t he f ive r adio c arbon d ates c luster a ra ind 9 th c entur y A D w hile t he f ifth w hich S haw ( op. c it. 1 969 : 4 4) c alls " odd m an c ut" i s a rcund t he 1 5th c entury A D. I t w culd s eem r easonable t o p lace m ore r eliance a t l east t entatively o n t he f our 9 th c entury A D d ates w hich a gree t han o n a s ingle d ate w hich i s a n " odd m an c ut" u ntil t here i s e vidence t o t he c ontrar y ( see S haw 1 969).

B . T he f olic :wing r adiocarbon d ates ( Idah) ( Shaw 1 968a).

h ave b een o btained f rcm O juwo A ta O gu

T able 6 A ta O gu M ound I dab

4 55 ± 95 B P ( AD 1 495 + 9 5)

C alibrated A D d ate

A l ) 1 438 +

1 6 8 .

A ta O gu M cund I dah V III G (S) s pit l evels 1 3 ,

4 10 + 9 5 B P

1 4

A D 1 540 + 9 5 A D 1 455 + 1 68

C alibrated A l ) d ate:

T he t wo d ates — o ne f rom t he l ower a nd t he o ther f rom t he u pper l ayers — r ange b etween t he 1 3th a nd 1 6th c entur ies A .D.

C .

T he f olla qing d ates h ave b een o btained fr a n t he U muekete s ite ( processed

b y t he I nstitute J apan):

o f P hysical a nd C hemical R esearch ,

W ako—Shi ,

S aitama ,

3 51,

N umber

P rovenance

C 14 d ates ( yr s. B .P.) B ased o n h alf—life 5 o f 5 730 568

N -3134

A l L evel 7

7 10+75

6 90+75

1 240 1 ; 75

1 240+ 75

1 303t 180

1 322± 130

N -3135

A l

"

4 80+80

4 65+80

1 470+80

1 485+80

1 428+ 188

1 434+86

N -3 136

A l

"

3 95+85

3 80+85

1 555+85

1 570+80

1 473+ 195

1 480+ 195

N -3137

A l

"

7

3 25+80

3 15+80

1 625+80

1 635+80

1 538+ 188

1 55 . 5+ 188

N -3138

A l

9

4 75+65

4 60 -+65

1 475+65

490+ 164 1 490+65 , 1

1 436+ 164

8 1 4

3 7

Y EARS 5 730

A D 5 568

C ALIBRATED D ATES:

Y EARS A l ) 5 568

A lthough t hese d ates a re n ot p recisely i n s equence t hey f all w ithin t he s ame t ime r ange -m o st o f t hem r ange b etween t he 1 3th a nd 1 7th c entur ies A D . S moking p ipes p rovide a m eans o f d ating t he s ite o f O ketekakini. C alvocoressi ( n.d.) i s o f t he o pinion t hat t he v ast m ajority o f i dentifiable p ipes f rom i nland G hana a nd N igeria a re o f 1 9th c entury a ge o r l ater . H e a lso c ites v arious d ocuments d escr ibing 1 9th c entury E uropean t rading a ctivities i n d ifferent p arts o f N igeria i n w hich s moking p ipes w ere m entioned o r u sed a s a rticles o f t rade. A dams ( 1823 : 1 74) f or i nstance , i n d escribing a L agos c hief's h ouse t hat h e h ad v isited sa ne t wenty y ears p reviously n oted t hat h e s aw a v ar iety o f t rade g oods i ncluding r olls o f t obacco a nd b oxes o f p ipes. L aird a nd O ldfield ( 1938: 3 4) a lso i n d escribing t he o il t rade i n t he N iger d elta b etween t he B rass a nd t he I gbo p eople , s howed p ipes a nd l eaf t obacco t o b e t he a mong t he b est i tems f or b arter . B ritish s moking p ipes r ecovered f rom a rchaeological c ontex ts i n N igeria , I soya ( Eluyeni 1 975) a nd S haki ( Calvocoressi n .d.) d ate t o 1 9th c entury A D. A mong t he O ketekakini p ipes t here a re t wo s tems w ith t he n ames o f t heir m anufacturers. O ne h as J . W AL o n o ne s ide a nd ... E R o n t he o ther . T he s econd h as S . M CLARDY o n o ne s ide a nd M ANCHESTER o n t he o ther . W alker ( 1975) t alks o f t he s tem f ragments m arked M CDOUGALL G LASGOW a nd V OLUNTEER . T hese W alker s uggests w ere M CDOUGALL 'S ' Volunteer ' p ipes. T he p ipe f rom O ketekakini m arked J .

W AL

m anufactured b y J . W AL ..

.../ ....

E R m ight

a lso b e a ' volunteer '

p ipe

.

O swald ( 1975) s howed t he t heoretical p ossibilities o f J . W AL f l 1 619

L ondon B ristol

J ohn W all J ohn W all J ohn W all J ohn W alter J ohn W allis J ohn W alker J ohn W allington J oseph W alton J . W alsh J oseph W allace J ames W alker J ohn W all

W akefield W orcester

J oshua W alker J ohn W aldie & C o

B irmingh ma G lasga a

f l f l f l f l f l f l f l f l f l f l f l

1 I t

P ortsmouth H ull E ton S tc wma r ket

1 619/50 1 641/61 1 653 1 723/4 1 733/54 1 655/8 1 747/54 1 847 1 820/24 1 857/77 1 841

f l 1 851 1 8701929 ( known e xporter )

( fl = f lourished)

F ra n t heir s hapes a nd d esigns t he p ipes a re p robably o f 1 9th c entury. A ll t he a bove f it t he n ame J . W AL H owever , m ost C an b e e lim inated , f or , o f t he 1 9th c entury m akers , o nly W aldie , ak nown e xpor ter , a nd J o shua W allace ( Birmingham) l ived i n m ajor e xpor ting a nd i ndustrial c entres a nd B irmingham w as n o t a m ajor p ipe-making c entre a s G lasgcw w as i n t he l ater p art o f t he 1 9th c entury ( Oswald o p. c it.). P ipes o f v ar ious o ther G lasgcw m akers are k nown f rom W est A frica ( Calvocoressi 1 980: p er sonal c ommunication). T he d ate r ange o f J . W aldie p ipes f its w ith t hat o f t he M clardy p ipes f rom t he s ame s ite.

S . M clardy,

3 8

o perating i n M anchester f rom

1 8691930

( Oswald o p. c it.:

i dentifiably n amed

o n sa ne

8 0) i s t he B ritish p ipe-maker s pecifically a nd o f

t he p ipes.

D ates

f ra n W aldie a nd M cLardy

p ipes a nd c cmplementary d ates f rcm B ritish p ipes i n N iger ia ( for e xample , p ipes f rc r n I soya a nd S haki) p lace t he u pper l ayers ( I a nd I I) o f O ketekakini s ite a t l ate 1 9th c entury A D. A s r egards l ocally m ade p ipes, O zanne ( 1962, 1 969) h as worked o ut v arious d ates w hich s uggest t hat t he i ntroduction o f t obacco a long t he G uinea c o ast a nd t herefore t he b eginning o f l ocal p ipe p roduction , d ates f ra n t he f ir st h alf o f t he 1 7th c entury. C alvocoressi ( n .d.) a lso p oints c ut t hat w here l ocally m ade p ipes h ave b een r eliably d ated i n W est A frica t hey o ccur i n t he 1 7th c entury o r l ater c ontex ts. E ffah-Cyamfi ( for thcan ing) h as q uestioned t he v alidity o f t he s uggested 1 7th c entury d ate b y O zanne a nd i s

o f t he o pinion t hat s mcking a nd t he u se

o f s moking p ipes c ould h ave b een p resent i n G hana p rior t o t his d ate. L ebeuf ( 1962 , a lso s ee O zanne 1 969) h as s uggested t hat i n t he C had b asin D atura m etel o r I ndian h emp w as s moked w ith p ipes p r ior t o t he i ntroduction o f t obacco . T he O nwuejejogwus ( 1976 , 1 977) r efer t o a t ype o f p ottery t ube s imilar t o t obacco p ipes , u sed b y N r i p eople , i n A nambra S tate , f or i nhaling m edecine b y s mcking .

T hey a re o f t he

o pinion t hat t he p o ssibility o f t h is

p ractice ( smoking m edicinal h erbs w ith p ipes) p redates t he ca ning o f t obacco . A nozie ( 1976) i nforms u s t hat t he o ldest s mckng p ipes fo und a t O golcma i n R ivers S tate w ere r ecovered a t ad epth o f 3 40a n , ad epth o f 8 0cm a bove a l ayer w hich d ated b etween 1 255 t o 1 400 A D. T h is c ould m ean t hat t he h abit o f s mcking o ccurred i n t he a rea a l ittle a fter A D 1 400. F ra n t he a bove d iscussion t here i s n ot a s y et a ny r eliable e vidence w hcih c ontradicts t he a ssumption t hat b oth t he p ipe a nd t he t obacco w ere i ntroduced i nto W est A frica f ra n E urope a nd t hat t his d id n ot h appen e arlier t han 1 600 A D. H cwever , w e s ho uld n ot l o se s ight o f L ebeuf ' s , O nwuejeogwus' a nd E dffah-Gyamfi's s uggestions w hich c ould b e c onfirmed b y f uture r esearch . A f ragment o f ap ipe b ase fr a n O ketekakini ( level 1 8) l ocks s imilar t o sa ne b ase f ragments c ollected b y P atrick D arling b etween B enin a nd U kpilla. B ut t hese a re u nstratified a nd c annot b e o f h elp i n d ating t he O ketekakini p ipes. A lthough t he O gola na p ipes h ave sa ne e lements o f s imilarities t o t he O ketekakini p ipes ( Nzewunwa 1 980) t he d ate fr a n O golema d o n ot d ate t he l ayers fr a n w hich t he p ipes w ere r ecovered. A vailable e vidence fr a n t he p ipes , t herefore , s uggests t hat t he O ketekakini s ite d ates b etween t he 1 7th a nd 1 9th c enturies A D a t l east t entatively ( it c ould b e m uch e arlier).

3 9

C HAPTER F OUR C ERAMIC A NALYSIS S ince o ral t raditions s uggest d irect h istor ical c ontinuity b etween t he p ast a nd p resent i nhabitants o f A guleri , O gurugu a nd I dah f ra n a t l east t he 1 3th c entrury A D, k nowledge o f p resent d ay p ottery m anufacture a nd c lassification i n t hese a nd r elated a reas m ight i t w as f elt , b e f ound u seful f or t he a nalysis a nd i nterpretations o f p ottery r ecovered f rcm t he U muekete ( Aguler i) , O juwo A ta O gu a nd O ketekakini ( Idah), A tida a nd O batamu ( Ogurugu) s ites.

I nyi ,

S tudies o f t he p otting t raditions i n s elected I gbo a reas ( Aguler i, O werre-Ezukala) a nd I gala a reas ( Ojjor , I gga a nd N kpologu) r evealed

t hat n otwithstanding m inor v ariations t here are s trong e lements o f s imilarities i n t he a ctual m anufactur ing t echniques , t ypes o f d ecorations a nd f orms o f p ots i n a ll t hese a reas. I nyi a nd O werre-Ezukala w ere c ho sen f or s tudy b ecause i nformation f rc r n I gbo-Ukwu s uggests t hat t he p eople t here g ot p ottery f rcm d ifferent m arkets , m ostly f rcm U f tu na a nd U munze a bout 2 0 t o 2 5 k il ometres n or th o f I gb0-Ukwu . I f ound t hat m o st o f t he p ots i n t he U fuma a nd U munze m arkets a re a nd w ere o btained f rcm I nyi a nd O werre-Ezukala , a nd w ere t ransported t o I gbo-Ukwu a nd t o s ome o ther m arkets ( including A guler i). O jjor , I gga a nd N kpologu w ere c ho sen f or s tudy b ecause t r adition s uggests t hat t he p eople o f O gurugu a lso f ra n p roto-historic t imes g o t sa ne o f t heir p ottery fr a n O jjor a nd I gga , w hile I dah p eople g ot sa ne o f t heir p otter y f rom N kpologu .

T ools u sed f or p ottery m anufacture a nd d ecoration I n a ll t he a reas s tudied o nly a f ew t ools a re u sed i n t he p rocesses o f p ottery m anufacture : a b ig c lay bad f or s oaking t he c lay; m or tar a nd p estle f or g rinding p otsherds i nto ' grog'. A w ooden b oard i s a t t imes u sed i n m ixing t he c lay a nd ' grog ', b ut m ost o ften , t his p rocess i s c arried o ut o n a c lean f loor o r g rand s ur face. M ater ials u sed f or m aking a p ot i nclude t he i nver ted to p p ar t o f an ecked p ot w hich a cts a s as tand a nd a t rimm ing k nife o r as harp e dged o bject ( for e xample , ap iece o f b amboo s tick). T oo ls u sed t o d ecorate i nclude p ebbles, p ieces o f c alabash o r c oco-nut s hells f or b urnishing ; c yclindrical o bjects -carved w ood o r t wisted f rond/cord used a s r oulettes; h olla a s ticks p o ssessing t wo p rojections u sed f or g rooving; s patula o r s harp p ointed s ticks u sed f or i ncision; n ets a nd s acks f or i mpression.

M anufacturing p rocess E ven

t hough

c ertain

m anufacturing t echniques , p ottery

c entres

o f

m inor

v ariations

a re

t o

b e

f ound

i n

t he

c er tain e ssential f eatures a re ca nmon i n a ll t he

I gboland a nd

I galaland u nder s tudy.

P ottery p roducts

a re s haped b y h and w ith t he h elp o f f ew s imple t ools a nd t echniques; i s d one i n o pen f ires a nd n ot i n k ilns. da nain o f w o men .

4 0

f iring

T he w ork o f p otting i s a n e x lusive

F ive m ain s tages o f p ottery m anufacture a re d istinguishable: ( I) o btaining t he r aw m ater ial; ( ii) p reparation o f t he c lay ; ( iii) f orm ing a nd d ecoration ; ( iv) d r ying a nd s moking ; a nd ( v) f ir ing. A fter f ir ing , p roducts a re c leaned a nd t his c ould b e d one b y a ny o ne e ven t he b uyer .

( i)

t he

O btaining t he r aw m ater ial I n

t he

v arious

e xploitation

o f

p otting

l ocalities

c lay s ources:

t wo f actors

( i) t he p lasticity

s eem o f

t o d etermine t he

t he

c lay a nd t he

n earness o f t he s ource/sources t o t he p otters. P otters d ig u p c lay f or t hemselves f rom a d epth o f a bout t wo t o t hree m etres o r m ore w ith h oes, c utlasses a nd a t t imes w ith s hovels. I n I nyi a nd O jjor t he p otters m ake u se o f t wo t ypes o f c lay - " white" a nd " black". I n O werre-Ezukala, a bout s ix k ilometres f rom I nyi o nly " black" ca ly i s a vailable a nd m ade u se o f. I n I nyi a nd O jjor te h t wo t ypes o f c lay a re o btained a nd m ixed t ogether . T he p otters i n I gga a nd N kpologu m ake u se o f o nly t he " black" c lay.

( ii) P reparation o f t he c lay T he p rocesses i n t he p reparation o f t he c lay i n a ll t he a reas A guleri, I nyi , O werre-Ezukala , O jjor , I gga a nd N kpologu - a re s imilar b ut w ith m inor v ar iations. A ll a re a ware o f t he f act t hat n o c lay i mmediately a fter d igging i s s uitable f or m aking p oLtery , a nd t hat i t h as f irst t o b e w orked i nto a ha nogeneous m ass a nd a ny l umps o f e x traneous m atter r emoved. F or e xample, O jjor a nd I nyi m ake u se o f t wo t ypes o f c lays. T hese a re b rought f rom t heir s ources a nd f ir st o f a ll d ried i n t he s un. A fter t h is , b oth a re b ro ken i nto s mall l umps a nd s oaked s eparately i n w ater f or a bout 1 2 t o 2 4 h our s. T hen b oth a re m ixed t ogether a nd t rodden u pon . A s t his p rocess c ontinues w ater i s a dded t o t he c lay w hich b ecomes s oftened; u nwanted p ar ticles a r e r emoved f rom i t a nd g round p otsherd ( grog) i s a dded a s t emper . I t i s t hen w orked b y h and t o s ee t hat i t a ch ieves t he r ight p lasticity. I n O werre-Ezukala, A guleri, I gga a nd N kpologu t he o nly a vailable c lay i s f irst d ried i n t he s un a nd l ater s oaked i n w ater b efore i t I s t rodden u pon. L ater ' grog' i s a dded t o i t a s t emper . I n a ll t he l ocalities I n oticed t he s ame m ethod o f c lay p reparation ; p otter s s pread t heir c lay t o d ry i n t he s un s o t hat whenever i t i s p ut i nto w ater t he i ntervening s paces a re f illed w ith m oisture v ery s wiftly , f or t his t reatment h astens t he b reaking o f t he c lay i nto s maller p ar ticles. A lso i n a ll t he l ocalities p otter s t read u pon t he c lay m ostly o n t he g round a nd g rog i s u sed a s t emper . I t s eems t hat q uar tz g rains a nd o ther p articles o f s and f ound i n

sa ne

p otsherds m ay n ot

h ave

b een i ntentionally u sed

b y

t he

p otters

a s

t emper .

( iii) F orming a nd d ecoration P repared t he n ext d ay.

c lay c an b e u sed t o f orm a p ot i mmediately o r b e l eft u ntil K neading s tar ts o n t he p alm , t he b ase o f t he p ot i s b uilt u p

f ra n a l ump o f c lay b y h and. W hen t he f ormed b ase i s l arge e no ugh i t i s t hen p laced o n a kpurumakpu o r o nu-ite ( Igbo) o r o kete ( Igala) - a n i nver ted s houlder a nd n eck o f a p ot which a cts a s a s tand. i ntentionally m anufactured. A kpurumakpu/okete ( Plate 5 )

Sa ne s tands a re a r e o f d ifferent

s izes a nd a re u sed a ccording t o t he s izes o f p ots b eing m anufactured.

4 1

C lay

i s t hen m ade i nto r olls a nd t hese are t hen worked i n ,

o ne o n t op o f t he

o ther b y h and. W hile s upporting t he c lay c oil w ith t he l eft p alm , t he p otter u ses t he f ore f inger o f t he r ight h and t o s tick a n ew r ole o n t o t he o ne b efore. S he t ries t o m aintain a u niform t h ickness f irst b y t he h ands a nd s econdly b y u sing a s craping t oo l, f or e x ample , a p iece o f b amboo o r c alabash w hich g enerally s moothens t he p ot o n t he i nside. T his p rocess c ontinues u ntil t he r equired s hape o f p ot i s p roduced. T he p ot i s t hen d r ied i n t he s hade o r i n d irect s unlight , d epending o n t he i ntensity o f t he s un. A fter s a ne s ix h ours n eck a nd r im a re t hen a dded t o t he p ot. S ince r im a nd n eck a re i ntroduced d uring t he l eather-hard s tage i t b ecomes n ecessary t o u se j ust t he r ight a mount o f w ater t hat w ill h elp i n t his a ttachment. A lso d uring t his l eather-hard s tage t he p otter u ses a s mooth p ebble , a p iece o f c alabash o r a c oco-nut s hell t o s mooth t he b ody o f t he p ot. T his b urnishing r educes p orosity a nd a lso s erves t he p urpose o f s moo th ing t he s ur face o f t he p ot , i ncreasing i ts s trength a nd r emoving t he u nwanted p ar ticles. D ifferent m aterials I nyi a nd O jjor ,

T he p ot i s t hen l eft t o d ry b efore i t i s p olished. a re u sed a s p olish o r s lip i n d ifferent a reas. I n

at ype o f c lay ,

y ellcwish i n c olour - n char a ( Igbo) i s u sed

t o p olish p ots. A fter p olishing , t he p ot i s d ecor ated ( see s ection o n d ecoration) a nd t hen a fter i t h as b een l eft t o dry i s r eady f or f iring. So metimes a p ot m ay n ot b e p olished o r s lipped b efore f ir ing. A fter f iring t he p ot i s a llowed t o c ool b efore p olishing .

D ecoration W hile t here m ay b e d ifferences i n d etails f rcm o ne a rea t o t he o ther t he m ain d ecorative t echniques p revalent i n a ll I gbo a reas ( Aguleri , I nyi a nd O werre-Ezekala) a nd I gala areas ( Ojjor , I gga a nd N kpologu) a re b urnishing g rooving , i ncision , a pplied o r r elief d ecoration .

r ouletting, i mpressing , p erforating a nd D escriptions o f t hese t echniques n cw

( i) B urnishing : T his i s d one b y r ubbing t he s urface o f a p ot w ith a s mooth r iver-pebble , a c oco-nut s hell o r a p iece o f c alabash u ntil t he s urface b ecc x nes s mooth a nd s hiny. A s w ell a s t he e x te r nal , t he i nternal s urfaces o f t he bans a re o ften b urnished t o r educe p oro sity. T here i s n o e vidence o f a ny p attern t o b urnishing i n a ll t he p otting c entres s tudied. ( ii) G rooving :

G rooves a nd r idges a re p roduced o n p ots w ith b amboo o r a ny

h ollcw s tick p ossessing t wo b lunt a nd s hort p rojections. T his n otched s tick i s d ragged o ver t he s urface o f t he p ot t o f orm d ifferent k inds o f m otifs d epending o n t he d esigns t he p o tter w ants t o p roduce a nd a lso o n h er i ngenuity ( Plate 1 3). ( iii) I ncised o r d ragged l ines: T hese a re m ade w ith s harp p ointed o bjects ( especially s harp p ointed s ticks) w hich c ut i nto t he s urface o f ap ot. S a ne o f t hese l ines c an b e v er tical , h or izontal o r m ay f orm c r iss-cro ss p atterns ( Plate 1 4). W ith i ncision t he c uts a re V -shaped w hile g rooves a re U -shaped i n c ro ss-section . ( iv) R ouletting : A r culette i mpression i s p roduced w ith a c ylindrical o bject. T his g ives r epeated i mpression w hen r olled o n a p ot. T he r culettes c ould b e m ade w ith c arved o bjects ( carved r culette -(Plate 1 5) o r b y p laiting f ronds o r s trings ( plaited f rond o r s tring r oulettes), o r b y f olding a nd t wisting a s ingle s tring o r f rond -twisted s tring/cord ( Plate 1 6 ;

s ee a lso 1 7) o r f rond

( Plate

1 8)

r oulette.

M aize c ob c an b e u sed a s

r culette b ut t h is w as n ot f ound i n a ny o f t he a reas s tudied.

4 2

E bebe ( 1978 :

2 3)

f ound

b ed-springs

u sed

a s

r oulettes

i n

I shiagu

i n A fikpo

l ocal

g overnment a rea , I mo S tate. A ccording t o h im t he b ed s pr ings p roduced i mpressions v ery c lose t o t ho se m ade b y g rooving t echnique; b ut t he s pring i mpressions w ere m uch s maller a nd u norganised. A ny t ype o f r oulette i mpression i s p roduced b y t he s urface o f t he p ot u sually w ith t he r ight p alm .

r olling t he o bject o n A s t his i s b eing d one

t he l eft p alm i s p laced i nside t he p ot a t c orresponding p o sitions r eceiving t he p ressure f rom t he r ight p alm. T he p otter c lears t he h oles i n t he c arved o r s tring ro ulette a s s oon a s t hey a re f illed. ( v) I mpression: T his i s a d ecorative t echnique w hich i nvolves t he p ressing o f s uch o bjects l ike f inger-tip , n et ( Plate 1 9), s ack ( Plate 2 0) o r c omb-like o bject ( Plate 2 1) o n t he s urface o f ap ot. T he s hape a nd s ize o f t he i mpression d epends o n t he s hape a nd s ize o f t he o bject u sed. ( vi) P erforation : As harp p ointed s tick i s u sed t o p ierce t hr o ugh t he b ody o f t he p ot. T wo t ypes o f p er forations w ere d iscernible. O ne t ype u sually f ound a mongst s mall b a wls c onsists o f o ne o r t wo h oles p robably d esigned t o t ake a s tring f or h anging t he b cwl o n t he w all. T he s econd c ategory o f p erforations c overs a lmost a ll t he b ody o f t he p ot ( Plate 2 2). S uch a p ot i s s till u sed a s a s ieve b ut m ight h ave b een u sed f or d rying o r s teaming m eat o r f ish o n f ire. ( vii)

A pplied o r r elief d ecoration :

T his t ype o f d ecoration i s m ade w hen

t he p ot i s s till w et e nough t o a lla a t he a ddition o f c lay. T he e xtra c lay a dded w ill f orm r idges o r p rojections -b o sses o r c ordons , s ometimes a nimals a nd b irds o f v arious t ypes a re a ffixed t o t he b ody o f s ome r itual a nd c eremonial p ots l ike i te I ke ( Plate 2 3). W hile a b o ss i s a p rojection , a c ordon i s a r idge. B oth t he b oss a nd c ordon m ay e ither b e p lain o r d ecorated. A ll d eco r ati o n a re a pplied t o p ots w hen t hey a re s till s o ft o r a t a l eather-hard s tage. T he f ollowing b road g roups o f d eco r ati o ns w ere i dentified i n t he m odern archaeological s ites u nder s tudy: I ncision (i v) I mpression ( v) ( viii)

B urnishing.

( i) R ouletting ( ii) G rooving ( iii) P e r fo r ati o n ( vi) A pplied d eco r ati o ns

R im a nd b ody s herd b urnished a t t he i nternal o r

e xternal s urfaces o r b oth w ere i dentified. ( v)

D rying/Smoking T he n umber o f

o f t he p ot.

d ays a p ot d ries d epends o n t he w eather a nd o n t he s ize

A ccording t o a n I nyi p otter ,

M adam N wandu M bah ,

a v ery l arge

p ot , l ike i te I ke s tays f or a bout t en d ays i n t he s un. D epending o n t he i ntensity o f t he s un t he p ot i s e ither k ept u nder i t o r u nder a s hade. B ut i f k ept u nder t he s un t he p otter m ust b e w atchful t o s ee t hat t he p ot d oes n ot o verdry. P otters t hr o ugh e xper ience d o n ot l ike r apid d rying b ecause t he t hinner p ar ts m ay d ry o ut c ompletely a nd t herefore s hrink, w hile t he t hicker p arts a re s till d amp . I n t he o ccasionally

T his m ay r esult i n t he p ot c racking.

r ainy s eason t he s moking m ay b e u sed t o d ry p ots b rought

o ut

o n

s unny

d ays.

S moking

p roves

b ut t hey a re

u seful w hen

t he

h umid w eather d oes n ot a llow f or f ast d rying o r w hen t he p ots a re v ery b ig , f or p otters u sually d o n ot l ike t o t ake t he c hance o f b reakages w hich m ay r esult f ra n c onstant m ovements o f t he p ots c ut t o t he s un a nd b ack f ro m t he

4 3

r ain . ( vi)

F iring

I n a ll t he l ocalities p ottery i s f ired i n " open f ires". P otters u sually e ngage i n g roup f iring t o u tilize t he a dvantage o f t heir j oint e ffor t. B aked c lay o r s tones o n t op o f w hich s ticks a re l aid a re a rranged o n t he g round. N ext , t he d ry p ots a re a rranged o n t he s ticks s ideways a nd i n ro ws, t he l arger p ots b eing b elow . T he p ots a re t hen c overed w ith d ry g rasses, g reen l eaves a nd l ight f irewood. T he f iring l asts f or a f ew h ours. W hen t he f ire d ies d own t he p ots a re r emoved w ith p oles a nd a llowed t o c ool.

P ROCEDURE O F P OITERY A NALYSIS P ottery c onstitued t he m ajority o f t he f inds i n a ll t he s ites u nder s tudy a t U muekete , O juwo A ta O gu , O ketekakini , A tida a nd O batamu a nd w as i n t he f orm o f s herds. I n s tudying t he p ottery i t w as d ivided i nto r im a nd b ody s herds. T he r im s herds w ere c lassified i nto d iagnostic ( defined a s t ho se w h ich r eveal t he f orms ( shapes) o f v essel t ypes a nd i n w h ich t he a rc o f t he r in a ffords a m eans o f c alculating t he d iameter o f t he m outh o f av essel) a nd u ndiagno stic g roups while c ategories.

b ody

s herds

w ere

c lassified

i nto

p lain

a nd

d ecorated

T he f ollowing a ttributes w ere t hen s tudied f rom a ll t he s herds, b urnishing , t hickness , c olour a nd t emper . W ith t he d ecorated b ody s herds , a part f rom t he a bove, t wo o ther a ttributes w ere a lso s tudied; d ecorative t echniques a nd m otifs. P ottery f orms I n c lassifying t he e xcavated r im s herds I r elied g reatly o n t he I gbo a nd I gala p eoples t raditional t erminology/typology i n t he b elief t hat s uch a p rocedure w ould m ake o ur c lassification a s n ear m eaningful a nd r elevant a s p ossible t o t he p eople b eing s tudied . S eries o f o bservations a nd i nterviews s how t hat i n t he p arts o f I gboland u nder s tudy t he I gbo ( potters a nd t he u sers o f t heir p roducts) c lassify p ottery i nto t hree m ain g roups ite ( necked p ot), u du a re s yna mymous. F or e xample , a s mall ( necked) p ot u sed_in g etting o ut w ater f rom a w ell o r u sed i n t aking w ater t o t he f arm o r m arket i s c alled e ither i te m mili o r u du m mili ( water p ot). A p ot o f s uch a s ize a nd s hape w hen u sed f or f etching w ater t o a n i nfant i s c alled i te m mili b ut w hen f ound i n s hrines o r when i t i s o f

r itual s ignificance i t i s c alled u du a lusi o r

i te a lusi. T herefore f orms a nd f unctions o f p ottery a re b oth s ignificant i n t he I gbo c lassifictory s cheme. F or i nstance , i te , gnerally r efer s t o n ecked p ots w hile o ku r efer s t o n eckless v essels. B ut w hen t he f unction o f a n i te o r o ku i s a ttached i t h elps o ne t o c onceptualise t he s hape o f s uch a n i te

( that i s ,

i ts s ub-gr o up).

b asic d ifferences f rom i te m m ili

F or e xample , ( water p ot).

i te o fe

( scup p ot) s hows s ome

A s oup

o r c ooking p o t

i s

g enerally s horter a nd h as a u dder r im d iameter t han a w ater p ot ( while a m edium s ized s cup o r c ocking p ot i s a bout 2 5 c m h igh a nd h as a r im a bout 1 8 a n i n d iameter ; am edium s ized w ater p ot i s 5 0 c m h igh a nd h as a r im a bout 1 2 c m i n d iameter).

4 4

A mongst t he I gala p otters a nd u sers o f t heir p roducts , a ll t ypes o f p ottery f alls b asically i nto t hree b road c ategories - u cha ( necked p ot) , u du ( narrow m outhed a nd l ong n ecked p ot, s ometimes w ith h ole a t t he s houlder) a nd a kele ( bo wl). T he f unctions o f t he a bove c ategories h elp t o s ubdivide t hem i nto t heir v ar ious s ub-grcups. F or i nstance , as oup p ot i s c alled u cha o ro b ut w hen a p ot o f t he s ame s ize a nd s hape i s u sed f or f or c ooking m edicinal h erbs i t i s r eferred t o a s u bo. A p ot u sed f or f etching w ater f rom t he s tream i s c alled o tube w hile a mo i s ap ot m eant s pecifically f or s torage o f w ater . A kele g enerally r efers t o a ll t ypes o f b owls b ut t here a re l arge b owls ( usually w ith u pright r ims) r eferr ed t o a s i gba. I t

s eems ,

ho wever ,

t hat t he b asic c riterion o f s hape u sed b y t he I gbo

a nd I gala p eople i n d etermining t ypes o f p o ttery i s t he p resence o r a bscense o f an eck. B ased o n s hape t hree m ain t ypes o f v essels a re t hus d iscernible f rom t he I gbo a nd I gala p ottery c lassification : a mo T ype 1 :

N ecked p ot - i te/ucha o tube

T ype 2 :

N arra w-mcuthed a nd l ong n ecked p ot -udu

T ype 3 :

N eckless v essel ( bowl) - o ku/akele.

T he m ain f unctions t he a bove n amed v essels p erform o r p eilo med c an b e u sed t o s ubdivide t hem i nto t heir v arious s ubgroups o r s ub-types. T ype

1 c an b e s ub-divided i nto t hree

s ub-types a nd t hese a re a s

f o il o ws : S ub-type l a :

g lobular s hort n ecked p ot w ith e ver ted r im - i te m mili/otube

( length o f n eck r anges f rom 1 5-40 m m) -meant s pecifically f or p orterage o f w ater a nd w ine ( Plate 6 ). ( Ocasionally t he v ery l arge o nes c ould b e u sed f or s torage o f t hese i tems). S ub-type

l b :

g lobular l ong n ecked

p ot w ith e ver ted r im - i te m mili/amo

( length o f n eck r anges f rom 5 0120 m m) -meant s pecifically f or s torage

o f

w ater a nd w ine ( Plate 7 ). S ub-type

l c:

c ooking/soup p ot w ith s hort n eck a nd w ide mouth -f or

e xample,

i te

o fe/ucha-oro ( length o f n eck r anges f rom 9 -16 mm) -m eant

s pecifically f or c ocking f ood ( soup ,

y am e tc).

s torage o f f ood i tems l ike p alm o il , m ellon e tc

I t c ould a lso b e u sed f or ( Plate 8 ).

T ype-2: ( narrow m outhed a nd lo ng n ecked p ot) h as n o s ub-type i n I gbo a nd I gala c lassificatory s cheme ; l ength o f n eck r anges f rom 6 07120 m m ( Plate 9 ). T ype

3 :

T hree

s ub-types

o f

b owls

a re a lso d iscernible b ased o n t he

f unctions t hey p er form o r p erformed . S ub-type 3 a :

h emispherical b owl w ith u pturned r im ( Igba -Igala) m ainly

u sed ( in t he p ast) f or b athing a nd w ashing o f c lothes ( Plate 1 0). S ub-type

3 b :

h emispherical b owl w ith i nturned r im -m ainly u sed f or

p reparing o f f ood -for e xample , p repar ing o f y am p ottage ( Plate 1).

4 5

S ub-type 3 c : h emispher ical b owl w ith e verted r im mainly u sed f or s erving o f f ood ( Plate 1 2). T his s ub-type i s m o st o ften p ro fusely d ecorated ; h ence t he n ame d ku c ma ( Igbo). u sed f or s erving o f f ood.

S mall v essel o f s ub-type 3 a a nd 3 b c ould a lso b e

D rawing f rom t he a bove e thnographic s tudies t he f ollowing v essel t ypes w ere i dentified i n t he s ites u nder s tudy : T ype 1 : g lobular s hort n ecked p ot w ith e verted l ip ( length o f n eck r anges f rom 1 540rm n). T ype 2 :

r im a nd p lain o r g rooved

g lobular l ong n ecked p ot w ith e verted r im a nd p lain o r g rooved l ip

( length o f n eck r anges f rom 6 0120 m m). T ype 3 : g lobular n arrow m outhed a nd l ong n ecked p ot ( length o f n eck r anges f rom 6 0120 m m). T ype 4 :

d eep b owl w ith v ery s hort n eck a nd e verm w ith g rooved/or b evelled

l ip ( length o f n eck r anges f rom 916rmm). T ype 5 : T ype 6 :

h emispherical bun w ith u pturned r im w ith g rooved/or r ounded l ip . h em ispher ical a nd c arinated

bad w ith s lightly i nturned

r im a nd

r ectangular s haped l ip . T ype 7 : h emispherical b owl w ith f ull i nturned , w ide a nd s lanting r im w hich h as s lightly r ounded l ip . T ype 8 :

h emispherical b owl w ith e verted r im a nd r ounded/or g rooved l ip .

T ype 9 :

h emipherical a nd c arinated b owl w ith e ver ted r im .

T ype 1 0 :

h emispherical a nd c arinated b owl w ith u pturned r im.

A c orrelation

o f

t he

e thnographically

c ollected

a rchaeological s uggests t he f ollowing :

A rchaeological

I n u se t oday

c lassification

t erm imology/typology

T ype 1 i s t he s ame a s

S ub-type

l a

T ype 2 i s t he s ame a s

S ub-type

l b

T ype 3 i s t he s ame a s

T ype

2

T ype 4 i s t he s ame a s

S ub-type

l c

T ypes 5 a nd 1 0 a re t he s ame a s

S ub-type

3 a

T ypes 6 a nd 7 a re t he s ame a s

S ub-type

3 b

T ypes 8 a nd 9 a re t he s ame a s

S ub-type

3 c

4 6

e vidence

a nd

t he

T HE A NALYSIS ( A) U MUEKETE ( AG I TLERI) S ITE F ra n t his s ite 9 ,667 p otsherds w ere r ecovered. 5 55 w ere r im s herds w hile 8 ,684 w ere b ody s herds.

O ut o f t his n umber , O ut o f 5 55 r im s herds

4 44 a re d iagno stic w hile 11 a re n ot. T hree r im s herds w ere r ecovered f rc r n t he s urface o f w hich o ne w as d iagno stic . T he b reakdcmn o f t he n umber o f t he d iagno stic a nd u ndiagnostic r im s herds i n t he t renches a nd b aulks i s a s fo llcws T able 8 U muekete ( Aguler i) s ite s ha ding d istribution o f r im s herds

E xcavated

R im s herds

a rea

D iagno stic

U ndiagno stic

N o

N o

N o

A l

2 24

1 71

5 3

A 2

2 14

1 86

2 8

A 3

3 7

2 6

1

A l/ A2

4 7

3 7

1 0

A 2/A3

2 7

2 2

5

F orm F or t he U muekete m ound s even t ypes o f v essels w ere i dentified. T hese a re a s f ollows : ( i) G lobular s hor t n ecked p ot w ith e ver ted ( type 1 -Fig . 1 9 : 1 ).

r im a nd p lain o r g rooved l ip

( ii) G lobular l ong n ecked p ot w ith e ver ted ( type 2 -Fig. 1 9 : 2 ).

r im a nd p lain o r g rooved l ip

( iii)

D eep

b owl w ith v ery

b evelled l ip ( type 4 -Fig. ( iv)

H emispherical

( type 5 -Fig. ( v)

ban

s hor t n eck a nd e ver ted 1 9 :

r im a nd w ith g rooved/or

3 ).

w ith u pturned

r im w ith

g rooved/or

r ounded

l ip

1 9 : 4 ).

H emispherical a nd c arinated b owl w ith s lightly i nturned r im a nd

r ectangular s haped l ip ( type 6 -Fig. 1 9 :

5 ).

( vi) H emispherical b owl w ith f ull i nturned , w ide a nd s lanting h as s lightly r ounded l ip ( type 7 -Fig. 1 9 : 7 ).

4 7

r im w h ich

( vii) H emispherical bowl w ith e verted r im a nd r ounded/or g rooved l ip ( type 8 -Fig . 1 9 : 6 ).

T heir d istribution i s a s f ollows ( alsosee F ig. 2 0): T able 9 U muekete ( Agurleri) s ite s howing n umber a nd p ercentage d istribution o f v essel t ypes a ccording t o t renches a nd b aulks ( % o f t otal)

S UR ACE T YPES N o .

A l %

4

A 2 %

N o .

%

N o .

%

N o .

%

1 08

2 4.33

1 34

3 0 .18

1 8

4 .05

3 2

7 .21

1 9

4 .28

4

2

0 .45

0 .23

1

0 .23 1

0 .23

3 4

7 .65

1 9

4 .28

5

1 .13

4

0 .9

1 7

3 .83

2 2

4 .95

1

0 .23

1

0 .23

7

5

1 .13

8

1 .80

8

4

0 .9

3

0 .68

T OTAL

T HE E NTIRE S ITE

N o .

0 .25

1

A 2/A3

%

1

6

A 1/A2

N o .

2

5

A 3

44 4

1

0 .23

3

0 .68

No .

3 11

%

7 0 .05

2

0 .45

3

0 .68

6 5

1 4.64

4 2

9 .45

1 3

2 .93

8

1 .80

-

T he d istribution o f t he r im s herds a ccording t o t he v arious s pit l evels/layers a nd a ccording t o t he t renches a nd b aulks i s a lso s ummarised i n T able 1 0 a nd F ig. 2 1 w hich i s i ntended a mong o ther t hings a t s ha ding t heir d istri b ution p attern . L ocking a t T able 1 0 a nd F igs. a mongst t he

v essel t ypes ,

t ype

2 0 a nd 2 1 t he f oll o w ing w ere d iscovered :

1 ( globular s hor t n ecked p ot) ,

i s t he mo st

p red o minant , f orming 7 0 .05% o f a ll t he d iagnostic r im s herds r ecovered f ra n t he s ite. A par t f rcm t h is i t o ccur s i n a ll t he t renches a nd b aulks. O n t he o ther h and t ypes 2 ( globular l ong n ecked p ot) o ccurs o nly i n t renches A l a nd A 2 a nd c onstitutes o nly 0 .45% o f t he d iagno stic r im s herds. I n t erms o f d istr ibution a ccording t o s pit l evels, t ype a ppear s c onstant i n a ll t he t renches a nd b aulks e xcept f or t rench A 3 i n w hich i t i s a b sent a t l evels 7 a nd 8 . T ype 2 o ccur s o nly a t l evels 1 3 a nd 1 4 i n t rench A l a nd a t l evel 8 i n t rench A 2. F ra n t he v arious s pit l evels o ne c annot t alk o f i ncrease o r d ecrease i n p opularity o f T ype 1 v essel a s o ne m oves fr a n t he b ott o m t o t he t op l evels. T he d eep b owl w ith v er y s hort n eck ( type 4 ) o ccurs i n t renches A l a nd A 3 a nd c onstitutes 0 .68% o f t he d iagno stic r im s herds. I t o ccur s a t l evels 6 a nd 1 3; a nd 1 4 i n t rench A l a nd a t l evel 8 i n t rench A 2. T ype 5 ( hemispherical ban w ith u ptu r ned r im) c onstitutes 1 4.64% o f t he d iagno stic r im s herds.

I t

o ccurs i n a ll t he t renches a nd b aulks a nd t herefore h as a

w ider d istribution p attern t han a ll t he o ther bans. Ho wever , i t i s b etter r epresented i n t rench A l t han i n A 2. T he h emispherical a nd c ar inated ban w ith s lightly i ntu med r im ( type 6 ) c onstituting 9 .45% o ccur s i n t renches A l, A 2 a nd A 3 a nd b aulk A l/A2. I t i s t he o nly t ype t hat o ccurs a t t he s urface.

I t a ppears t o b e m uch m nore

c onstant

i n t rench A 2

t han i n A l.

T ype 7 ( hemispherical b owl w ith f ull i nturned, w ide a nd s lanting r im : 2 .93%) o ccurs o nly i n t r enches A l a nd A 2 w hile t ype 8 ( hemispherical ban w ith e verted r im -1.80%) o ccurs i n t renches A l, A 2 a nd A 3. I t i s p resent , A l a nd a t t he b ottom o f t rench A 2. Nnt m uch c an b e o n t op o f t renc ld educed f rcm t h is d istr ibution p attern . U nlike t he p ots t he r e i s n o s ubg roup o f t he b owls whose d istribution p attern a ppears c onstant a t t he v arious s pit l evels i n t he t renches a nd b aulks. F or e xample, t here i s c omplete a bsence o f t ypes 4 , 7 , a nd 8 i n b aulk A l/A2; 4 , 6 , 7a nd 8 i n

b aulk A 2/A3. I n t rench A 3 t ype 7 i s co mpletely a bsent a nd a par t fr a n t ype 5w hich o ccurs i n l evels 7 a nd 8 , 9a nd 1 0 , t ypes 4 , 5 , 6a nd 8 o ccur o nly a s s ingle s herds i n l evels 3 a nd 4 . W hereas t ypes 5 , 6 , 7a nd 8 d o n ot o ccur fr a n l evels ( 17-23) o f t rench A l, i n t rench A 2 t ypes 6 a nd 7 a ppear s i n t he u pper a nd la ger l evels a nd t ype 8 a ppear s i n t he la ger l evels ( 1418). I n t rench A 3 t ypes 5 , 6 , 8 a re v ery f ew a nd t here i s n ot m uch s ignificance t o t heir d istribution p attern . T he s tudy o f t he d iagno stic r im s herds t herefore s ho ws t hat t here i s n o e vidence o f a ny t ypological b reak b etween t he u pper a nd lo w er l evels. T ypes 2 a nd 4 w hich a ppear o nly i n t he u pper l evels a re t oo f ew f or a ny m eaningful d eduction t o b e d erived.

4 9

s t e v

e q s t o D s e O D 0 0 O D N

,0

••

C-1 r)

o z . e s ,

‚ e l

e l O D

v , N

C V N V

,7

.4

.4

N

e s O D C D e l s t e V

C4

.4

N

r,

o D v D

` ‘ ,

e l r 4 t 4 el e v

, 4

C h

C h e s . • 1

e , u l s e /1

.

o l

( ‚ 0 ( 4 0 e V

r l

.4

▪. 0 e l . 1.

VD

ON 0

. , C q

u,

O N

0 4 J

e s ,

l c

N C

0

0

0

,D

eg

NO 4 >

•

,

1• • • •

h

-

N C . N C

a -. • N.

N O e s

Ch 0

N . NO

. .

O N

NO • •

. .

.

e v

. .

. .

C O C •

• e v -

en el • e n N C

O N N . c o 1C V V D C O • • . / . . .

el e l c o N . e n e n . . a t r ) V D • • • • •

•u l C ) ( 3 .4 .

r , r

.4

. 0 C V

I -1 .

.4

4. 1

e, -, C I 0

cb CD

0 el 7 = 3 01

.4

0 ,

.4

s r , ' -0 )

C V C V C A

C O C Z N . . 4 s 0 U l • • • • O D u N V D 0 0

( " V

C s i

NC

c o N . 0 3

If ,

,g )

I s s ) 0 0 0

N . U l •r 4• . I

-c

-

• • . • s t V D b . e s c D

. 1 1

C ` J

0 • N C 0 0 1

V N

-. 0 )

e V

N

CN I

C.4

.4

C9

N

.1

-

c o 0

4 , t" . 1 W I

0 1

V D N

N I

C

. .

1

▪

.4

.

" 0

0

...

.I

r

. 4

...

N V D 0 4 I , • • e

l

..I

e v e V

e l I . ) P1 1 1 . . I

es '

e V 4

0 0 1 0 0

.• 4

Ul

• N-

( 0 0

0

0 . n j 0

0 •-•

1 4

0 0

5 0

N . -7 • -• N . 0 1 ) i n V D N o 0 r q . 1. U N • • • • • • C O C D e l s t V D C D i n s t s , e s C D C D u l N . v l v D O D V D u l e s v D v D s t e l u l C D e •

W 4 . 1

0 r 1 , 0 0

C • 1

,0 C O C D rl r r 4 ‚ 0 '0 N C U l N . 0 , e v

.4

C O

C O

4 1 I ' 0

0

0

,

10 0 0 0 0 , e l • f ‘ l •

N C N C e lC D 0 C Z e lCD v D C D

s i D

"

C D C D

c , c N C V O N • • • N. 0 0 C D N . 0 0 0

, 1 0

C D V D o l CD 0 D r s

U l 0 •4

0 1

e V r ,

e V s t

1 4

+ I . 0 1 4 ( 0

g o r . , 0 ) 4 1 W V 0 7

V D C O e , , 0

N r % e l N C C r . N N C N . 0. , t 0 1 i n u 1 C h N C e , • • • • •e • l C D O D C D M s e l C D r 4 C D V D u l e s u l v D V D C D 0 h s v p O D e -OD e s N e s 0

+ 4 4 I O 0 . 0

I

C V e l

•

c 0

C .4

c v .4 .a

.4

rn

• •

t r , N . N O .4

.4

i ) R im d iameter D iameter o f a ll d iagno stic r im s herds w ere m easured i n t rench A l u sing p o ttery r im d iameter c hart ( Fig. 2 2).

T he m easurements a re a s f ollows :

T able 1 U muekete ( Aguleri) s ite s ha ding r ange a nd m ean o f t he r im d iameters

T ypes

N o .

1

o f S ample

1 08

R ange

M ean

6- 20

1 4

2

1

1 2

1 2

4

2

1 6 -18

1 7

5

3 4

2 0 -30

2 6

6

1 7

1 2 -20

1 6

7

5

1 2 -18

1 5

8

4

1 6 -2 2

1 8

M easurements i n c entimetres.

T he r im d iameters o f t ypes 4 , 5 , 6 , 7a nd 8 ( bcwls) r ange f ra n 1 6 -30 a m . O nly a bout 3 5% o f t ype 1 v essels i n t rench A l h ave r im d iameters r anging f rom 1 4 a ns a nd a bove.

( ii) D ecoration : D ecoration s eemed t o h ave b een u sed o n a ll p arts o f t he v essels o f t ypes 1 a nd 3 -8. a nd 4 w ith g rooved

O nly t ype 2 h ad n o e vidence o f d ecoration . T ypes 1 l ips , h owever , h ave d ecorations, s tar ting i mmediately

b elow t heir n ecks. C ertain c ategories

o f

d ecorations a re n ot

a ssociated w ith a ny

o f t he

v essel t ypes. F or e xample , i ncised l ines , t wisted f rond a nd c ord r oulette i mpressions h ave h igh p ercentage o ccurrences a mongst a ll t he v essel t ypes. T he p resent a nalysis a lso s uggests t hat t here i s n ot m uch d iffe r ence i n t he p ercentage o ccurrence o f b lunt i mpression a mongst t he v ar icus v essel t ypes i n m o st c ases t his t echnique i s u sed t o d ecorate r ims o f v essel. B ut p ref ir ing p erforation a nd n et i mpression o ccur w ith t he t ypes 1 a nd 4 o nly. T his p icture m ay o r m ay n ot

r eflect t he s mallness

o f

t he s ample.

A pplied

d ecoration i s m ore t ypical o f t ypes 5 -8 b ut m ostly o f t ype 8 . G rooving i s a lso c annon w ith t ypes 5 -8. I t s eems t hat t ypes 1 , 2a nd 4 v essels w ere n o t b urnished.

T he v essels s eemed t o h ave b een s moothed b y h and b ecause i n

5 1

s ame c ases c lay p ieces s eemed t o b e s ticking o ut. a nd 8 v essels w ere b urnished a nd sa me d ecorations

M ost o f t ypes 5 , 6 , 7 o n t hem s eemed t o h ave

b een d one o n a b urnished b ackground.

B ody s herds

c ut

A s m entioned e arlier , 9 667 p otsherds w ere r ecovered f rom t his s ite a nd o f t h is n umber 8 ,684 w ere b ody s herds. O f t he b ody s herds 6 ,319 a re

d ecorated

w hile

2 ,365 a re

p lain .

O ut

o f

t he

d ecorated

u nclear d ecorations a nd t he r emaining 5 ,863 s herds a r e i dentifiable. T he b reakdcwn i s a s f ollcws:

s herds

4 56 h ave

h ave d ecorations w h ich

T able 1 2 U muekete ( Agulerl) s ite s hcwing d istri b uti o n o f b ody s herds N o . o f b od y s herds

N o . o f p lain s herds

N o . o f d ec . s herds

S urface

S urface

3 2

9

N o . o f i dentifia-

N o . o f u nclear d ec .

b le d ec . s herds

s herds

2 3

2 3

A l

3 ,953

1 ,066

2 ,887

2 ,519

3 68

A 2

2 ,736

7 4

1 ,995

1 ,925

7 0

A 3

7 57

2 87

4 70

4 69

1

A l/A2

6 69

1 05

5 64

5 56

8

A 2/A3

5 37

1 57

3 80

3 71

9

T he

5 ,863

b ody

s herds

i nto e leven d ecorative t echniques o bservable o n a nd b aulks a nd a ccording 1 3 a nd 1 4 ( also s ee F igs.

w ith

i dentifiable

d ecorations

w ere

s orted

c ut

c ategories i n o rder t o r epresent a ll d ecorative t hem . T heir d ist r ib ution a ccording t o t renches t o t he s pit l evels/layers i s s ummar ised i n t ables 2 3 a nd 2 4).

5 2

1 ,. , . . 1 • c o

L c ) N . . . 1- u ' l C 0 C D N . . • • • • 0 0 c n ( N I 0 L C )

c h 1 . .

0 . 7 0 0 — 1 CT N . / 40 1

, 1 h i c e ) c N i • .

— 1 0 c e ) ,. 0 N .

c o c e )

. 7

11 - v-I -

e l

• .1 "

01

44

C O . 4-

V D r y . 4-

N . h i h i i • • 0 0

. . r . C r ) C O C . • • 0 0

C r ) ‘ 0 . t r l

c n V D 0 4• • 0 0

C r ) c n C T 0 . • ' 4 C

h l 0 • 0

0 0

CD

CN

I .' . .

Cr )

r -I

&I

Cr )

CN

, -

C r )

C D

r • • I

N . c N D 2- C • • c y 1 ,

c 0 L i ' ) . 0

e l o l • 0-)

u l Cr,

. 1

. . 1c • 1 • 0

i n C C

C O C N

C T C h 0

Cr )

0

r V D • C D

Ln C D . i n

•

• O ' N

CN

0 0 C r ) . 0

CN

4

rq

r 4 -

S i- r c n h 1 • • C D 0

-7 . 1, 1 c y • • . i 0

r 4 0 . 0

I r ) 0 • 0

h i c s i . 0

% . 0 r▪ -I

CN

c r) N — 1 0 ,

1 -1

i . N

C ) 0 h l C O • • • • e l 0 — 0 N

C N

c p I f-)

N . i n

0 C O r - Cr ) • •

r I

N . C r ) 0 0 • • 0 0

c a

N . . — i . C D

C r ) h ! — 1

0

r 1

1 . 0 0 . c e )

c N i L n .-I 0 1 C T % 0 1 C r t • • • • C r % 0 • 1 0 c N

N h l h l

-7 c r , t n C O L t " ) V D I A N .

I -

C D

•

0

N. h i

41 •

C) •

0

0

. 7 . 7 N . c e ) . • 7 0

0 r q h i , i • • C ) 0

C O 0 r • N h i

N N . . , . 1

L . 0 h i

0

1

4 . . . 1

. . . / -

c V

N .

C T

C) • 0

L . 0 c e i

• 0

Cr )

-0

9 1

. H

• P 4 ,d 4 L ) c U

8

c n 0

d e c o r a t i o n

4 ) . c n

C o m b i n a t i o n o f

4 ) c o

T able 1 4 U muekete

( Aguleri)

s howing

n umber

( A)

a nd

p ercentage

d istribution

o f

t he

d ecorative c ategories a ccording t o s pit l evels/layers ( sherds w ith u nclear d ecorations a re n ot i ncluded i n t he c olumn o f t otal d ecorated s herds.

RO U L E T T E

T WISTED C ORD N O %

S URFACE A l

1 2 3 4 5 6 &7 8 900

1 1 2 1 3 04 1 5 06 1 7 08 1 9&20 2 1-23 A 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 900 1 02 1 3 1 4 1 5 06 1 7 08 A 3 1 &2 3 &4 5 &6 7 &8 900 A 1/A2 1 2 3 A 2/A3 1 2 4

T WISTED F ROND N O

G ROOVING %

3 2 5 8 2 3 9 1 2 6 8

1 3.04 7 .33 1 6.33 6 .42 7 .26 9 .82 4 .00 3 .80 4 .32

1 0 2 51 3 2 2 82 8 5 7 9 3 5 1 23 1 34

4 3.48 7 3.61 6 5.31 7 8.77 6 8.55 7 0.54 7 0.00 7 7.85 7 2.43

9 2 1 3 3 5 1 7 7 4 3 1 4 1 1 5 3 7

2 .80 8 .17 1 3.47 7 .81 1 7.53 1 3.21 4 1.35 0 .51 7 .75 7 .18 3 .49 5 .11

2 5 1 4 1 7 4 8 6 5 9 3 1 2 1 1 0 4 0 8 3 1 4 1 1

3 .23 1 0.00 7 .78 7 .64 5 .47 7 .14 1 2.70 2 0.00 3 .31 6 .87 1 2.5 5 .56 1 4.48 7 .75 1 5.75 4 .62 5 .00 9 .46 7 .19

2 72 1 88 1 49 2 7 4 5 2 7 2 5 1 74 3 91 1 48 4 8 9 3 4 1 4 5 1 6 1 34 9 5 9 0 3 7 3 1 7 13 1 8 3 8 1 9 1 6 9 1 61 1 00 4 4 1 00 1 06

8 4.77 7 3.15 6 0.82 4 2.19 4 6.39 5 0.94 2 4.04 8 9.23 7 3.91 7 0.18 5.81 5 6 7.88 7 5.93 7 0.31 3 2.00 7 4.44 6 5.97 7 0.31 6.07 6 4 9.21 2 3.33 7 4.83 6 3.36 3.33 3 5 .56 6 2.76 5 3.49 6 3.39 5 7.80 7 3.33 6 7.57 6 9.28

5 4

C ARVED N O %

2 .0

1 .0

1

N O

%

I NCISION N O

%

4 2 1 8 2 2 1 1 4

1 7.39 0 .59 2 .04 2 .23 1 .61 1 .79 2 .00 0 .63 2 .16

1 3 2 7 2 3 1 5 7

4 .35 0 .88 4 .08 1 .96 1 .61 2 .68 2 .00 3 .16 3 .78

2 3 7 9 8 1 .89 3 1 2 5 0 .19 1 5 , J 4 4

0 .62 1 .17 2 .86 1 4.06 8 .25 5 .66 1.54 1 2 .56 0 .28 1 .44 4 .65 2 .92

5 4 3 1 8 4 3 3 1 3 4 2 9

1 .55 1 .56 1 .22 1 .56 8 .25 7 .55 2 .88 1 .54 2 .46 1 .91 2 .33 6 .57

5 7 3 6 2 5 6 6 1 6 2 5 6 2

7 .81 1 4.00 1 .67 4 .17 1 .56 8 .93 9 .52 2 0.00 0 .66 4 .58 8 .33 2 7.78 4 .4 1 .55

1 2 4

7 .59 2 .61

3 9 3 2 2 2 4 3 2 2 5 7 1 0 1 0 3 1 3

1 .67 6 .25 2 .34 3 .57 3 .17 6 .67 2 .64 2 .29 8 .33 1.11 1 3 .45 5 .43 3 .94 5 .78 5 .00 . 068 1 .96

4 .0

Ta ble 14

(B)

Umuekete (Aguleri) showing number and percentage distribution of the decorative categories according to spit levels/layers (sherds wi th unclear decorations are not included in the column of total decorated sherds. I M P R E s S I O N NET

SURFA CE

A2

A3

Al/A2 A2/A3

1 2 3 4 5 6&7 8 9 10&11 12 13&14 15&16 17&18 19&20 21-23 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9& 0 11&12 13 14 15&16 17&18 1&2 3&4 5&6 7&8 9&10 l

2 3 1 2 4

BLUNT

NO

,:;

5 51 4 25 24 14 7 15 12 23 23 43 17 10

21. 74 14.96 8.06 6.98 19.35 12.5 4 9.49 6.49 7.76 10.89 17.55 26.56 10.31

3 9

2.88 4.62 9.45 13.88 29.07 13.14 9.26 7.81 22 10.42 13.28 8.93 12.70 6.67 14.57 19.08 8.33 22.22 9.66 26.36 11.81 28.32 8.33 14.86 15.69

7

4.86

8 3

12.70 10

so

29 25 18 5 5 11 18 15 17 5 8 2 22 25 2 4 14 34 30 49 5 22 24

10

NO

,:;

PERFORATION POSTPREFIRING FIRING

NO 3

i.

NO

0.88

i.

APPLIED DEC BOSSES NO

2 0.31

5

12

1.03 9.43 11.54

1 2

0.19 0.96

1

2 l

1.08 0.31 0.39

1 2

1.89 1.92

1 1

0.48 1.16

9 4

1.56 0.41

0.48

1.56

6 5

3 1 1

25 27.78 2.07 0.78 0.23 1.67 0.65

0.56

2

1 2 1 3 3

1 5 1 2 1

NO 5 1

2

6.67

6

5 1 0.69 0.23

3 0.23

i.

U/C TOTAL DEC DEC.PLAIN SHERDS NO

1.47 43 2.04 26 .ll 3.07 105 1 0.81 7 0.89 2 1.79 13 1 16 2 8 5.06 19 4.86 9 4.86 10 7 2.17 52 8 3.11 35 0.41 8 3.27 13 4.69 2 3.13 3 9 7.22 l.03 7 3. 77 12 5.66 2 0.96 2.88 1 6 3 6 1.54 0.19 16 3.03 30 2. 7 3 6 2 3.49 3 6 4.38 2 8 14.81 6 9.38 1.56 6 6 12 10 3.89 10 7 5 0.69 5.47 1.56 7 3.57 1.79 2

0.29

2.04 0.28

0.28 0.81

i.

TWISTED FROND INCISION

2.07 1 6 10 6 l

9 4

TOTAL SHERDS (both 14a & b)

NO

NO

NO

23 341 49 358 124 112 50 158 185 322 257 245 64 97 53 104 195

9 164 41 102

32 548 116 565 161 206 84 206 328 523 408 320 141 157 122 253 239 719 268 110 170 84

529

209 86 137 54 64 50 180 144 128 56 63 4 30 6.67 3.97 151 3.82 131 4.17 24 18 0.69 145 4.65 129 3.94 5 254 3.47 3 173 1.67 60 158 6.08 5 2.61 4 153

3