Abstract
This chapter presents a brief summary of the historical development of archaeology in Nigeria from the first digs at Ile Ife in 1910 by the German anthropologist Leo Frobenius, who searched for buried terracotta figurines, to the accidental discovery of the first piece of what have become known as the Nok terracotta figurines in tin mines on the Jos Plateau in 1928 and finds of archaeological materials in the course of digging foundations in Benin, Ife and Igbo-Ukwu in 1938. Also discussed is the evolution of archaeology from rescue/salvage beginnings to its present purely academic character that had adversely affected its growth. The division of archaeology into academic and non-academic in Nigeria is reviewed to show the inherent problems in such structure, while academic archaeology is shown to be treated differently in universities as it is housed either in the Faculty of Arts or Faculty of Science. The basic theoretical driving force for later archaeologists in Nigeria, as elsewhere in West Africa, had been the deconstruction of the European imposed theories of evolution, migration and diffusion as they affected the interpretation of the African past. In recent studies, emphasis had been on cultural history of some Nigerian people using historical archaeology and ethnoarchaeology.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Agbaje-Williams B. 1983 A contribution to the archaeology of old Oyo. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.
Alabi R.A. 1998 An environmental archaeological study of the coastal region of southwestern Nigeria, with emphasis on the Badagry area. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.
Aleru J.O. 1998 An investigation into aspects of historical archaeology of north-central Yorubaland. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.
Aleru J.O. 2006 Old Oyo and the Hinterlands: History and Culture in Northern Yorubaland. Textflow, Ibadan.
Andah B.W. 1992 Thurstan Shaw at Igbo Ukwu: the limits of rescue archaeology, West African Journal of Archaeology, 22: 33–39.
Andah B.W. 1995 European encumbrances to the development of relevant theory in African archaeology, in P.J. Ucko (ed.) Theory in Archaeology, 96–109. Routledge, London.
Andah B.W. & Folorunso C.A. 1992 Pioneers of archaeological work in West Africa, West African Journal of Archaeology, 22: 12–24.
Andah B.W., Momin K.N., Aremu D.A. & Folorunso C.A. 1992 Archaeological investigations on the campus of the University of Ibadan (an unusual salvage experiment), West African Journal of Archaeology, 22: 98–108.
Bagodo O. 2004 The palaeolithic settlement archaeology of selected parts of Bight of Benin, with reference to Ajibode lower terrace sites in Ibadan, Nigeria. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.
Bernal, M. 1985 Black Athena: the African and Levantine roots of Greece, Journal of African Civilizations, 7: 66–82.
Bernal, M. 1987 Black Athena: the Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilizations, Vol. I. The Fabrication of Ancient Greece, 1785–1985. Free Association Press, London.
Bernal M. 1991 Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilizations, Vol. II. The Documentary and Archaeological Evidence. Rutgers, New Brunswick.
Bernal M. 2003 Afrocentrism and historical models for the foundation of Ancient Greece, in D. O’Connor & A. Reid (eds.) Ancient Egypt in Africa, 23–30. UCL Press: London.
Bessac, H. 1952 L’emplacement des Forts de Portendick, Notes Africaines, 54: 50–52.
Bessac H. & Dfkeyser P.-L. 1951 Les Ruines du Fort de Merinaghen en Marge de la Mise en Valeur du Senegal de 1817 à 1854. Notes Africaines, 49: 18–21.
Bohanna P. & Bohanna L. 1953 The Tiv of Central Nigeria. Stone & Cox, London.
Bredwa-Mensah Y. & Crossland L.B. 1997 A preliminary report on archaeological investigations at the Danish plantation settlements along the south Akwapem ridge, Ghana. Papers of the Institute of Archaeology, 8: 59–71.
Breternitz D.A. 1968 Interim report of the Colorado Kainji rescue archaeology project, West African Archaeology Newsletter, 10: 30–42.
Calvocoressi D. 1977 Excavations at Bantama, Near Elmina, Ghana, West African Journal of Archaeology, 7: 117–141.
Clapperton H. 1829 Journal of a Second Expedition into the Interior of Africa from the Bight of Benin to Soccatoo. Longman, London.
DeCorse C.R. 1991 West African archaeology and the Atlantic slave trade, Slavery and Abolition, 12 (2): 92–96.
DeCorse C.R. 1993 The Danes on the Gold Coast: culture change and the European presence, African Archaeological Review, 11: 149–173.
DeCorse C.R. 1996 Documents, oral history and the material record: historical archaeology in West Africa, World Archaeological Bulletin, 7: 40–50.
DeCorse C.R. 2001 An Archaeology of Elmina: Africans and Europeans on the Gold Coast, 1400–1900. Smithsonia Institution Press, Washington.
Deetz J. 1965 The Dynamics of Stylistic Change in Arikara Ceramics. University of Illinois Press, Urbana.
Diop Cheikh A. 1981 Origin of the ancient egyptians, in G. Mokhtar (ed.) UNESCO General History of Africa Volume II, 27–57. Heinemann, California.
Dzurgba A. 2007 On the Tiv of Central Nigeria: A Cultural Perspective. John Archers Publishers, Ibadan.
Eyo E. 1974 Odo Ogbe Street and Lafogido: contrasting archaeological sites in Ile-Ife, Western Nigeria, West African Journal of Archaeology, 4: 99–109.
Flight C. 1968 The “French Battery” at Elmina, West African Archaeological Newsletter, 10: 20–23.
Folorunso C.A. 1989 Recherches sur la continuite du peuplement Tiv dans la vallee de Kastina-Ala, (bassin de la Benue au Nigeria): Sondages sur le site d’Ushongo et ethnoarcheologie de l’habitat actuel. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Universite Paris I, Sorbonne, France.
Folorunso C.A. 2001 Making news out of archaeological sites: the experience at Ijaye Orile, Nigeria, in Layton R., Stone P.G. & Thomas J. (eds) Destruction and conservation of cultural property, 212–220. Routledge, London and New York.
Folorunso C.A. 2002 The archaeology and ethnoarchaeology of soap and dye making at Ijaye, Yorubaland, African Archaeological Review, 19 (3): 127–145.
Folorunso C.A. 2003 Views of ancient Egypt from a West African perspective, in D. O’Connor & A. Reid (eds.) Ancient Egypt in Africa, 77–92. UCL Press, London.
Folorunso C.A. 2005 Archaeology of Tiv settlements in the Benue valley and implication for the history of Bantu homeland, in A. Ogundiran (ed) Precolonial Nigeria: Essays in Honour of Toyin Falola. African World Press, Treton.
Folorunso C.A. 2006 The trans-Atlantic slave trade and local traditions of slavery in West African hinterland: the Tivland example, in J.B. Havisser & K.C. MacDonald (eds.) African Re-Genesis: Confronting Social Issues in the Diaspora. University College London Press, London.
Folorunso C.A. 2007 Interrogating the Nigerian Cultural Landscape. Inaugural Lecture, University of Ibadan Press.
Folorunso C.A. & Oseni K. 1996 Relics of crime on the west coast of Nigeria: Lekki – a hidden fort? West African Journal of Archaeology, 26 (2): 122–139.
Folorunso C.A. & Olayinka J. 1997 The archaeological relics of the historical phases of Ijaye Orile: a preliminary report, West African Journal of Archaeology, 27 (2): 22–31.
Folorunso C.A., Tubosun B.J., & Ajekigbe P.G. 2006 Old Oyo pottery: from the field to exhibition, in Kinahan John & Kinahan Jill (eds.) The African Archaeology Network: Research in Progress. Studies in African Past 4: 214–223. Dar es Salaam University Press, Dar es Salaam.
Frobenius L. 1913 The voice of Africa. 1. London.
Gundu Z.A. 1999 Historical archaeology of ancient settlements in south-eastern Tivland, Benue State, Nigeria. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.
Hartle D.D. 1970 Preliminary report of the University of Ibadan’s Kainji rescue archaeology project 1968, West African Archaeology Newsletter, 12: 7–19.
Johnson S. 1921 The History of the Yorubas. CMS Bookshop, Lagos.
Keatinge R.W. 1982 Economic development and cultural resource management in the Third World: an example from Peru, Journal of Anthropological Research, 38: 221–228.
Lander J. 1832 Journal of an expedition to explore the course and termination of the Niger. John Murray, London.
Lawrence A.W. 1963 Trade Castles and Forts of West Africa. Jonathan Cape, London.
Mangut B.N. 2008 Archaeological investigations of the historical settlements of the Kulere people on the south-western Jos Plateau, Nigeria. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.
Mangut J.D. 2006 Aspects of historical archaeology of the Ron people on Jos Plateau, Nigeria. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.
Ndera J.D. 2009 Archaeological investigations of the early settlements of the Shitire in the Benue valley of Nigeria. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.
Obenga T. 1981 Sources and specific techniques used in African history: general outline, in J. Ki-Zerbo (ed.) UNESCO General History of Africa Volume I, 72–86. Heinemann, California.
Oguagha P.A. & Okpoko A.I. 1984 History and ethnoarchaeology in eastern Nigeria: a study of Igbo-Igala relations with special reference to the Anambra Valley. Bar International Series 195. British Archaeological Reports, Oxford.
Ogundele S.O. 1990 Archaeological investigations into aspects of Tiv settlement history, Benue valley area, Nigeria. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.
Okafor E.E. & Phillips P. 1992 New C14 ages from Nsukka, Nigeria and the origin of Africa metallurgy, Antiquity, 66: 252.
Orser C.E., Jr. 1996 A Historical Archaeology of the Modern World. Plenum Press, New York.
Oyelaran P.A. 1991 Palaeo-environmental and archaeological investigations in Iffe-Ijumu area, Kwara State, Nigeria. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.
Posnansky M. & Decorse C.R. 1986 Historical archaeology in Sub-Saharan Africa – a review, Historical Archaeology: Journal of the Society for Historical Archaeology, 20 (1): 1–14.
Posnansky M. & Van Dantzig A. 1976 Fort Ruychaver rediscovered, Sankofa 2: 7–18.
Schimdt P.R. 2006 Historical Archaeology in Africa. Altamira Press, Lanham.
Shaw T. 1969 Archaeology and Nigeria. Ibadan University Press, Ibadan.
Shaw T. 1970 Editorial. West African Archaeology Newsletter, 12: 3–6.
Shaw T. & Daniels S.G.H. 1984 Excavations at Iwo Eleru, Ondo State Nigeria, West African Journal of Archaeology, 14: 1–269.
Simmonds D. 1973 A note on the excavations in Cape Coast Castle, Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana, 14 (2): 267–269.
Smith R.S. 1962 Ijaye, the western Palatinate of the Yoruba, Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, 2 (3): 329–349.
Soper R.C. & Darling P. 1980 The walls of Oyo-Ile, West African Journal of Archaeology, 10: 61–81.
Sowunmi M.A., Folorunso C.A., Pyynkonen M., Oyelaran P.A., Aremu D.A., Tubosun B.J., Aleru J.O., Ajekigbe P.G. & Agbaje-Williams B. 2004 Revisit to urban site of old Oyo: a preliminary report, in F. Chami, G. Pwiti & C. Radimilahy (eds.) The African Archaeology Network: Reports and a Review. Studies in the African Past 4, 23–37. Dar es Salam University Press, Dar es Salam.
Tubosun B.J. 1995 Geo-archaeological investigations in Adikpo area of Katsina-Ala River Basin, Benue State, Nigeria. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.
Van Dantzig A. 1972 A note on Fort “Batenstein” and Butri, Ghana Notes and Queries, 12: 16–19.
Van Dantzig A. 1980 Forts and Castles of Ghana. Sedco, Accra.
Walker, I.C. 1975 The potential age of European Cay Tobacco Pipes in West African archaeological research, West African Journal of Archaeology, 5: 165–193.
Wood W.R. 1967 An archaeological appraisal of early European settlement in the Senegambia, Journal of African History, 8: 39–64.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Folorunso, C.A. (2011). The Practice of Archaeology in Nigeria. In: Lozny, L. (eds) Comparative Archaeologies. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8225-4_25
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8225-4_25
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-8224-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-8225-4
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawSocial Sciences (R0)