Conclusion

Abstract

This book has attempted to present an overview of Igbo history from the Late Stone Age to modern times. It began with discussing the ecological background of the Igbo and the antiquity and complexity of their cultural history as evidenced by their traditions of origins and migrations and the classifications of Forde and Jones. The book also delved into methodological problems, calling attention to the limitations of the existing synchronic studies and the contributions the diachronic approach has made in advancing our knowledge of the African past, including the history of the so-called stateless societies. To further illustrate the fruitfulness of the diachronic approach, its variables were identified and applied in explaining the broad changes that occurred in Igbo history over time. Thus, for example, when the early inhabitants of Igboland shifted from foraging to agriculture, their politico-religious organization changed from a stateless system to mini states, which acquired increasing complexity during the Iron Age, culminating in the development of the Igbo-Ukwu mega state during the ninth-tenth centuries. The sacred spaces and the hierarchy of authorities that existed in Iron Age agrarian Igbo society, as well as its cosmology centered on the earth-goddess (Ala/Ana), were further used to affirm the politico-religious accomplishments of Igbo mini states and the interconnectedness of religious and political power in the forest region of Nigeria and other parts of the world.