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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Archaeological and Ethnohistorical Investigations along the Southern Fringes of Lake Chad, 1993-1996
Author:Gronenborn, DetlefISNI
Year:1998
Periodical:African Archaeological Review
Volume:15
Issue:4
Pages:225-259
Language:English
Geographic terms:Nigeria
Northern Nigeria
Subjects:archaeology
prehistory
history
ethnic groups
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
History and Exploration
Anthropology and Archaeology
External link:https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021668414651
Abstract:Archaeological and ethnohistorical investigations were conducted between 1993 and 1996 in the area around the town of Ngala in Borno State, Nigeria, situated immediately south of Lake Chad. This paper presents some preliminary results of this research and outlines the culture history of the area from the onset of human occupation at the end of the second millennium CalBC up to the colonial era. Four mounds were excavated. Comparison with data from excavations and ethnohistorical studies provided a fairly complete picture of the settlement and cultural history of that region. It is now evident that Late Neolithic settlers established themselves around 1000 CalBC in permanent hamlets with year-round occupation and a subsistence based not only on gathering, hunting and fishing but also on cattle herding and cultivation. Cultivation is attested after the onset of the early Iron Age around 500 CalBC. Although from then on there is a steady development toward further complexity with the establishment of compact villages during the middle of the first millennium CalAD and the foundation of local principalities during the 14th century AD, it was not before the 15th to 16th centuries AD that the mode of subsistence and the political and societal structure typical for the area today was fully developed. By then, the wider region came under control of the Borno Empire. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. in English and French.
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