Something was definitely afoot around 1000 BC in central Nigeria. Highly advanced civilization appeared in the area that extends both north and south of the Benue River, through the western edge of the Jos Plateau, and almost to the Niger River. What is known about the civilization that was forming there comes mainly from terracotta sculptures found initially by accident in the context of surface mining for alluvial tin deposits. No written records have come to light. The Nok culture mysteriously vanished around 500 AD. |
The Nok culture appeared in central Nigeria around 1000 BC. Nok, the name of the village where the first ancient Nigerian terracotta figure was found in 1928, has become the label for thousands of terracotta figures found throughout an area in central Nigeria. Culture's social system is thought to have been highly advanced. Nok culture was considered to be the earliest sub-Saharan producer of life-sized terracotta. Iron use, in smelting and forging for tools, appears in Nok culture at least by 550 BC and more probably in the middle of the second millennium BC (between 1600 BC and 1400 BC). It is suggested that the society eventually evolved into the later Yoruba Kingdom of Ife.
Nok sculptures depict animals and humans. Their function is still unknown, since scientific field work is still missing. For the most part, terracotta is preserved in the form of scattered fragments. That is why Nok art is well known today only for the heads, both male and female, whose hairstyles are particularly detailed and refined. Statues are in fragments because the dicsoveries are usually made from alluvial mud, in terrain made by the erosion of water. Terracotta statues found there are hidden, rolled, polished, and broken. Rarely are works of great size conserved intact making them highly valued on the international art market.
The terracotta figures are hollow, coil built, nearly life-sized human heads and bodies that are depicted with highly stylized features, abundant jewellery, and varied postures. Some artifacts have been found illustrating a plethora of physical ailments, including debilitating disease and facial paralysis. Other associated pieces include plant and animal motifs.
Little is known of the original function of the pieces, but theories include ancestor portrayal, grave markers, and charms to prevent crop failure, infertility, and illness. Also, based on the dome-shaped bases found on several figures, they could have been used as finials for the roofs of ancient structures.
Most Nok ceramics were shaped by hand from coarse-grained clay and subtractively sculpted in a manner that suggests an influence from wood carving. After some drying, the sculptures were covered with slip and burnished to produce a smooth, glossy surface. Figures are hollow, with several openings to facilitate thorough drying and firing. The firing process most likely resembled that used today in Nigeria, in which the pieces are covered with grass, twigs, and leaves and burned for several hours.
In 1928, the first find was accidentally unearthed at a level of 24 feet in an alluvial tin mine in the vicinity of the village of Nok near the Jos Plateau region. As a result of natural erosion and deposition, Nok terracottas were scattered at various depths throughout the Sahel grasslands, causing difficulty in the dating and classification of the mysterious artifacts.
Luckily, two archaeological sites, Samun Dukiya and Taruga, were found containing Nok art that had remained unmoved. Radiocarbon and thermo-luminescence tests narrowed the sculptures' age down to between 2,000 and 2,500 years ago, making them some of the oldest in West Africa. Because of the similarities between the two sites, archaeologist Graham Connah believes that Nok artwork represents a style that was adopted by a range of iron-using farming societies of varying cultures, rather than being the diagnostic feature of a particular human group as has often been claimed.
Unanswered questions remain about the Nok. Historians and archaeologists do not know who the Nok people were or how they lived. There are no written records or myths that might give an understanding of these mysterious people. The Nok sculptures and a few artifacts are the only remnants that tell the story of this ancient culture.
Nok sculptures depict animals and humans. Their function is still unknown, since scientific field work is still missing. For the most part, terracotta is preserved in the form of scattered fragments. That is why Nok art is well known today only for the heads, both male and female, whose hairstyles are particularly detailed and refined. Statues are in fragments because the dicsoveries are usually made from alluvial mud, in terrain made by the erosion of water. Terracotta statues found there are hidden, rolled, polished, and broken. Rarely are works of great size conserved intact making them highly valued on the international art market.
The terracotta figures are hollow, coil built, nearly life-sized human heads and bodies that are depicted with highly stylized features, abundant jewellery, and varied postures. Some artifacts have been found illustrating a plethora of physical ailments, including debilitating disease and facial paralysis. Other associated pieces include plant and animal motifs.
Little is known of the original function of the pieces, but theories include ancestor portrayal, grave markers, and charms to prevent crop failure, infertility, and illness. Also, based on the dome-shaped bases found on several figures, they could have been used as finials for the roofs of ancient structures.
Most Nok ceramics were shaped by hand from coarse-grained clay and subtractively sculpted in a manner that suggests an influence from wood carving. After some drying, the sculptures were covered with slip and burnished to produce a smooth, glossy surface. Figures are hollow, with several openings to facilitate thorough drying and firing. The firing process most likely resembled that used today in Nigeria, in which the pieces are covered with grass, twigs, and leaves and burned for several hours.
In 1928, the first find was accidentally unearthed at a level of 24 feet in an alluvial tin mine in the vicinity of the village of Nok near the Jos Plateau region. As a result of natural erosion and deposition, Nok terracottas were scattered at various depths throughout the Sahel grasslands, causing difficulty in the dating and classification of the mysterious artifacts.
Luckily, two archaeological sites, Samun Dukiya and Taruga, were found containing Nok art that had remained unmoved. Radiocarbon and thermo-luminescence tests narrowed the sculptures' age down to between 2,000 and 2,500 years ago, making them some of the oldest in West Africa. Because of the similarities between the two sites, archaeologist Graham Connah believes that Nok artwork represents a style that was adopted by a range of iron-using farming societies of varying cultures, rather than being the diagnostic feature of a particular human group as has often been claimed.
Unanswered questions remain about the Nok. Historians and archaeologists do not know who the Nok people were or how they lived. There are no written records or myths that might give an understanding of these mysterious people. The Nok sculptures and a few artifacts are the only remnants that tell the story of this ancient culture.