Anne Haour

One Hundred Years of Archaeology in Niger

This paper considers, under rough chronological headings, work undertaken in Niger in the past century. Sites relevant to the Pleistocene occupation of the Sahara, to the adoption of elements of a “Neolithic package,” to the (perhaps misleadingly late) occupation of the Sahel, to alleged metalworking 3000 years ago, and to social complexity, are described and discussed. These data carry a relevance far beyond their immediate area, and the most fruitful application of the archaeology of Niger is to be found in theoretical rethinking.

Power and permanence in precolonial Africa: a case study from the central Sahel

Abstract This paper draws on a long-standing area of academic debate – archaeological manifestations of social complexity – with reference to the specific case of the Tsotsebaki Hausa of Niger. Tsotsebaki dynastic lists record a bewildering array of locations for early rulers of the polity, a situation which find parallels in oral and historical records of many parts of Africa. The present discussion links observations made through archaeological and oral tradition research in Niger with European and African parallels and with recent theoretical reconsiderations of the nature of power and of urbanism.

Identity, fashion and exchange: pottery in West Africa

This is the second in a series of planned themed issues of Azania, following the spring 2010 issue on early East African food production. The papers presented here arise from a five-day symposium held in December 2008 at the Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire and the Musée Théodore Monod d’Art Africain in Dakar, involving a collaborative team of archaeologists and ethnographers specialising in impressed ceramics from the West African Sahara-Sahelian region. This symposium built on a first meeting in Oxford earlier in the year, during which we developed a systematic framework for the classification of fibre roulettes. While the objective of that first symposium was to establish common terminologies for the analysis of impressed pottery, the Dakar meeting aimed to illustrate the necessity of such an endeavour: specifically, the way in which clearer and more robust ceramic classification schemes can be used to inform us about past social and cultural change. Six of the 11 papers presented in Dakar are collected here. All make the argument that by confronting archaeological and ethnographic data we can better understand the role of ceramics in mediating and tracking social interaction and cultural change. The six authors make use of data drawn from studies of present-day potting techniques and apprenticeship networks to derive implications for the past. Drawing on extensive ethnographic works, Olivier Gosselain revisits a fundamental question why decorate? and thus establishes the foundations of this special issue. What aspects of social organisation, and what scale of social interaction, are represented in the choice and adoption of different decorative types? Katie Manning explores the potential of ceramics in shedding light on micro-scale processes in the archaeological record, by examining aspects of stylistic experimentation and village identity in the Tilemsi Valley of Mali. At the other end of the scale, Kevin MacDonald, also working with examples from Mali, questions the classification of archaeological ceramic cultural entities by highlighting the complex and often highly personal processes by which researchers develop them. Dealing with more recent archaeological materials, both Anne Haour and Anne Mayor offer wide regional overviews (of the central Sahel and the Niger Bend respectively) to examine the impact of political influences on stylistic homogenisation, while Sokhna Ndèye Guèye explores

The pottery sequence from Garumele (Niger): a former Kanem-Borno capital?

The site of Garumele (Widi, Republic of Niger) has many times been described, not least because of its alleged connection to the early Kanem-Borno polity: it is said to have served as a capital after Njimi was abandoned, and before Birnin Gazargamo was built. But Garumele had never been subjected to systematic archaeological excavation, while in contrast neighbouring sites in Nigeria, with apparently a shared history, have been well studied in the past decades and detailed and systematic analyses made of the ceramics excavated. Accordingly, preliminary archaeological work was initiated at Garumele in 2005, with special attention to issues of ceramic traditions and chronology. This paper presents an overview of the research undertaken and the results of the pottery analysis. The latter are considered in relation to assemblages of the wider region in order to suggest how Garumele may fit, culturally and chronologically, within Kanem-Borno’s activities.

Outsiders and strangers : an archaeology of liminality in West Africa

Studies of liminality have a long history in anthropology. In archaeology, identifying past people - rather than faceless entities - through material culture is still a work in progress, but a project that has seen increased attention in recent years. Focusing on West Africa, this book argues that we should explore what happens when the primary label assigned to a persons identity is that of an outsider - when he or she is of, but not in, society. Such outsiders can be found everywhere in the West African past: rulers show off their foreign descent, traders migrate to new areas, potters and blacksmiths claim to be apart from society. Thus far, however, it is mainly historians and anthropologists who have tackled the question of outsiders or liminal people. This book asks what archaeology can bring to the debate, and drawing together for the first time the extensive literature on the subject of outsiders, looks in detail at the role they played in the past 1000 years of the West African past, in particular in the construction of great empires.

Putting pots and people in the Sahelian empires

This paper explores how past polities of the central Sahel may have impacted on patterns of ceramic production and distribution. Using as a case study assemblages from two sites in Niger, it examines, in particular, whether surface treatment through rouletting (especially the use of folded strip and carved wood roulettes) reflects political events. It broadens the discussion to other parts of West Africa and, drawing on recent theory on how craft behaviours are learned and shared, argues that there is an urgent need for studies of both the mechanics of manufacture of roulettes, and the identity of makers and users.

The settlement mound of Birnin Lafiya: New evidence from the eastern arc of the Niger River

Abstract The development of complex social organisation and trade networks during the first and second millennia AD in the Sahel region of West Africa has long been hampered by a paucity of reliable data. Investigations at Birnin Lafiya, a large settlement mound of this period on the eastern arc of the Niger River, help to fill this gap. The site can now be placed within its broader landscape, and discoveries of early mud architecture, circular structures, human burial remains, personal ornamentation and striking potsherd pavements can be contrasted with contemporary sites both within the inland Niger region and at Ife to the south.

Iron production in Northern Benin: excavations at Kompa Moussékoubou

In the context of the “Crossroads of Empires” project led by Anne Haour, one strand of enquiry aims to understand the history of blacksmith groups and the development of iron production in Dendi country, in the northern Republic of Benin. Numerous remains of iron production have been discovered, showing a great variability in furnace design and waste assemblages. At least three smelting traditions can be distinguished. In this paper, we present the smelting site of Kompa Moussekoubou (10th/11th c. AD) which has been investigated by archaeological and archaeometric methods. Beyond the archaeometallurgical results, the excavation of a 1 x 2 m trench on a settlement mound nearby and survey work, which place the site within its wider context, are also discussed. In particular, we offer a detailed analysis of the ceramics recovered during test pitting and within one of the furnaces itself. This paper thus offers a rare opportunity to combine archaeometallurgical and ceramics data.

Animal Remains from Medieval Garumele, Niger

The site of Garumele (700–200 years ago approx.), on the north-western shores of Lake Chad, has long been the subject of speculation by archaeologists and historians, due to its supposed link with the history of the Kanem- Borno polity and because of the presence of fragments of baked bricks at the site’s surface, probably the remains of structures. Recently the first detailed archaeological excavations were carried out at Garumele, yielding a great amount of cultural data, including faunal remains which are the subject of this paper. This faunal study is important because no such studies have up to now ever been produced for this part of the Chad Basin. It has shown a predominance of fish, represented by a large diversity of species, and of domestic animals, sheep, goat and cattle. Comparisons with sites on the Nigerian side of the Chad Basin give valuable comparative insights into the palaeo-economy and palaeo-ecology of Garumele; indeed the fauna recovered shows many similarities with that of other recent sites, all seemingly indicating economic specialisation.

The archaeology of northern Nigeria: trade, people and polities, 1500 BP onwards

This paper offers an overview of archaeological work carried out in the northern part of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and dealing with sites of the past 1500 years (‘Historical’ and ‘Iron Age’). Selecting case studies spanning the past 40 years, it discusses both well-published and less well-published evidence and pays particular attention to setting research within the institutional context of archaeology in Nigeria. It concludes with recommendations for future work and, in particular, calls for a move away from focusing on excavation and for much more sustained post-excavation analyses, including revisiting material, such as pottery, that is currently languishing in the archives of Nigerian institutions.