The Nok Culture of Ancient Nigeria
1. It was elusive work, an excavation in an area and the discovery of clay, using a process
called thermoluminescence that measures the time since the clay was baked. However,
through a combination of luck, field work, and new dating techniques, it became known
that they had discovered a new civilization called Nok. Burners were found in the area,
about 13 kilns were found and terracotta figurines, which were associated with were
objects of worship to help the smithy and foundry,
2. It is thought that based on the information, it may be that the excavations have not been
continued due to lack of personnel or lack of equipment and materials to carry out the
excavations at the site. Although probably the fact that Nok became a place of illegal
looting and excavations could have been another reason why the excavations were not
continued. The fact that no archaeologist has worked in this region resulted in Nok
becoming a site of illegal looting and excavations as well as international art dealers.
3. Nok was found to create the oldest sculpture tradition in Africa outside of Egypt. The
Nok were skilled terracotta artisans and human figurines are one of the most distinctive
artifacts they left behind. They created figures that represent disease, war, love, and
music. One of the things they found was the terracotta head, emerging at an excavation
site near Janjala, Nigeria. In addition, different figures were found, such as the sculpture
of a man and a woman kneeling in front of each other embracing, also several naked
prisoners with ropes around the neck and waist. In addition, another figure, who has a
skull for a head and wears an amulet around his neck, waves two instruments that look
like maracas.
4. It is known that before a process was carried out for everything, however it is surprising
to know that the culture skipped some stages and went from stone to iron tools. It has
become a discovery that has changed the way things are seen or what I knew about the
cultures of the past. What it leaves us in the debate about how much they had evolved
apart from that it lets us see that the Nok culture could have been is an important position
in terms of economics, the fact that they jumped to the iron quickly gave them more
opportunity to grow economically.
