Finished art sculptures contradict the stereotype of the continent without history.
From: epoc, epoc 6 / 2010
Africa! The name stands for: World Cup, vast savannahs, dense forests, tall warrior. But also for poverty, child soldiers and rebels. However, the idea seems strange, looking to the west of the Nile Valley after the well-developed products of prehistoric cultures.
last few years, these convictions proves prejudice as a legacy of the colonial period. There are still comparatively little research projects, but now is clear: Black Africa was for thousands of its own way. Although bordered innovations such as agriculture and the founding of cities foot late there, but there were independent developments, no imports from the North.
particular West Africa can come up with surprises, as reported epoc, the magazine for archeology and history in its issue 6-2010. For a few years until the Frankfurt archaeologist Peter Breunig and his team on the track of the Nok culture have set. The population density in the 1st Millennium BC on the territory of present-day Nigeria, an area the size of Portugal, built in pearl millet and developed the iron metallurgy. Its characteristic but are impressive artistic clay sculptures - the artisans of the Nok culture of Africa were the first sculptor. But although the first of these terracottas were discovered in 1928, gave them only a few researchers attention - and left Raubgräberei and the international illicit antiquities trade field.
While many important clues are lost irreparably, produces the team of German and Nigerian archaeologists already produced results, not least thanks to good contacts with the local population. Obviously, the Nok culture was more advanced than it is a society of experts first millennium BC had conceded in West Africa.
The researchers can become the basis of the archaeological sites found objects into categories. Although their significance is still unclear, but presumably it was for living and work areas, in contrast to worship and cemeteries.
Whatever the terra cotta but those people may have is, they appear to have been mostly used in rituals - and bruised. What feeds the suspicion that a number of expensive purchased art works in museums and private collections are just clever counterfeits.
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epoc, the magazine of history, archeology and culture, appears since 2004. Six times per year, researchers and journalists to give more than 100 pages of entertaining and well-founded knowledge of historical issues and point to interesting links from the arts, culture and intellectual history. Each comprising an illuminated cover story on key events, personalities and cultures of the world as well as interesting articles and essays to convince every two months about 40 000 readers.
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