International African Institute

A Preliminary Note on a New Series of Pottery Figures from Northern NigeriaAuthor(s): Bernard FaggSource: Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Jan., 1945), pp.21-22Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the International African InstituteStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1156826 .

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[ 21]

A PRELIMINARY NOTE ON A NEW SERIES OF POTTERY FIGURES FROM NORTHERN NIGERIA

BERNARD FAGG

THE archaeological material described in this note is the result, like many other finds, of mining operations. Other collections of prehistoric human and animal

figures have been found in Nigeria, usually in circumstances offering little evidence of their origin: these specimens, though there is as yet no concrete evidence of their age, origin, and cultural significance, have come to light in conditions which give good reason to hope that the further investigations contemplated will reveal associated evidence contributing to the solution of some of these problems.

The Jemaa Specimen. The most striking figure (Figs. i and 2) was found about two years ago in the

western part of the Plateau Province. It was discovered by an African labourer who struck it with his pick while digging in the tin-bearing gravel at the base of 25 feet of accumulated alluvial deposits. The mine has unfortunately been worked out and is now flooded to the top, thus preventing further investigations. I was informed that no other pottery fragments had been found in the gravels, and my brief examina- tion of the rubble heaps close to the old sluice-boxes produced nothing. That the specimen came from the bottom of the workings is indicated by the traces of tin- stone still to be seen inside the head. After excavation it was used by an African as the head of a scarecrow on his farm, and was exposed for more than twelve months to the extremes of the climate. Its survival is a tribute to the strength of the material. It was then acquired by Mr. F. H. Townend, a mining engineer, who gave it to me.

The material is a coarse clay mixed with small fragments of local quartz and sili- cates which have weathered from the surrounding hills. The entire surface, which is baked to a very hard, light tan biscuit, must originally have been as finely finished as that which still survives on the neck and cheek close to the ear. The internal folds and finger-marks suggest that the maker worked from the top as well as from below, finally sealing off the finger-hole with a plug of clay and smoothing it over. This plug does not correspond to the disk on the forehead, which may be a tuft of hair, a tribal mark, or an ornament. The eyes are well modelled and roughly triangular in shape. The pupils are perforated right through, presumably with a tapering stick, as the diameter of the aperture diminishes towards the interior. The nostrils, mouth, and ears are similarly perforated. The eyebrows are depicted as denticulated ridges. In front of the right ear are six small radiating scars, and on the left five. The modelling of the

lips and of the elaborately dressed hair is remarkable. The most striking feature, how- ever, is the expression of life and vigour. It would be valueless at this stage to form any conjecture as to the purpose and significance of this head, but there is the possi- bility that it was part of a large figure or statue. It is slightly less than natural size.

The Nok Series

My remarks about the material, method of manufacture, and the present and former condition of the Jemaa specimen apply also to the five pieces (Figs. 3, 4, 5,

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22 POTTERY FIGURES FROM NORTHERN NIGERIA

6, 7, 8) from Nok, a Jaba village in Southern Zaria Province, only 24 miles due west of Jemaa. All these were excavated from the shallow tin-bearing deposit about 20 to 25 feet below the present land surface. During the 20 years' exploitation of the tin deposits of this valley, the interest of Lt.-Col. J. Dent Young has saved many archaeological objects from oblivion. In addition to these pottery specimens, many polished stone implements and archaic tin beads, some suggesting the form of a cowrie shell, have been recovered. Nevertheless, my brief visit to the area convinced me that much of the less striking material, including sherds, has escaped notice.

Human Head (Figs. 3 and 4). The eyes, as in the Jemaa specimen, are perforated right through, but the nostrils only partially and the mouth and ears not at all. There is a forward excrescence suggestive of a beard on the chin, under which is a small cavity. In front of the ears are three small radiating linear incisions. The hair or head-dress is interesting: the protuberances each side in the temporal region seem to be part of a crown-shaped decoration composed of seven similar protuberances arranged round a larger central one which has been damaged. There are some faint incisions on the forehead similar to those visible in Fig. 6. This specimen, also rather less than natural size, was found in May 1944.

Human Foot (Fig. 8). This model of a human right foot and lower leg, just under natural size, is interesting because it strongly suggests the presence of large statues. It is wearing what seem to be bangles and care has been given to the modelling of the toe-nails. It is moderately weathered, and was found about I 5 years ago.

Monkey's Head (Figs. 5 and 6). A remarkable feature of this head is the unnaturally high position of what must be assumed to be the ear (cf. the Jemaa head where the ear is shown lower than in nature). The treatment of the eyes is similar to that in the human heads; the nostrils are partially perforated, the mouth not at all. Incisions have been made between the eyes and on the forehead. This specimen was found 15 years ago.

Monkey's Body (Fig. 7). This figure of a monkey, squatting on a pedestal with the knees drawn up, is executed with accurate attention to physiological detail. The right hand grasps the right knee, the left grips the tail which then curls down beside the pedestal; the back is arched, the fingers, toes, and genitals are carefully and natu- rally portrayed. The dark patches may be due to unequal firing, but the whole figure is more weathered than the other specimens. It was found early in I944. These last two specimens do not fit together, though the scale is roughly the same.

A round-based cooking-pot (diameter about 7 in.) with constricted neck (diameter about 4 in.) and everted lip was recovered undamaged from this site in May 1944. It is of similar material and bears a neat and simple incised decoration. I found many other broken pottery fragments, some with decoration and a few with modelling suggestive of figurines, in the heaps of rubble close to the sluices and in the gravels.

Though the Jemaa specimen bears an undoubted stylistic resemblance to this series from Nok, any hypothesis concerning their cultural relationship must await further evidence.

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