PhD defenceTheme: « Archaeology of Nde: The Foundations

of a culture »Members of Jury:

President: Victor Julius NGOH, Professor, UBSupervisors: Richard TANTO TALLA, Associate Professor, UBa Zacharie SAHA, Lecturer, UDsMembers: Bienvenu-Denis NIZESETE, Associate Professor, UNdéré Canute AMBE NGWA, Associate Professor, UBa Gilbert Lamblin TAGUEM FAH, Associate Professor, UBa

Candidate: YAKAM YOLA A JUMA

Plan of PresentationRationale for the choice of topicObjectivesStatement of the problemSignificance of the Study MethodologyDifficulties EncounteredOutcome of research The Nde First SettlersCultural knowledge

Rationale for the choice of topicThe choice of this topic was motivated by the following facts: The scanty nature of the analysis of material remains collected during the

preparation of Maitrise dissertation. The focus of this dissertation was only, to highlight the archaeological potentialities of Nde.

The second reason for the choice of subject was linked to the presence of the material remains that we noticed during a survey, which we conducted after the Maitrise degree programme. We collected new types of material remains and located new sites.

ObjectivesOur Thesis has two objectives, cultural and scientific:

The cultural objective is to establish the behaviours that led to the dispersal of material remains on a site and understand how they were produced, used and discarded.

The second objective which is scientific has to do with an appeal made in Garoua in 1979 by archaeologists working in Cameroon that a comprehensive coverage of the territory be made by archaeological research in order to understand the ancient cultures of different people who lived in Cameroon.

Statement of the problem The various efforts of archaeological research already conducted in West

region of Cameroon revealed significant material traces of ancient settlements in this region (among such works, we can mention the dissertations of G. Lapa (1979), B. Fosso Dongmo (1986), B.D. Nizesete (1986),C. C. Fouellefak Kana (1987), R. B. Tueche (1993), Ambe Tambu (1996), C. Noundou Tchamo (2003), and our previous dissertations).

However, most of those early works lacked two main data: laboratory

dating and knowledge on the cultures which produced the archaeological materials.

These are the two main gaps we tried to fill with this current work. We tried to determine the period and examine the origins and organisation of the first cultures of Nde.

Significance of the StudyThe collection of material remains from stratigraphies deep in the ground is

evidence that another civilisations existed there during prehistoric times, before the coming of the Bamileke. The interest of this study was therefore situated at two levels:

The knowledge of the unknown People that lived in Nde before the

coming of Bamileke.

The contribution to the discipline in term of type of material remains, the morphology and the technology that they revealed and above all, the dating of early cultures

MethodologyThe methodology we followed involved collection of oral traditions, consultation of

related documents, survey and archaeological excavations of the area of research, analyses and interpretation of the material remains.

The first step was the reading of literature which could contribute to the location of sites and identification of archaeological remains. This was done before fieldwork so as to know the natural and human factors which existed in the region, and especially, how they might have influenced it.

Oral tradition also helped in locating sites, surveying and collection of material remains.

After excavation and collection of material remains from some sites, we studied them morphologically, technologically and typologically. These analyses were necessary to interpret what were collected.

At the level of interpretation, we followed the following methods: archaeology of process, archaeology of context, ethnoarchaeology and interdisciplinary approach.

Difficulties EncounteredWe have faced a lot of difficulties in the process of our research. Among them, we

can mention:

The thick vegetation that made archaeological survey difficult during the rainy

season. Delineating a surface and carrying out an excavation were difficult because of soil inclination and the presence of hard rocks in some areas.

Regarding human data, difficulties in archaeological research were particularly

associated with the practice of agriculture. We were often suspected that our activities might destroy the fertility of the soils on the farms. There were also sacred places such as falls, groves and caves which were traditionally, prohibited from survey and excavation.

Outcome of researchIn spite the difficulties, we succeeded to conduct archaeological research in

Nde. After survey, certain spots on the sites judged by us to contain buried material remains were mapped out and excavated. The archaeological survey led to the location of the following archaeological sites: Ngakoun, Dougchi, Massoh, Ndou-ke-nse and Yala. Archaeological remains consisted of stone tools and potsherds.

Stone tools were made from the following rocks: quartz, basalt, diorite and trachyte. They were shaped and provided the following tools: choppers, bifaces, pickaxes, adzes, axes, Hatchets, Grinding Stone, Scrapers, and hoes.

Potsherds were made from granite clay. They included pots, jars and vases with variable percentages from one site to another.

Location of the Nde Division

.

Sites of NdeKey Sites, Nde boundaries, Sub-divisions Villages Village boundaries

Surface Site:Ngakoun

Stratigraphical Site

Yala

Table 1: Lithic Artefacts of Dougchi, Massoh, Ndou-ke-nse and Yala

Sites Dougchi Massoh Ndou

-ke-

nse

Yala Total

Tools 35 78 27A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2

07 04 12 17 01 00 181

Choppers 03 07 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 10

Axes 02 13 00 02 02 05 07 01 00 32

Pickaxes 03 06 03 00 00 00 00 00 00 12

Adzes 02 11 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 13

Bifaces 17 20 09 03 02 04 06 00 00 61

Hatchets 03 09 07 00 00 00 00 00 00 19

Hoes 05 12 00 02 00 03 04 00 00 26

Grinding

Stone

00 00 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 04

Scrapers 00 00 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 04

,

Sample of Stone tools

The site of Ndou-ke-nse: 1(biface), 2 (scraper)

Sample of Lithic Artefacts The site of Massoh: 1 (axe), 2 (chopper), 3 (Adze), 4 (hatchet), 5 (biface), 6 (pickaxe), 7 (hoe)

Lithic Artefacts of Dougchi

Sample of Stone Artefacts of Ndou-ke-nse

.

Table 2: Potsherds of Ngakoun, Dougchi, Massoh and Yala

Sites Ngakoun Dougchi

Massoh

Yala Total

Parts of Potsherds 378 353 405

A1

A2 B1 B2 C1 C2

25 36 51 184 20 12 1464

Rim 120 153 139 07 15 11 59 04 01 509Body 137 201 201 09 28 30 66 15 11 698Base 14 52 65 09 13 10 59 04 00 226Decorated 151 313 315 10 31 47 175 19 12 1073Damaged 51 302 302 00 00 00 180 18 00 853

.

Sample of potsherds The site of Massoh

Vessel Forms of Yala .

Dating The charcoal collected and analysed provided the following radio

carbon dating for three sites: Dougchi (ECS 404: 3766±120; Cal BC 2341-2031, Cal BP 4300-3970), Massoh (ECS 402:6241±145, Cal BC 5430-5231, Cal BP 7343-6433), Yala (ECS 403: 5712±4638, Cal BC 4917- 4638, Cal BP 6911- 6731). For the sites of Ngakoun and Ndou-ke-nse, which did not provide any

charcoal for radio carbon dating, we opted for relative dating on the basis of historical studies and oral traditions for the site of Ngakoun, typological comparison with archaeological works of other regions of Cameroon and Africa for the site of Ndou-ke-nse.

Ngakoun was dated to the XIXth century Ndou-ke-nse to the Late Stone Age, from 8000 BC.

The Nde First Settlers

Sites Material Remains

Dating Settlers Interpretations

Ngakoun Potsherds 19th century - Tikar- Bamileke

- Informants-Historians - Archaeologists

Dougchi Lithic Artiffact

ECS 404: 3766±120;

Cal BC 2341-2031, Cal BP

4300-3970

Late Stone Age People

- Tools- Dating- Archaeologists

Potsherd

Bantu

- Tools- Dating- Linguists- Archaeologists

Massoh - Lithic Artiffact- Potsherd

ECS 402:6241±145

, Cal BC 5430-5231,

Cal BP 7343-6433

Late Stone Age People

- Tools- Dating- Archaeologists

Ndou-ke-nse Polished Lithic Artifact

8000 BC Late Stone Age People

- Tools- Archaeologists

Yala - Lithic Artiffact- Potsherd

ECS 403: 5712±4638,

Cal BC 4917- 4638, Cal BP 6911- 6731

Late Stone Age People

- Tools- Dating- Archaeologists

.

Cultural knowledge Social Organization A decrease of the mobility of housing and the increase of settlement. In Ngakoun, populations

were organized into chiefdoms. This was the religious and social unity. Society was hierarchical and secured at all levels to enable the well-being of every member of the community (Ghomsi, 1972).

Social activities The livelihood of the people was based on hunting, gathering of plants, fruits and tubers. Agricultural activities were also confirmed by hoes. Based on the historical data and the different sites we studied, we know that the Nde region was sparsely populated. Social activities revealed an intense dynamism and constant production of tools for the well-being of the population. The environment had undergone transformations leading to a slight change of the forest to the forest-savannah, typical vegetation of the current Nde (Perrois and J. P. Notué, 1997, Warnier, 1992)

Religion According to anthropological and historical works (Notue 1988, Saha 2005), Religious beliefs were suggested by the presence of pottery in significant number. The religion the people practiced was animism. It consisted of attributing souls to environment and human being. Some places like waterfalls, groves, woods and caves had a sacred character (Deschamps, 1977).

ConclusionIn spite the difficulties, we tried to fulfil our objectives. The collection

of archaeological remains, the identification of sites of ancient occupations and the proposal of different cultures that lived in Nde were crucial. However, gaps and uncertainties remain on the nature and archaeological potentials of other sites in the region of Nde. This requires that in the future, we conduct more research by organizing more excavations to recover more material traces of the past of this region.

PhD defenceTheme: « Archaeology of Nde: The Foundations

of a culture »

Members of Jury:

President: Victor Julius NGOH, Professor, UBSupervisors: Richard TANTO TALLA, Associate Professor, UBa Zacharie SAHA, Lecturer, UDsMembers: Bienvenu-Denis NIZESETE, Associate Professor, UNdéré Canute AMBE NGWA, Associate Professor, UBa Gilbert Lamblin TAGUEM FAH, Associate Professor, UBa

Candidate: YAKAM YOLA A JUMA