African values that are rooted in history have been derailed by the Eurocentric view of the continent’s past. Blacks were not thought to have experienced any historical events deserving of study until the 20th century, when some African historians successfully academically rebutted the Hamitic hypothesis and demonstrated the existence of African history.
The Hamitic hypothesis is an “assumption” that attempts to explain or explain away the political, sociocultural, and economic developments in Africa by looking for outside sources or influences. These racial propagandists treated her past in such an absurd way because of her lack of a writing culture.
Despite being a part of our historiography, the Hamitic hypothesis is no longer given attention as these historians are now focusing on other facets of the past of Africa. The history of this continent in general and Nigeria in particular can be traced using a variety of methods, including archaeology, linguistics, ethnic studies, anthropology, etc.
Let’s now discuss archaeology in Nigeria.
Over two thousand years ago, people began to occupy Nigeria, which is located in the southwest of Africa. It was possible to trace the history of Nigeria back several centuries thanks to archeological excavations at a few locations in that nation.
The scientific study of human (cultural) development using artifacts left behind by previous generations is known as archaeology. These archaeological artifacts are date using the carbon-14 system.
How valuable is archaeology in rewriting Nigeria’s history?
One well-known archaeologist who has dug up some sites in Nigerian territory is Thurstan Shaw. He offers a fantastic and creative chronology. The historical reconstruction of Nigeria has benefited from this.
A fantastic resource for learning about Nigeria’s past. In conclusion, the archaeological discoveries span a wide span of time. They are artifacts from the early hominids who may have lived in this area around 2 million years ago, before the modern era.
Although there are no fossils that can be verified to show that early humans lived in Nigeria, this region’s ecological state is comparable to Tanzania in the east of Africa, where many materials have been discovered, and suggests that early humans may have lived there.
They were thought to be a hybrid of Homo Erectus and modern humans, or somewhere in between. According to Shaw, the “craniofacial portion of a skull in VillaFranchian deposits 200 km west-southwest of Largeau, the Republic of Tchad,” indicates that there were early men living in the area of Nigeria as early as the Middle Pleistocene.
The numerous dates and archeological artifacts found in Nigeria are relatively simple for history students to memorize. However, in this situation, the chronology offered by Shaw in the “Groundwork of Nigeria History” and Oladele (2010), among others like Connah, is still helpful.
Shaw examines Nigeria’s prehistoric periods using five timeframes. The five periods are Early Stone Age, Middle Stone Age, Late Stone Age, the Arrival of Metals, and the Iron Age. There are plenty, a lot, and a lot of facts in every age. The notable sites discovered in Nigeria have been summarized by Oladele (2010).
In Nigeria, the following locations and their contents have been excavated:
1. Shaw and other archaeologists conducted the primary excavations in Igbo Ukwu (Anambra State) between 1957 and 1960. Oladele (2010) referred to the discovered materials as “first-class ancient cultural means. They were pots that were “decorated in a highly ornamented style,” iron blades made of bronze, and bronze objects. The materials were, in a nutshell, assigned a 9th century A dating. D. (Oladele Shaw (2010). The fact that these artifacts exist tells us a lot about Nigeria’s past and the ancient cultural development of the area before the truncation. The networks of trade routes might have had an impact on the presence of copper in the area.
2. Materials such as iron-smelting furnaces, terracotta figurines, smaller stone tools, iron axes, baked clay drought pipes, etc. Have been discovered in Taruga, a town close to Abuja (Oladele, 2010).
3. Ile-Ife: Materials discovered there, according to Oladele, include terracotta and bronze heads, quartz tools, and granite animal and human figurines. The founder of Ile-Ife and his wife, according to some of these archaeologists, may have been represented by these heads. And I thought that those who worked with the kings and queens in the palace ought to have used other tools.
4. Rock shelters were discovered in Old Oyo and Iwo Eleru, close to Akure in Ondo State. Late Stone Age artifacts include the rock shelters (Shaw).
Nigerian archaeology.
In contrast to Shaw’s ancient antiquities, Oladele (2010) points out that the classifications of the archaeologically excavated materials are more recent. However, it is essential to be familiar with the artifacts unearthed and the locations where they were unearthed by these archaeologists in the Nigerian region.
Knowing this will encourage us to act with great bravery in defense of our culture and serve as a reminder of the rapid and incompatible growth we experienced prior to the aliens snuffing out our glory. All Nigerians should be extremely concerned about archaelogy.
