The Significance of Nok

Culture Sculptures in
Nigerian Prehistory

Professor Dr Peter Breunig

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NOK
CULTURE SCULPTURES IN
NIGERIAN PREHISTORY
Peter Breunig is a Professor of Archaeology at Goethe University
in Frankfurt, Germany. He has spent much of his recent career
conducting in-depth analyses around the Nok culture, a prehistoric
society based in central Nigeria. Much of his research has focused on
uncovering the mystery surrounding elaborate terracotta sculptures,
made by the Nok people over 2,500 years ago. Whilst there is much
speculation around their purpose, Peter Breunig and his team have
identified a spatial proximity to burial sites, indicating their usage in
funeral rituals.

The Discovery of Elaborate Terracotta Africa. Sadly, this demand has led to
Sculptures extensive looting and the irretrievable
destruction of contexts that represent
Elaborate art is associated even with the only possibility to gain more
prehistoric societies in the form of knowledge about the Nok culture to
rock art, but often, the role it played, which the sculptures are commonly
its meaning and its use elude us. attributed.
Archaeologists have unearthed
fascinating evidence demonstrating Since their initial discovery,
Deposition of broken terracotta
the existence of artistic sculptures archaeologists have begun to question
sculptures at the site of Pangwari during
dating back to the first millennium why these elaborate and intriguing excavation 2013. Credit: Peter Breunig.
Before Common Era (BCE). In central pieces of art were created and what
Nigeria, evidence of rituals that experts purpose they may have served. with the terracotta fragments from
believe unified peoples across large Peter Breunig, Professor of African artistic sculptures, which led them to
geographical areas was discovered Archaeology from the Goethe University believe both existed at the same time.
in the form of remains of elaborate in Frankfurt, Germany, has spent the More recently, Peter Breunig and his
terracotta sculptures. Their creation last 15 years piecing together clues colleagues have revised this timeline to
provides an insight into the complex to understand more about why the begin much earlier. They have studied
rites and spiritual beliefs that were in sculptures exist and what they can tell new evidence from radiocarbon dating
existence at the time. us about the Nok people who lived and of plant remains, a method used to
farmed in central Nigeria over 2,500 determine the age of an object by
The first known finds of such evidence years ago. measuring the amount of a radioactive
date back to the 1920s. In the 1970s, carbon isotope with the atomic weight
British archaeologist Bernard Fagg Origins, Chronology and Lifeways of of 14 (C14) that is present. The results
published his key discoveries of the Nok Culture from this process suggest that the
elaborate terracotta sculptures Nok culture actually began around
unearthed in a region between the cities The Nok culture was originally thought 1500 BCE – a millennium earlier than
of Abuja, Jos and Kaduna in central to date back to the Early Iron Age, initially proposed. This is supported by
Nigeria. Since then, there has been a which began around 500 BCE in West evidence from the ceramics found at
high demand on the international art Africa. Archaeologists in the first Nok archaeological sites, which show
market for these sculptures as they are scientific excavation in the 1960s found a stylistic development from 1500 BCE
the oldest of their kind in sub-Saharan evidence of iron smelting forges along onwards.

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 Excavation of the site of Ifana showing terracotta depositions Life-sized Nok terracotta head unearthed at the site of Ifana.
(centre and above left) in the neighbourhood of graves (below left Credit: Peter Breunig.
and below right). Credit: Peter Breunig.

The new Nok chronology developed from radiocarbon dates them is the discovery of the terracotta sculptures throughout
and ceramic analysis gives us an insight into how the Nok the whole distribution of the Nok culture.
culture gradually evolved over time. The Nok culture existed for
almost 600 years before the first terracotta sculptures appear The Production and Style of the Terracotta Sculptures
in the archaeological record – and iron technology appeared
at least a couple of hundred years later. Its traces disappeared The terracotta sculptures found in the Nok culture region
sometime in the last centuries BCE. are the oldest large-scale sculptures in West Africa and the
tradition to produce them is confirmed to date back to the
The origins of the Nok culture are unclear and there is no 9th century BCE. Production of the sculptures seems to
evidence of preceding inhabitants in this area, meaning have rapidly reduced, if not stopped, around 400 BCE and
it is likely that the Nok people emigrated from another archaeological evidence of its presence since then is only
region, probably from the north, to settle there. Due to the rarely found, seemingly replaced by new ceramic styles and
acidic nature of the soil, no bones have been preserved. converging evidence pointing to a new group of people.
Archaeologists are thus unable to determine if they kept What is particularly interesting about these sculptures is that
domestic animals or went out to hunt for their food. There were despite being made for over 500 years, their style has remained
some animals amongst the artistic sculptures but none were consistent. Typically, stylistic changes would be expected,
domestic, typically representing snakes, birds or monkeys. especially as it is a creative object that has been replicated by
Based on an analysis of the lipid residue found in ceramic pots, different generations of artisans. Peter Breunig has noted that
it has been identified that the Nok people were likely to have despite being found in different locations and contexts, the
consumed leaves from plants such as jute mallow, amaranth, same motifs reoccur.
African eggplant, okra, cowpea and kapok, still widely used
today. Interestingly, they also found traces of honey, which A second notable feature is that all the sculptures are made
could also have been used as a food source. from clay that is composed in a very uniform way. As there
is no evidence of a central workshop, it appears that these
It has been difficult to build a clear picture of the dwellings sculptures may be made by wandering craftsmen, making their
used by the Nok culture. Their houses were typically uniformity even more astonishing. It has been proposed that
constructed using degradable materials and few remains have this disparate method of production may have been required to
stood the test of time. From the limited evidence available, supply sculptures throughout the scattered settlement system.
it appears settlements covered small areas with only a few As they were only produced for a specific period of time, it is
huts on each site. This suggests a scattered settlement system speculated that the sculptures were used for a specific purpose
with individual farmsteads or houses. Typically, we would but then became obsolete. Peter Breunig has remained curious
expect subsequent generations to occupy the same dwelling about why they were created and has undertaken in-depth
or site, but it seems that new generations moved to different research to shed light on their existence.
locations within the local area. This frequent relocation could
be due to the rapidly depleting soil quality and moving might Searching for the Meaning of Nok Culture Sculptures
have helped to generate a better food supply. Despite these
settlements being scattered and only inhabited for relatively Over the years, there has been much speculation about the
short periods, Peter Breunig believes there was shared culture use of these magnificent sculptures. Some suggest they were
amongst these people. The main piece of evidence that links shrines, which stood in farmers’ fields to ensure a rich harvest.

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 Map illustrating the spread of Nok culture. Credit: Peter Breunig.

Others believe them to have an architectural function, as matched. They looked to be purposely buried underground,
decorative capstones on the roof of round straw huts. When sometimes on a bed of stones. In other instances, the stones lay
initially found near smelting forges, they were suggested to be amongst the fragments as if they were used as tools to destroy
part of religious or magical rites during the creation of iron. them. Charcoal remains were also found, providing evidence
that fire was involved in the ritual.
Other notable theories suggest they are temple decorations,
commissions from wealthy rulers or even the sign of a Gaining Critical Insights into Ritual Complexity
snake cult. However, most of these suggestions are merely
speculations and based on very limited evidence. Peter Breunig Peter Breunig strongly believes that the proximity of the
believes that the location of these sculpture fragments could sculptures to the Nok culture burials indicates their use was
help to reveal the reason for their existence. as part of complex funeral gatherings or rituals. It is possible
that the sculptures represented the dead. Importantly, this
In 2016, Peter Breunig and his colleagues began an in-depth research provides evidence that counters some of the earlier
analysis of the spatial context of the remains. They reviewed theories around the purpose of the sculptures within Nok
the location of sculpture fragments within a number of culture. In particular, it discounts the idea that they were an
excavated sites, and found that some fragments had been example of social complexity within this civilisation; previously
close to what is interpreted to be Nok burials. While no human the sculptures had been heralded as an indicator of inequality,
remains have been preserved due to the soil acidity, burials can hierarchy and nucleation of settlement systems.
still be identified through a number of factors.
Peter Breunig’s analysis strongly suggests that these large
The first is the remnants of organic decaying matter, which is sculptures first appeared in the early first millennium BCE,
identified by a technique called X-ray fluorescence. Second, which is earlier than originally suggested and that they were
these can be identified by the array of goods buried, such as used as part of funeral rituals. While some questions remain
fine ceramics and stone necklaces. Next to some burials, large unanswered, Peter Breunig’s fascinating research helps to solve
fragments of terracotta were found but none were intact, along the mystery of these elaborate sculptures, which were created
with broken pieces of different sculptures that could not be with such care and precision over 2,500 years ago.

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 Meet the researcher
Professor Dr Peter Breunig
Institute of Archaeological Sciences
Goethe University
Frankfurt
Germany

Peter Breunig was appointed Professor of African Archaeology KEY COLLABORATORS

at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1992. This is
the only chair for African Archaeology in Germany. Upon his National Commission for Museums and Monuments,
retire-ment in 2019, he was appointed Distinguished Professor Headquarter, Abuja, Nigeria
at the same institution, where he had taught and conducted Professor Muhammad Kabir Aliyu, Ahmadu Bello University
research for almost 30 years. He specialises in prehistoric Zaria, Nigeria
archaeology, especially African archaeology, and in 2009, Professor Joseph Mangut, University of Jos, Nigeria
became the director of a long-term project funded by the Professor Joseph Jemkur, University of Jos, Nigeria
German Research Foundation focusing on the development of Professor Katharina Neumann, Institute for Archaeological
complex societies in sub-Saharan Africa, featuring the Nigerian Sciences, Goethe University, Frank-furt, Germany
Nok Culture. Peter Breunig has taken a holistic approach to Dr Angela Fagg Rackham, Hampshire, UK
his research into this prehistoric society covering chronology,
settlement, distribution, re-gional diversification, material FUNDING
culture, economy and environment. From 2003 to 2017, Peter
Breunig was the editor and then co-editor of the international German Research Foundation
and peer-reviewed Journal of African Archaeology. In addition Goethe-University Frankfurt/Main
to publishing numerous academic papers and books, he has re-
cently written a chapter for The Oxford Handbook of Nigerian FURTHER READING
History, which focuses on the prehistoric developments in
Nigeria. P Breunig, The Oxford Handbook of Nigerian History, Oxford
University Press, 2022.
CONTACT P Breunig, N Rupp, An Outline of Recent Studies on the Nigerian
Nok Culture, Journal of African Archaeology, 2016, 14(3),
E: [email protected] 237–255. DOI: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44295241

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