The mystery of Nigeria's Nok culture

[Shirleypal]

Some 2,500 years ago, a mysterious culture emerged in Nigeria. The Nok people left behind bizarre terracotta statues - and little else. Archaeologists are now looking for more clues to explain this obscure culture.
Peter Breunig runs an excavation near the Nigerian highlands of Jos, where the mysterious Nok culture once blossomed. The tropical region they lived in was larger than Ireland; its inhabitants lived in wooden huts and ate porridge made from pearl millet. "Around 500 BCE, the population exploded," Breunig says. People that had been living a Stone Age-like nomadic existence suddenly settled. He speaks of a "cultural Big Bang."
With the help of some locals, German researchers set up their base last spring, which consists of nine mud huts in the village of Janjala. In their excavations, the team encounters hardly any other traces of life. There are no skeletons preserved in the earth since the acidic soil dissolved all bones. Like their cemeteries, the temples and huts of the Nok have disappeared without a trace. No one knows what their farm animals, streets or religious ceremonies were like. But the shards of clay statues are everywhere - on rock slopes, in ancient refuse pits and in open spaces. The largest of these impressive figures can stand up to one meter (3.3 feet) tall and resemble what might be kings or members of a social elite. Others wear horned helmets or carved-out gourds on their heads. A third of these figures are women.

http://tinyurl.com/mbcdg9

Better Link:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/08/bogosphere/