Iron Age Gao: An archaeological contribution

Journal of African History

Volumn 38, Issue 1, 1997, Pages 1-30

  Insoll, Timothy ^a  

^a ST JOHN S COLLEGE   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE; HISTORICAL STUDY; IRON AGE; SETTLEMENT PATTERN; TRADE DEVELOPMENT;

AFRICA, GAO;

EID: 0030860774     PISSN: 00218537     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0021853796006822     Document Type: Article

References (142)

1. No attempt will be made here to summarize the detailed arguments of Hunwick and Lange, although mention is made of their arguments throughout the following pages. The relevant references are J. Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited: ethnicity, political change and the limits of interpretation', J. Afr. Hist., XXXV (1994), 251-73; and D. Lange, 'From Mande to Songhay: towards a political and ethnic history of medieval Gao', J. Afr. Hist., XXXV (1994), 275-301. For precursors to the debate, see D. Lange, 'Les rois de Gao-Sané et les Almoravides', J. Afr. Hist., XXXII (1991), 251-75; and J. Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids: a hypothesis', in B. Swartz and R. Dumett (eds.), West African Culture Dynamics (The Hague, 1980), 413-30.
2. No attempt will be made here to summarize the detailed arguments of Hunwick and Lange, although mention is made of their arguments throughout the following pages. The relevant references are J. Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited: ethnicity, political change and the limits of interpretation', J. Afr. Hist., XXXV (1994), 251-73; and D. Lange, 'From Mande to Songhay: towards a political and ethnic history of medieval Gao', J. Afr. Hist., XXXV (1994), 275-301. For precursors to the debate, see D. Lange, 'Les rois de Gao-Sané et les Almoravides', J. Afr. Hist., XXXII (1991), 251-75; and J. Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids: a hypothesis', in B. Swartz and R. Dumett (eds.), West African Culture Dynamics (The Hague, 1980), 413-30.
3. No attempt will be made here to summarize the detailed arguments of Hunwick and Lange, although mention is made of their arguments throughout the following pages. The relevant references are J. Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited: ethnicity, political change and the limits of interpretation', J. Afr. Hist., XXXV (1994), 251-73; and D. Lange, 'From Mande to Songhay: towards a political and ethnic history of medieval Gao', J. Afr. Hist., XXXV (1994), 275-301. For precursors to the debate, see D. Lange, 'Les rois de Gao-Sané et les Almoravides', J. Afr. Hist., XXXII (1991), 251-75; and J. Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids: a hypothesis', in B. Swartz and R. Dumett (eds.), West African Culture Dynamics (The Hague, 1980), 413-30.
4. No attempt will be made here to summarize the detailed arguments of Hunwick and Lange, although mention is made of their arguments throughout the following pages. The relevant references are J. Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited: ethnicity, political change and the limits of interpretation', J. Afr. Hist., XXXV (1994), 251-73; and D. Lange, 'From Mande to Songhay: towards a political and ethnic history of medieval Gao', J. Afr. Hist., XXXV (1994), 275-301. For precursors to the debate, see D. Lange, 'Les rois de Gao-Sané et les Almoravides', J. Afr. Hist., XXXII (1991), 251-75; and J. Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids: a hypothesis', in B. Swartz and R. Dumett (eds.), West African Culture Dynamics (The Hague, 1980), 413-30.
5. Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited', 272.
6. I am grateful to Paulo Farias, John Alexander, Rachel MacLean and Kevin MacDonald for reading and commenting on draft versions of this paper. I am also grateful to Dr Kléna Sanogo, director, and Dr Mamadi Dembélé, assistant director, of the Malian Institut des Sciences Humaines and to Dr Diallo Iam, director of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique in Bamako, for allowing me to conduct my research. Thanks are also extended to Messrs Sekou Berthé, Nafogo Coulibaly, Elmoktar Touré and Dr Téréba Togola for help in Gao. Funding for this research was kindly provided by the Emslie Horniman Trust of the Royal Anthropological Institute, the British Academy and the University of Cambridge (Antony Wilkin Studentship).
7. See R. Mauny, 'Notes d'archéologie au sujet de Gao', Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (B), XIII (1951), 837-52; C. Flight, 'Gao 1972: first interim report. A preliminary investigation of the cemetery at Sané', West African Journal of Archaeology, V (1975), 81-90; 'Gao 1974: second interim report. Excavations in the Cemetery at Sané' (Unpublished paper, Birmingham, 1978); 'Gao 1978: third interim report. Further excavations at Sané' (Unpublished paper, Birmingham, 1979). I am grateful to Mr Flight for permission to use his unpublished field notes.
8. See R. Mauny, 'Notes d'archéologie au sujet de Gao', Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (B), XIII (1951), 837-52; C. Flight, 'Gao 1972: first interim report. A preliminary investigation of the cemetery at Sané', West African Journal of Archaeology, V (1975), 81-90; 'Gao 1974: second interim report. Excavations in the Cemetery at Sané' (Unpublished paper, Birmingham, 1978); 'Gao 1978: third interim report. Further excavations at Sané' (Unpublished paper, Birmingham, 1979). I am grateful to Mr Flight for permission to use his unpublished field notes.
9. See R. Mauny, 'Notes d'archéologie au sujet de Gao', Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (B), XIII (1951), 837-52; C. Flight, 'Gao 1972: first interim report. A preliminary investigation of the cemetery at Sané', West African Journal of Archaeology, V (1975), 81-90; 'Gao 1974: second interim report. Excavations in the Cemetery at Sané' (Unpublished paper, Birmingham, 1978); 'Gao 1978: third interim report. Further excavations at Sané' (Unpublished paper, Birmingham, 1979). I am grateful to Mr Flight for permission to use his unpublished field notes.
10. See R. Mauny, 'Notes d'archéologie au sujet de Gao', Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (B), XIII (1951), 837-52; C. Flight, 'Gao 1972: first interim report. A preliminary investigation of the cemetery at Sané', West African Journal of Archaeology, V (1975), 81-90; 'Gao 1974: second interim report. Excavations in the Cemetery at Sané' (Unpublished paper, Birmingham, 1978); 'Gao 1978: third interim report. Further excavations at Sané' (Unpublished paper, Birmingham, 1979). I am grateful to Mr Flight for permission to use his unpublished field notes.
11. For the stelae see J. Sauvaget, 'Les épitaphes royales de Gao', Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (B), XII (1950), 418-40; M. Vire, 'Notes sur trois épitaphes royales de Gao', Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (B), XX (1958), 368-76; and more recently P. F. de Moraes Farias, 'The oldest extant writing of West Africa: medieval epigraphs from Essuk, Saney, and Egef-n-Tawaqqast (Mali)', Journal des Africanistes, LX (1990), 65-113.
12. For the stelae see J. Sauvaget, 'Les épitaphes royales de Gao', Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (B), XII (1950), 418-40; M. Vire, 'Notes sur trois épitaphes royales de Gao', Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (B), XX (1958), 368-76; and more recently P. F. de Moraes Farias, 'The oldest extant writing of West Africa: medieval epigraphs from Essuk, Saney, and Egef-n-Tawaqqast (Mali)', Journal des Africanistes, LX (1990), 65-113.
13. For the stelae see J. Sauvaget, 'Les épitaphes royales de Gao', Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (B), XII (1950), 418-40; M. Vire, 'Notes sur trois épitaphes royales de Gao', Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (B), XX (1958), 368-76; and more recently P. F. de Moraes Farias, 'The oldest extant writing of West Africa: medieval epigraphs from Essuk, Saney, and Egef-n-Tawaqqast (Mali)', Journal des Africanistes, LX (1990), 65-113.
14. G. R. de Gironcourt, Missions de Gironcourt en Afrique Occidentale, 1908-1909, 1911-1912 (Paris, 1920).
15. S. Dawa, 'Inventaire des sites archéologiques dans le cercle de Gao', Mémoire de fin d'études, Ecole Normale Supérieure (Bamako, 1985). This survey report remains unpublished and I am grateful for the opportunity to have used it.
16. T. Insoll, 'Islam, archaeology and history: a complex relationship. The Niger bend (Mali), c. A.D. 900-1250' (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Cambridge, 1995).
17. See T. Insoll, 'A preliminary reconnaissance and survey at Gao', Nyame Akuma, XXXIX (1993), 40-3: and ' Preliminary results of excavations at Gao, September and October 1993', Nyame Akuma, XLI (1994), 45-8.
18. See T. Insoll, 'A preliminary reconnaissance and survey at Gao', Nyame Akuma, XXXIX (1993), 40-3: and ' Preliminary results of excavations at Gao, September and October 1993', Nyame Akuma, XLI (1994), 45-8.
19. Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited', 273.
20. See Lange, 'Les rois de Gao-Sané' and 'From Mande to Songhay'; and Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited'. For the Arabic sources in their entirety, refer to N. Levtzion and J. F. P. Hopkins, Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History (Cambridge, 1981). See also A. Es-Sa'di, Tarikh es-Soudan, trans. O. Houdas (Paris, 1900); and M. Kati, Tarikh el-Fettach, trans. O. Houdas and M. Delafosse (Paris, 1913).
21. See Lange, 'Les rois de Gao-Sané' and 'From Mande to Songhay'; and Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited'. For the Arabic sources in their entirety, refer to N. Levtzion and J. F. P. Hopkins, Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History (Cambridge, 1981). See also A. Es-Sa'di, Tarikh es-Soudan, trans. O. Houdas (Paris, 1900); and M. Kati, Tarikh el-Fettach, trans. O. Houdas and M. Delafosse (Paris, 1913).
22. See Lange, 'Les rois de Gao-Sané' and 'From Mande to Songhay'; and Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited'. For the Arabic sources in their entirety, refer to N. Levtzion and J. F. P. Hopkins, Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History (Cambridge, 1981). See also A. Es-Sa'di, Tarikh es-Soudan, trans. O. Houdas (Paris, 1900); and M. Kati, Tarikh el-Fettach, trans. O. Houdas and M. Delafosse (Paris, 1913).
23. See Lange, 'Les rois de Gao-Sané' and 'From Mande to Songhay'; and Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited'. For the Arabic sources in their entirety, refer to N. Levtzion and J. F. P. Hopkins, Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History (Cambridge, 1981). See also A. Es-Sa'di, Tarikh es-Soudan, trans. O. Houdas (Paris, 1900); and M. Kati, Tarikh el-Fettach, trans. O. Houdas and M. Delafosse (Paris, 1913).
24. See M. Gaussen and J. Gaussen, 'Aperçu sur les divers facies Néolithiques du Tilemsi et nouveaux objets en quartz poli', Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française, LIX (1962), 98-108; A. B. Smith, 'Preliminary report of excavations at Karkarichinkat Nord and Karkarichinkat Sud, Tilemsi valley, Republic of Mali, Spring 1972', West African Journal of Archaeology, IV (1974), 33-55; Dawa, 'Inventaire des sites archéologiques', 77-80.
25. See M. Gaussen and J. Gaussen, 'Aperçu sur les divers facies Néolithiques du Tilemsi et nouveaux objets en quartz poli', Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française, LIX (1962), 98-108; A. B. Smith, 'Preliminary report of excavations at Karkarichinkat Nord and Karkarichinkat Sud, Tilemsi valley, Republic of Mali, Spring 1972', West African Journal of Archaeology, IV (1974), 33-55; Dawa, 'Inventaire des sites archéologiques', 77-80.
26. See M. Gaussen and J. Gaussen, 'Aperçu sur les divers facies Néolithiques du Tilemsi et nouveaux objets en quartz poli', Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française, LIX (1962), 98-108; A. B. Smith, 'Preliminary report of excavations at Karkarichinkat Nord and Karkarichinkat Sud, Tilemsi valley, Republic of Mali, Spring 1972', West African Journal of Archaeology, IV (1974), 33-55; Dawa, 'Inventaire des sites archéologiques', 77-80.
27. See J. Rouch, Contribution à l'Histoire des Songhay (Dakar, 1953), and page 19 below for further discussion of Kukiya.
28. J. Hunwick, Sharī' a in Songhay : The Replies of Al-Maghīlī to the Questions of Askia Al-Hājj Muhammad (Oxford, 1985), 5.
29. Lange, 'Les rois de Gao-Sané', 258; 'From Mande to Songhay', 284; and Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited', 266.
30. Lange, 'Les rois de Gao-Sané', 258; 'From Mande to Songhay', 284; and Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited', 266.
31. Lange, 'Les rois de Gao-Sané', 258; 'From Mande to Songhay', 284; and Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited', 266.
32. B. Cissé, Intervention, Actes du colloque. Histoire et tradition orale, Ière année : l'empire du Mali (Paris, 1975), 166; M. E. Touré, Report on the Antiquities and History of the Gao Region (Untitled paper, Gao, 1992), 11.
33. B. Cissé, Intervention, Actes du colloque. Histoire et tradition orale, Ière année : l'empire du Mali (Paris, 1975), 166; M. E. Touré, Report on the Antiquities and History of the Gao Region (Untitled paper, Gao, 1992), 11.
34. Cissé, ibid.; B. Cissé and A. M. Yattara, Une tradition Songhay nous dit l'historique de Gao des origines à l'apparition des Dia al-Yaman (Bamako, undated).
35. Cissé, ibid.; B. Cissé and A. M. Yattara, Une tradition Songhay nous dit l'historique de Gao des origines à l'apparition des Dia al-Yaman (Bamako, undated).
36. Lange, 'From Mande to Songhai', 284. It is surprising that Mauny did not find any trace of the archaeological site at Koima, as he excavated, surveyed or reported the discovery of the majority of the major archaeological sites in the region. A possible explanation for this omission is that the site has only recently been exposed by erosion, which is severe in the vicinity of the dune.
37. I am grateful to Kevin MacDonald for his observations on the Koima pottery. See also K. MacDonald, T. Togola, R. Hutton-MacDonald and C. Capezza, 'Douentza, Mali', Past. The Newsletter of the Prehistoric Society, XVII (1994), 12-14.
38. Excavation at Koima scheduled for the next field-season in late 1996 should help in establishing a more reliable chronology.
39. Unfortunately, owing to the insecure situation in the Gao region resulting from the aftermath of the Tamasheq rebellion, it has not yet proved possible to complete the survey of the area as it is unsafe to move away from the city. It is hoped that this situation will be rectified during the next field season, scheduled for late 1996.
40. The chronology at Gao Ancien has been dated by the presence of an assemblage of imported pottery and glass, and the existence of a similar assemblage of locally manufactured pottery throughout the periods of occupation. This material was sealed by the dated layer of imports. The assemblage of 34 sherds of imported pottery and 147 fragments of imported glass has been identified by Rachel Ward of the Department of Oriental Antiquities at the British Museum, London, to whom I am grateful for her comments. A single radiocarbon date has also been obtained (note 41 below).
41. The reversal of the usual practice of numbering phases starting with number 5 for the most ancient allows for the addition of further periods to the lower end of the chronology should this become necessary as a result of further excavation.
42. Gadei is ideally situated for fishing and for access to the areas of cultivation and bourgou grass in the Niger, as it fronts the river. The possible Sorko connections are further reinforced by the fact that it is one of the few remaining places where traditional sewn canoes are still built: see T. Insoll, 'A note on a sewn canoe in use at Gao, the Republic of Mali', The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, XXII (1993), 345-50.
43. Paulo Farias (pers. comm.).
44. This pot is of the type used to protect the owner from djinn (spirits) or people with evil intentions. Such vessels were often buried under the floor by the entrances to houses or compounds; see J. S. Kirkman, Gedi, the Palace (The Hague, 1963), 26.
45. See page 27.
46. Being a midden deposit it could have been built up over a comparatively short space of time. The broader four century date range assigned here is based upon the similarities between the local pottery assemblage recovered from this site and that from Gao Ancien.
47. The charcoal sample from which the date was obtained was collected during the course of the Inventaire des Sites Archéologiques, a project carried out during the 1980s jointly by the Malian Institut des Sciences Humaines and the Mission Française de Coopération et d'Action Culturelle. The precise context from which the sample was obtained is not known, apart from the fact that it came from the tell. See M. Raimbault and K. Sanogo, Recherches Archéologiques au Mali (Paris, 1991), 520.
48. This is more difficult than it sounds, as the vast majority of the deposits on the tell at Gao-Saney have been destroyed by the activities of looters; see T. Insoll, 'Looting the antiquities of Mali: The Story Continues at Gao', Antiquity, LXVII (1993), 628-32. The midden area remained unscathed as the ashy deposits of which it was composed are unstable and dangerous: Insoll, 'Preliminary results', 6.
49. Flight, 'Gao 1972', 83.
50. I am indebted to Regina Krahl of the Department of Oriental Antiquities at the British Museum, London, for identifying this sherd. A full description of this unique find can be found in T. Insoll, 'A note on a sixteenth or seventeenth-century A.D. sherd of Chinese pottery found at Gao, The Republic of Mali, West Africa', Newsletter of the Oriental Ceramic Society, III (1994), 11-13.
51. Lange, 'Les rois de Gao-Sané', 257; 'From Mande to Songhay', 283; Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited', 265-7.
52. Lange, 'Les rois de Gao-Sané', 257; 'From Mande to Songhay', 283; Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited', 265-7.
53. Lange, 'Les rois de Gao-Sané', 257; 'From Mande to Songhay', 283; Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited', 265-7.
54. Discovered by my Malian colleagues Elmoctar Touré and Téréba Togola and translated by Paulo Farias, to whom I am grateful.
55. Cissé and Yattara, Une tradition Songhay, 262.
56. Lange, 'From Mande to Songhay', 284.
57. Lange, 'From Mande to Songhay', 299.
58. Rachel Ward (pers. comm.).
59. e siècle. Reliures, verreries, cuivres et bronzes (Tunis, 1952), 393.
60. For Tegdaoust, see C. Vanacker, Tegdaoust II (Nouakchott, 1979) and D. Robert-Chaleix, 'Céramiques découvertes à Tegdaoust', in J. Devisse et al., Tegdaoust III (Paris, 1983). For Koumbi Saleh, see P. Thomassey and R. Mauny, 'Campagne de fouilles de 1950 à Koumbi Saleh', Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (B), XVIII (1956), 117-40.
61. For Tegdaoust, see C. Vanacker, Tegdaoust II (Nouakchott, 1979) and D. Robert-Chaleix, 'Céramiques découvertes à Tegdaoust', in J. Devisse et al., Tegdaoust III (Paris, 1983). For Koumbi Saleh, see P. Thomassey and R. Mauny, 'Campagne de fouilles de 1950 à Koumbi Saleh', Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (B), XVIII (1956), 117-40.
62. For Tegdaoust, see C. Vanacker, Tegdaoust II (Nouakchott, 1979) and D. Robert-Chaleix, 'Céramiques découvertes à Tegdaoust', in J. Devisse et al., Tegdaoust III (Paris, 1983). For Koumbi Saleh, see P. Thomassey and R. Mauny, 'Campagne de fouilles de 1950 à Koumbi Saleh', Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (B), XVIII (1956), 117-40.
63. The final number will not be known until conservation and cleaning is complete. A single radiocarbon date was also obtained from a sliver of wooden beam directly below the cache - 1105 ± 165 B.P. (GX-20623) or Sigma cal A.D. 727 (970) 1153 - which is in accord with a fragment of pink glass of tenth century A.D. date recovered from a Period 4 context above the cache.
64. See T. Insoll, 'A cache of hippopotamus ivory at Gao, Mali; and a hypothesis of its use', Antiquity, LXIX (1995), 327-36; and for detail on the general ivory trade and ivory working, R. H. Pinder-Wilson, 'Ādj' (Ivory), The Encyclopedia of Islam (Leiden, 1960), 200-203.
65. See T. Insoll, 'A cache of hippopotamus ivory at Gao, Mali; and a hypothesis of its use', Antiquity, LXIX (1995), 327-36; and for detail on the general ivory trade and ivory working, R. H. Pinder-Wilson, 'Ādj' (Ivory), The Encyclopedia of Islam (Leiden, 1960), 200-203.
66. R. Mauny, Tableau géographique de l'Ouest Africain au Moyen Age (Dakar, 1961), 321.
67. Paulo Farias (pers. comm.).
68. A gold mithqāl coin dated to A.D. 952-75 and of North African origin was found in Gao Ancien (a surface find); other gold coins which were said to have been found have since disappeared, including a cache discovered inside a pot. See J. Latruffe, 'Au sujet d'une pièce d'or millénaire trouvée à Gao', Notes Africaines, LX (1953), 102-3. A fragment of a transparent bottle green glass weight (2·5 g.) was found at Gao-Saney and a similar fragment (3·85 g.) was recovered from Gao Ancien: see Thomassey and Mauny, 'Campagne de fouilles de 1950 à Koumbi Saleh', 138-9.
69. A gold mithqāl coin dated to A.D. 952-75 and of North African origin was found in Gao Ancien (a surface find); other gold coins which were said to have been found have since disappeared, including a cache discovered inside a pot. See J. Latruffe, 'Au sujet d'une pièce d'or millénaire trouvée à Gao', Notes Africaines, LX (1953), 102-3. A fragment of a transparent bottle green glass weight (2·5 g.) was found at Gao-Saney and a similar fragment (3·85 g.) was recovered from Gao Ancien: see Thomassey and Mauny, 'Campagne de fouilles de 1950 à Koumbi Saleh', 138-9.
70. J. Alexander, 'The salt industries of West Africa', in T. Shaw et al. (eds.), The Archaeology of Africa. Food, Meats and Towns (London, 1993), 652-7.
71. Insoll, 'A preliminary reconnaissance and survey', 42 and ' Preliminary results of excavations at Gao', 46.
72. Insoll, 'A preliminary reconnaissance and survey', 42 and ' Preliminary results of excavations at Gao', 46.
73. See R. J. and S. K. McIntosh, 'Archaeological reconnaissance in the region of Timbuktu, Mali', Final report to the National Geographic Society (1984, unpublished), and summary of the same report in National Geographic Research II (1986), 302-19.
74. See R. J. and S. K. McIntosh, 'Archaeological reconnaissance in the region of Timbuktu, Mali', Final report to the National Geographic Society (1984, unpublished), and summary of the same report in National Geographic Research II (1986), 302-19.
75. Ibid. 313.
76. See page 6.
77. Two surveys of this site are worth consulting: those of de Gironcourt, Missions de Gironcourt, 27, 342-3; and Farias, 'The oldest extant writing', 105-7.
78. Two surveys of this site are worth consulting: those of de Gironcourt, Missions de Gironcourt, 27, 342-3; and Farias, 'The oldest extant writing', 105-7.
79. er Colloque International d'Archéologie Africaine (Fort Lamy, 1966), 50-61. More recently, see B. Gado, 'Le Zarmatery', Etudes Nigériennes, XLV (Niamey 1980), and 'Une village des morts à Bura en republique du Niger', in J. Devisse (ed.), Vallées du Niger (Paris, 1993), 360-74.
80. er Colloque International d'Archéologie Africaine (Fort Lamy, 1966), 50-61. More recently, see B. Gado, 'Le Zarmatery', Etudes Nigériennes, XLV (Niamey 1980), and 'Une village des morts à Bura en republique du Niger', in J. Devisse (ed.), Vallées du Niger (Paris, 1993), 360-74.
81. er Colloque International d'Archéologie Africaine (Fort Lamy, 1966), 50-61. More recently, see B. Gado, 'Le Zarmatery', Etudes Nigériennes, XLV (Niamey 1980), and 'Une village des morts à Bura en republique du Niger', in J. Devisse (ed.), Vallées du Niger (Paris, 1993), 360-74.
82. er Colloque International d'Archéologie Africaine (Fort Lamy, 1966), 50-61. More recently, see B. Gado, 'Le Zarmatery', Etudes Nigériennes, XLV (Niamey 1980), and 'Une village des morts à Bura en republique du Niger', in J. Devisse (ed.), Vallées du Niger (Paris, 1993), 360-74.
83. er Colloque International d'Archéologie Africaine (Fort Lamy, 1966), 50-61. More recently, see B. Gado, 'Le Zarmatery', Etudes Nigériennes, XLV (Niamey 1980), and 'Une village des morts à Bura en republique du Niger', in J. Devisse (ed.), Vallées du Niger (Paris, 1993), 360-74.
84. The survey report by J. M. Regnoult and D. Bory Kadey, Mise en éxecution du plan de développement minéral du Niger (Moyenne Sirba, Liptako). Rapport Technique Ministère des Mines, Énergie, Industrie et Artisanat (Niamey, 1992) is cited in J. Devisse, 'L'or', in J. Devisse (ed.), Les vallées du Niger (Paris, 1993), 344-57.
85. The survey report by J. M. Regnoult and D. Bory Kadey, Mise en éxecution du plan de développement minéral du Niger (Moyenne Sirba, Liptako). Rapport Technique Ministère des Mines, Énergie, Industrie et Artisanat (Niamey, 1992) is cited in J. Devisse, 'L'or', in J. Devisse (ed.), Les vallées du Niger (Paris, 1993), 344-57.
86. Lange, 'From Mande to Songhay', 299.
87. Devisse, 'L'or', 346.
88. Devisse, 'L'or', 357.
89. See T. Togola, 'Archaeological investigations of Iron Age sites in the Mema, Mali (West Africa)', unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Rice University, 1993; and K. MacDonald and W. van Neer, 'Specialised fishing peoples in the Later Holocene of the Mema region (Mali)', in W. van Neer (ed.), Fish Exploitation in the Past (Tervuren, 1994), 243-51.
90. See T. Togola, 'Archaeological investigations of Iron Age sites in the Mema, Mali (West Africa)', unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Rice University, 1993; and K. MacDonald and W. van Neer, 'Specialised fishing peoples in the Later Holocene of the Mema region (Mali)', in W. van Neer (ed.), Fish Exploitation in the Past (Tervuren, 1994), 243-51.
91. Farias, 'The oldest extant writing', 69, 108.
92. One exception at Koumbi Saleh being a flight of fired brick steps which led into the Tomb of the Columns. See P. Thomassey and R. Mauny, 'Campagne de fouilles à Koumbi Saleh', Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (B), XIII (1951), 440.
93. As at Ouara in eastern Chad, where the cluster of fired brick buildings date from the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries A.D. See J. P. Lebeuf and J. H. I. Kirsch, Ouara, ville perdue (Tchad) (Paris, 1989), 25-6. For other examples, notably Birni N'Gazargamo in northern Nigeria founded in A.D. 1450 and Garoumele in eastern Niger, which possibly dates from the fourteenth century A.D., see A. D. H. Bivar and P. Shinnie, 'Old Kanuri capitals', J. Afr. Hist., III (1962), 1-10.
94. As at Ouara in eastern Chad, where the cluster of fired brick buildings date from the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries A.D. See J. P. Lebeuf and J. H. I. Kirsch, Ouara, ville perdue (Tchad) (Paris, 1989), 25-6. For other examples, notably Birni N'Gazargamo in northern Nigeria founded in A.D. 1450 and Garoumele in eastern Niger, which possibly dates from the fourteenth century A.D., see A. D. H. Bivar and P. Shinnie, 'Old Kanuri capitals', J. Afr. Hist., III (1962), 1-10.
95. See for example M. Last, 'The early kingdoms of the Nigerian savanna', in J. F. A. Ajayi and M. Crowder (eds.), History of West Africa, Volume I (Harlow, 1985), 167-253; and J. E. G. Sutton, 'The international factor at Igbo-Ukwu', The African Archaeological Review, IX (1991), 145-60.
96. See for example M. Last, 'The early kingdoms of the Nigerian savanna', in J. F. A. Ajayi and M. Crowder (eds.), History of West Africa, Volume I (Harlow, 1985), 167-253; and J. E. G. Sutton, 'The international factor at Igbo-Ukwu', The African Archaeological Review, IX (1991), 145-60.
97. A. Lezine, Architecture de l'Ifriqiya. Recherches sur les monuments Aghlabides, (Paris, 1966), 163-4.
98. Five were collected during the 1993 season, and Professor Alastair Lamb has kindly given me approximately 150 copper and copper-alloy fragments he collected from the surface of the Gao-Saney tell in 1971, many of which are from copper ingots.
99. I am grateful to Josette Rivallain for the observation that these copper objects might have served as currency items.
100. H. Lhote, 'Recherches sur Takedda, ville décrite par le voyageur arabe Ibn Battouta et située en Air' Bulletin de l'Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire (B), XXXIV (1972), 429-70; and see D. Grebenart, 'La région d'In Gall-Tegidda N. Tesemt, II. Le Néolithique Final et les débuts de la metallurgie', Études Nigériennes, XLIX (1985), 354-79.
101. H. Lhote, 'Recherches sur Takedda, ville décrite par le voyageur arabe Ibn Battouta et située en Air' Bulletin de l'Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire (B), XXXIV (1972), 429-70; and see D. Grebenart, 'La région d'In Gall-Tegidda N. Tesemt, II. Le Néolithique Final et les débuts de la metallurgie', Études Nigériennes, XLIX (1985), 354-79.
102. See Lhote, 'Recherches sur Takedda', 463.
103. I am grateful to Steven Laurie of the Sedgwick Museum, Cambridge, for undertaking the analysis.
104. S. K. McIntosh (ed.), Excavations at Jenne-jeno, Hambarketolo and Kaniana (inland Niger delta, Mali). The 1981 season (Los Angeles, 1995), 387.
105. Lange, 'From Mande to Songhay', 276.
106. For a distribution map of the Songhai today see J. Rouch, Les Songhay (Paris, 1954), endpiece.
107. S. K. and R. J. McIntosh, 'The early city in West Africa: towards an understanding', The African Archaeological Review, II (1984), 73-98, at 76.
108. Ibid. 77.
109. Levtzion and Hopkins, Corpus, 174.
110. Ibid. 87, 113.
111. Ibid. 80.
112. S. B. Aradeon, 'Al-Sahili. The historian's myth of architectural technology transfer from North Africa', Journal des Africanistes, LIX (1989), 111.
113. Farias, 'The oldest extant writing', 105.
114. Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids', 416; 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited', 7; Levtzion and Hopkins, Corpus, 399; Lange, 'From Mande to Songhay', 283; Last, 'The early kingdoms of the Nigerian savanna', 179.
115. Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids', 416; 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited', 7; Levtzion and Hopkins, Corpus, 399; Lange, 'From Mande to Songhay', 283; Last, 'The early kingdoms of the Nigerian savanna', 179.
116. Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids', 416; 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited', 7; Levtzion and Hopkins, Corpus, 399; Lange, 'From Mande to Songhay', 283; Last, 'The early kingdoms of the Nigerian savanna', 179.
117. Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids', 416; 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited', 7; Levtzion and Hopkins, Corpus, 399; Lange, 'From Mande to Songhay', 283; Last, 'The early kingdoms of the Nigerian savanna', 179.
118. Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids', 416; 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited', 7; Levtzion and Hopkins, Corpus, 399; Lange, 'From Mande to Songhay', 283; Last, 'The early kingdoms of the Nigerian savanna', 179.
119. See note 30.
120. See note 45. The three copper tokens were recovered from the 1993 excavations in Gao Ancien.
121. The exception to this is seven sherds of glazed pottery recovered by Mauny from the tell at Gao-Saney. These sherds were identified as coming from Cordoba, and of possible early twelfth century A.D. date. See R. Mauny, 'Découverte à Gao d'un fragment de poterie émaillée du Moyen Age Musulman', Hespéris, XXXIV (1952), 514-6.
122. Alastair Lamb has related to me that he found carnelian bead-making debris on the tell during his visit to the site in 1971. I was also told about the discovery of bead-making moulds and glass powder used for bead manufacture on the tell at Gao-Saney, but negotiations with the owner to see this material failed.
123. A site surveyed by Dawa who ascribed it a possible 'époque Songhai' date; in other words between the seventh and sixteenth centuries A.D.: Dawa, 'Inventaire des sites archéologiques', 56.
124. H. Barth, Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa (London, 1965).
125. Farias, 'The earliest extant writing', 85.
126. Scripts not stelae were imported from Kairouan (Paulo Farias pers. comm.). The only imported stelae found at Gao-Saney are the five white marble stelae from Almeria in Al-Andalus.
127. Hunwick, 'Gao and the Almoravids'.
128. Hunwick, Sharī' a in Songhai; 'Gao and the Almoravids revisited'.
129. Lange, 'From Mande to Songhay'; 'Les rois de Gao-Sané'.
130. Farias, 'The earliest extant writing'.
131. As suggested by Hunwick in 'Gao and the Almoravids', 430.
132. Levtzion and Hopkins, Corpus, 301.
133. See R. Cribb, Nomads in Archaeology (Cambridge, 1991), esp. 65-112, for a discussion of this issue.
134. T. Faegre, Tents: architecture of the nomads (London, 1979), 67-8. See also J. Nicolaisen, Ecology and culture of the pastoral Tuareg (Copenhagen, 1963), for a catalogue of 29 different Tuareg tent types, and Barth, Travels and Discoveries, 236-7, for a description of a Tuareg tent in the mid-nineteenth century A.D.
135. T. Faegre, Tents: architecture of the nomads (London, 1979), 67-8. See also J. Nicolaisen, Ecology and culture of the pastoral Tuareg (Copenhagen, 1963), for a catalogue of 29 different Tuareg tent types, and Barth, Travels and Discoveries, 236-7, for a description of a Tuareg tent in the mid-nineteenth century A.D.
136. T. Faegre, Tents: architecture of the nomads (London, 1979), 67-8. See also J. Nicolaisen, Ecology and culture of the pastoral Tuareg (Copenhagen, 1963), for a catalogue of 29 different Tuareg tent types, and Barth, Travels and Discoveries, 236-7, for a description of a Tuareg tent in the mid-nineteenth century A.D.
137. This enigmatic structure was excavated by Colin Flight (see Flight, 'Third interim report'). It is situated to the west of the tell and is possibly the remains of a kubba type (domed) tomb. It was originally built of fired brick and might possibly date from the twelfth to thirteenth centuries A.D., the main period of fired brick use at Gao Ancien and within the cemetery at Gao-Saney.
138. T. Insoll, 'An analysis of the Chinese pottery from the settlements of Mtambwe Mkuu and Ras Mkumbuu on Pemba Island, and Tumbatu and Mkokotoni on Zanzibar Island', in M. Horton (ed.), The Zanzibar and Pemba Excavations, (Nairobi, in press).
139. Whether they were living on the tell or around it we do not know; similarly their ethnicity will undoubtedly continue to be debated.
140. I am grateful to Paulo Farias for providing data on the inscriptions in the cemeteries of Gao in advance of the publication of his book on the medieval inscriptions of the Niger bend and the Adrar des Iforas.
141. The tobacco pipe was introduced to Africa only after A.D. 1591: R. J. and S. K. McIntosh, 'Archaeological Reconnaissance', unpublished report, 27.
142. A burial of Period I date was found during the excavations in Gao Ancien, which was oriented north-south and which cut through a Period I wall, indicating that it was fairly recent. Recent discussion of 'medieval' Gao has relied primarily upon historical evidence as a means to reconstruct and interpret events in the Niger Bend region prior to the development of the Songhai empire in the early fifteenth century A.D. The results of archaeological excavations and surveys conducted in the Gao region in 1993 allow a preliminary contribution to be made to this subject based upon this new source of evidence. It is argued that the development of Gao was more complex than previously thought, and that the settlement structure within Gao, which served to facilitate both trans-Saharan and inter-regional trade, also reflects possible defensive concerns and the gradual acceptance of Islam. It is concluded that archaeological research, utilizing a multi-disciplinary approach, offers the means to further understand events in this region prior to, and indeed during, the period of the Songhai empire, without sole reliance upon written or oral historical evidence, which can often be biased and contradictory.