Yoruba Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

The Ife–Sungbo Archaeological Project explores new perspectives on the history and chronology of the urbanization and socio-political dynamics of the forests of West Africa. It is key to the on-going re-assessment of the chronology of urban development in the humid forests of the Gulf of Guinea. Often forgotten in mainstream African historiography, the Guinean tropical forests witnessed the rise and decline of major demographic and civilizational centers, before the opening of the Atlantic trade in the 15th century CE. We focus on 1) the town of Ile-Ife, mythic center of the Yoruba civilization and a major archaeological site; and 2) the monumental enclosure of Sungbo’s Eredo, a system of banks and ditches now lost under dense forest cover. We aim at documenting, dating, and replacing these forgotten sites into their context.
The first season of the project took place from June 1 to July 5, 2015. The team of 35, led by Gérard Chouin (Department of History, William & Mary, USA) and Adisa Ogunfolakan (Director of the Natural History Museum, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria) , included professional archaeologists, students, and volunteers from Nigeria, USA, France, and the UK. The main funding was provided by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with additional support from a variety of partners, including William & Mary and Total Nigeria PLC.
The focus of this first archaeological season was the ancient embankment system of the city Ile-Ife, specifically a section of the system located on Federal lands at Ita Yemoo. The site was already the focus of archaeological work by British archaeologist Frank Willett in 1957–8 and 1962–3, but his findings have remained largely unpublished. Our objectives were to re-excavate the city walls and to retrieve the notes of Willett. Both objectives were successfully completed. Several trenches were sunk into the Ita Yemoo embankment, which resulted in a reconstruction of the depositional history of the site in 8 different phases over more than a millennium. In addition, material left behind by Willett, including photographs, sketches, and excavation records, were located in the archives of the Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow. The comparative analysis of both sets of data will uniquely contribute to a clearer understanding of the archaeology of this major ancient city.
Several other sites were visited in preparation for the 2016 season, which will focus on a 170 km-long embankment (Sungbo’s Eredo) that encircled an ancient polity just north of modern Lagos. Three different portions of this monumental site were rapidly assessed. Charcoal samples were collected to assist with the dating of these massive but under-studied systems of ditches and banks. Photography drones were used to assist in the reconnaissance of the embankment and enabled us to identify archaeological features that had never before been noticed. A site located within the campus of the newly built Augustine University at Ilara, Lagos State, was selected as a primary focus for the 2016 excavation season.
We expect to publish our findings after a careful analysis of the different sets of data recovered during this first season. Pending additional funding, we intend to process at least 10 new radiocarbon dates to structure our understanding of the development of urbanization in the forests of West Africa during the first and second millennia CE.