Igbo-Ukwu

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Coordinates: 6°1′N 7°1′E / 6.017, 7.017
Igbo-Ukwu
Igbo-Ukwu Location in Nigeria
Country	Nigeria
State	Anambra State

Igbo-Ukwu (Igbo: Great Igbo) is a town in the Nigerian state of Anambra which was the site of three famous archaeological sites that revealed a highly sophisticated metal-working culture. The first, Igbo Isaiah, was uncovered in 1938 by Isaiah Anozie a local villager who stumbled upon the bronze works while digging beside his home. Subsequent excavations by Thurston Shaw in 1959 resulted in the discovery of two other sites, Igbo Richard and Igbo Jonah containing the remains of an ancient culture, including jewelry, ceramics, a corpse adorned in what appears to be regalia, and many assorted bronze, copper, and iron objects. Radiocarbon dating placed the sites around the 10th century or earlier, which would make the Igbo-Ukwu culture the earliest known examples of bronze casting in the region centuries before the more famous Ife bronzes. Archaeological site actually three sites in southeastern Nigeria, associated with the Nri-Igbo. The three sites include Igbo Isaiah (a shrine), Igbo Richard (a burial chamber), and Igbo Jonah (a cache). Artifacts recovered from the site include the earliest bronze materials in sub-Saharan Africa.

The talent of these ancient casters was truly astonishing and based on the lost wax technique. Many of the castings were made in stages. For instance, in one bronze bowl set on a flat stand found at Igbo-Ukwu, small decorative items including insects and spirals were cast first and placed in the wax model before the main parts of the bowl were made. The vessel itself was then cast in two parts and fitted together by casting a middle band. In addition to a variety of ritual vessels (whose designs appear to reproduce the form of gourd vessels to which metal handles have been attached), many other bronze items have been found at Igbo-Ukwu, including pendants, crowns and breastplates, staff ornaments, swords, and fly-whisk handles. These works were also found with tens of thousands of beads, attained through trade.

The bronzes reveal not only a high artistic tradition and artworks that lacked known prototypes but also a well-structured society with wide-ranging economic relationships. Of particular interest is the source of the copper and lead used to make the bronzes, and of the coloured glass beads, which are apparently of Egyptian manufacture. It is believed that the bronzes were part of the furniture in the burial chamber of a high personage, possibly a forerunner of the eze nri, a priest-king, who held religious but not political power over large parts of the Igbo-inhabited region well into the 20th century.

The high level of technical proficiency of artwork found at Igbo-Ukwu raised questions about its origins with some historians theorizing foreign influence or phantom voyagers. However from all indications the metal were mined from nearby areas and the use of scarification show local origin and cultural continuity with modern day Igbo culture.

Today, the town of Igbo-Ukwu has a population of 79,317 (2007 estimate).

[edit] Bronzes

Ornament with snakes.

Alice Apley says:" It is possible that the inhabitants of Igbo-Ukwu had a metalworking art that flourished as early as the ninth century (though this date remains controversial). Three sites have been excavated, revealing hundreds of ritual vessels and regalia castings of bronze or leaded bronze that are among the most inventive and technically accomplished bronzes ever made. The people of Igbo-Ukwu, ancestors of present-day Igbo, were the earliest smithers of copper and its alloys in West Africa, working the metal through hammering, bending, twisting, and incising. They are likely among the earliest groups of West Africans to employ the lost-wax casting techniques in the production of bronze sculptures. Oddly, evidence suggests that their metalworking repertory was limited and Igbo smiths were not familiar with techniques such as raising, soldering, riveting, and wire making, though these techniques were used elsewhere on the continent.

Snail vessel with animal motif.

Regardless, the talent of these casters was truly astonishing. Many of the castings were made in stages. For instance, in one bronze bowl set on a flat stand found at Igbo-Ukwu, small decorative items including insects and spirals were cast first and placed in the wax model before the main parts of the bowl were made. The vessel itself was then cast in two parts and fitted together by casting a middle band. In addition to a variety of ritual vessels (whose designs appear to reproduce the form of gourd vessels to which metal handles have been attached), many other bronze items have been found at Igbo-Ukwu, including pendants, crowns and breastplates, staff ornaments, swords, and fly-whisk handles. These works were also found with tens of thousands of beads, attained through trade for slaves, ivory, or spices. Igbo-Ukwu bronzeworking was an isolated phenomenon at the time, but bronze casting developed several centuries later in other parts of Nigeria."