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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | The use of ethno-archaeology in Tiv culture history |
Author: | Ogundele, S. Oluwole |
Year: | 1990 |
Periodical: | African Notes: Bulletin of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan |
Volume: | 14 |
Issue: | 1-2 |
Pages: | 23-29 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Nigeria |
Subjects: | Tiv archaeology history ethnic groups oral history |
Abstract: | Ethnoarchaeology, defined here as those aspects of the oral traditions and present-day material culture of a people which can be used to raise and/or answer questions of archaeological relevance, has proved indispensable in the reconstruction of a number of significant facets of the cultural history of the Tiv (Nigeria). As a result of investigations of oral traditions and ethnography, the author has been able to locate sites and settlements of archaeological importance, test the reliability of oral traditions as historical sources of information for identifying and locating sites, test the reliability of explanations proffered in these traditions about the factors responsible for the sociocultural arrangements reflected in the landscape, determine to some extent the degree of continuity and/or change that has taken place through time in these settlement arrangements, and formulate hypotheses about how long and how far back in time various Tiv groups have lived in the settlement units identified and then test them archaeologically. The author also studied apects of modern Tiv pottery technology, especially modes of manufacture and decoration, in order to gain some idea of the technology of manufacture and stylistic traits of the pottery made by the historical Tiv populations. Bibliogr. |