Cite this article as: Ishaq, I.I., Yusuf, R. & Abubakar, M.N. (2023). Recent Archaeological Survey of Gidan Boji Settlement Site at Kwatarkwashi, Zamfara State, North-Western Nigeria. Tasambo Journal of Language, Literature, and Culture, (2)2, 22-30. www.doi.org/10.36349/tjllc.2023.v02i02.003.
Ishaq Isah Ishaq,
Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
iishaqisah@gmail.com
Rabi’u Yusuf
Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
yusufrabiu45@gmail.com
Mohammed Nasiru Abubakar
Department of History, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
Abstract
This paper presents a report and the findings of an archaeological survey carried out at Gidan Boji, an ancient settlement site in the Kwatarkwashi area in Zamfara State, northwestern Nigeria. The Kwatarkwashi area is one of the early centres of human occupation in Hausaland. The paper identified new sites of ancient human settlements in the Kwatarkwashi area that have not been described by previous studies. However, the most impressive of these newly identified sites in terms of size and structure is the Gidan Boji, which is the focus of this paper. The survey yields a wealth of archaeological finds including traces of homesteads, granary foundations, different types of defensive systems, grinding stones and pottery. Above all, the existence of defensive walls and several cave shelters suggests a fairly developed system of defense. This further confirms the existence of a settled society which a fairly well-developed material culture at a particular time in the past. For a clearer picture of the history, peopling and settlement pattern of Gidan Boji to be understood, the paper call for more attention towards systematic documentation of the entire sites and excavation around the Kwatarkwashi inselbergs. With more funds and collaborations, thorough archaeological investigation can be activated to study different aspects of the cultural history of the area as a similitude to the Nok Culture archaeological project.
Keywords: Archaeological Survey, Gidan Boji, Kwatarkwashi, Nigeria
Introduction
The Kwatarkwashi inselberg is one of the early centres of human occupation in Hausa land (Usman, 1981). Usman reports a discovery of stone axes and microliths along Gulbin Sokoto and its tributaries and states that the discovery may perhaps, indicates a continuous settlement around the Western Sudan since the Late Stone Age. He accentuated that Kwatarkwashi hills as a significant pre-Islamic religious centre of Bagiro (Worshiping of the spirit). And the existence of a complex of massive granitic outcrops refer to as duwatsu is associated with the pre-Islamic religious beliefs of Hausa-speaking people with the iskoki (spirits), which are some of the active beings which directly influence human affairs. Usman’s reference to these granitic outcrops duwatsu and their significance in the emergence of settlement is an echo of the hypothesis of Smith’s (1972) analysis, which associated the emergence of settlements in pre–Islamic Hausaland around inselbergs with the religious role of such rocks as the domain of the iskoki.
The religious significance and defensive capabilities of the hill were believed to have been some of the major reasons why people settled in the area. This view was supported by Ciroma (2014) in his accounts about the importance of the hill to the indigenous communities of the area. Despite the total rejection of this belief system by Islam which is now the dominant and monolithic religious practice in the area, however, the hill is still venerated by the indigenous population of the area. Commenting in the same vein, Yar’duna (2014), attest to the fact that people still visit the hill and perform certain rituals, especially at night.
Similarly, Darling (2000) describes Kwatarkwashi inselberg as an important settlement with a shrine of considerable importance and an inselberg of a site of about 2500 years old religious centre. However, the precision of the date could only be ascertained and validated through a thorough and long-term archaeological investigation. Apart from stating the religious significance of the hill, the study also reported illicit digging of terracotta figurines which he describes as crude when compared to Nok figurines. Some of the indigenous communities who partook in the illicit digging confirmed the claims of Darling. For instance, Abdullahi (2014) indicated and attested to some houses in the community built from the proceeds of illicit digging of clay figurines.
Besides, early archaeological research around the Katarkwashi inselberg was conducted by the Department of Archaeology, A.B.U Zaria in 2005. The focus of this research centred on the reconnaissance of Kurmi, Dangaida and Maikunkurai abandoned settlements as well as archaeological excavation at Madaci abandoned settlement sites. In addition, Aliyu (2008) excavated a portion of Madaci where pot sherds, cowries shells, metal objects, stone tools and fragments of terracotta were discovered. The findings of the study opine that the evidence discovered reveals the existence of a form of government and indigenous economy in the area in the past. The study further concluded that “the archaeological investigation at Kwatarkwashi has just begun and a lot needs to be done to ascertain in greater detail on the history and peopling of the area”. It was also found that the study uses only one cluster out of the numerous clusters distributed on the hills. To validate his claims, there is a need for large-scale horizontal and vertical excavations to expose the extent of the sites as well as to establish the chronology of the sites using multiple samples collected from several parts of the sites. It is the opinion of this recent survey that materials from one site are very inadequate to explain the complexity of inter-human relations that exists between different cultural groups that once settled there in the past.
Further archaeological investigations were conducted in 2012 by the Department of Archaeology of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. The research was aimed at exposing students of the department to the rudiments of archaeological fieldwork which includes reconnaissance, survey and excavation. Reconnaissance was conducted at Madaci, Humawa and Maikunkurai abandoned settlements as well as rescue excavation of dye pots in Turmuzawa village (Bakinde,2012). The excavation revealed another fascinating history of the area. It asserts that dyeing was one of the early occupational practices of the people of the area (Isiyaku, 2014). However, due to low patronage, the craft was abandoned for other white-collar jobs that fetches more income to the people. The discovery of the large dye pot proves and informs the existence of the local dyeing industry in the area.
It is also evident that attempts were made by several scholars to study the Kwatarkwashi cultural landscape from different perspectives. However, the archaeological potential values of the area are yet to be fully unravelled and documented. This paper, therefore, presents a preliminary report of the recent archaeological exploration of Kwatarkwashi conducted in 2014. The primary aim of the study was to identify and document more archaeological sites on the hills for further analysis and interpretation of the early activities of humans on the Inselbergs. This aim was achieved by traversing the length and breadth of Inselberg on foot searching for traces of human activities using a handheld GPS. This process yielded three more settlement sites, namely: Gidan Boji, Kurosa and Bakena. While it only presents findings identified at the Gidan Boji settlement site as a concern of this paper.
The geographical setting of the Gidan Boji site
According to oral tradition, Gidan Boji was founded by a Prince named Barau who migrated from the Gada town of Maradi, in the present Niger Republic. He was said to have temporarily settled at the northern foot of Kwatarkwashi Inselberg and later moved to Gidan Boji probably for security reasons (Ciroma and Isiyaku, 2014). Despite the presence of archaeological finds and features on the site which occur in the form of potsherds and other settlement ruins, no archaeological work has been conducted on the site.
Geographically, Gidan Boji is located between latitudes 12o 11¢4¢ and 12o 11¢9¢ N and longitude 6o 49¢ 21¢ and 6o 49¢ 25¢ E with an elevation of 519 meters above sea level. (Fig 1) The extent of the site was established by the visibility of artefacts above the ground. The site is covered in length 160.5m on the north-south axis and 110m in breadth on the east-west axis and as well as an occupied a total area of 12664.7 square meters.
Kwatarkwashi and its environs experience two seasons notably dry and wet periods annually. The former lasts for seven months from November to March or April. The rainfall, on the other hand, shows a marked seasonal variation. The rainfall is concentrated in a short-wet season, which extends from mid-May to mid-September (Udo 1970). Within the long spell of the dry season weather conditions vary with the occurrence of sub-seasons, known in Hausa local parlance as ‘Kaka” “hunturu” and “Bazara”. October to December is the harvesting period and transition time between the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the dry season. During the dry season, there is the perennial conventional rainfall usually experience every year. The “Hunturu” from December to March is characterized by the harmattan while “Bazara” from March to May is a period of hot weather conditions and the hottest months in the area are March and April.
The vegetation cover of the area is made up of a variety of species of trees like Ebony Tree; Diospyrosmespiliformis (Kanya), Yellow Tree; Detariummicrocarpum (Taura), Wodier Wood Plum; Lanneaacida (Faru), Bachelor’s Button; Gomphrenacelosiodes (Kandiri), grasses like Dum Palm Hyphaenethebiaca (Goruba), Fountain Grass; Pemisetumpadicellata (Kyasuwa), Yellow Senna; Sennaobtusifolia (Tafasa), Cofee Senna; Sennaoccidentalis (Rai Dore).
The site as at the time of this study was not under any form of occupation by the people. However, there are other forms of human activities especially the hunting of wild animals and fetching firewood from trees are ongoing (Isiyaku and Ciroma, 2014).
Fig. 1: Map of Nigeria and Zamfara State showing the location of the study area
The Survey
An archaeological survey has been defined as the evaluation of archaeological sites concerning finds and features (Renfrew and Bahn 2000). The site was identified through oral tradition and the ground survey method was used for data collection. This involved walking on foot across the length and breadth of a site to collect, document and photograph material remains observed. The major reason for adopting ground survey in this research was because of the hilly nature of the site, cost management and its efficiency to aid the discovery of minute cultural objects visually. A judgemental sampling strategy was adopted in the collections of potsherds for further laboratory analysis.
An archaeological survey at Gidan Boji yielded an assemblage of materials that confirms human activities on the site. A total number of 31 potsherds grinding stones along with immovable features that were documented in-situ, including defensive walls, house and granary foundations, and rock shelters, were all identified. However, analysis of the materials is still ongoing while a preliminary report of the condition of the site will be informative.
Finds and Features
With the study conducted, the finds and features evident in the study area are as follows:
Defensive Wall
Two types of defensive walls were identified at the site. The first was a stone defence wall. It is the remains of one layer of boulders were observed at the eastern part of the site (Fig 2). The formation of the wall was made up of one layer of stone boulders arranged horizontally facing north-south direction. The length of the wall was measured to be 35m. The sizes of stone boulders varied with some measuring from 0.50cm to 0.70cm. The thickness of the two layers of the stone boulders was measured at 0.50cm to 0.60cm (Fig 2). The second identified wall was made of clay. Relics of a decaying wall were observed standing at the western part of the site (Fig.3). The foundation of the wall was made up of clay and tiny granitic stones while the structure was entirely made up of clay. The remnant of the wall was still visible and standing erect measuring 0.75cm in height and thickness of 0.35cm, while the total length of the remnant of the battered wall was measured 8m (Fig 3). The distance from the eastern stone defence wall to the western clay defence wall was measured at 95m (Map of Gidan Boji).
Fig 3. Clay walling system
Rock Shelter
The rock shelter was identified at the southern part of Gidan Boji (Fig. 4a). It was characterized by three stone boulders that are interconnected with one another. A space was observed in between the stone boulders that was large enough to accommodate up to ten adults at once. The early settlers slightly modified the rock shelter by blocking the eastern opening of the overhangs with a mixture of stone boulders and clay. This thereby creates a room-like enclosure with two narrow exits from the south-eastern corner and south-western corner of the rock shelter (Fig 4b). The rock shelter was 1.35m high and 2.30m in length while its floor sizes measured 2.50m at the entrance while the interior measured 2.10m. From the western angle of the rock shelter to the southern part of the mud defence wall, a distance of 27m was measured. A distance of 40m was also measured from the northern angle of the rock shelter to the group of granary foundations identified at the southern part of the site (Map of Gidan Boji).
Granary foundations
At the south-eastern part of the site, nine granary foundations with a diameter which ranged from 1.1m to 1.6m were identified (Fig. 5a). A distance of 80m from the eastern stone defence wall to the south-eastern granary foundations was evident and measured. At the southern part of the site, another group of granary foundations were identified at about 35m away from the eastern stone defence wall. Other four same-size granary foundations were also identified at the northeastern part of the site (Fig. 5b).
Two groups of granary foundations consisting of four in one group and three granary foundations in the other area were identified at the northeastern part of the site. The diameter of the seven granary foundations ranged from 1m to 1.3 meters. The distance between the granaries in the group was measured at 2.0m. One granary foundation was also identified to be 9m away from the western clay defence wall with a diameter of 1.70 m.
House foundations
In the middle of the site, four circular mounds (house foundations) with a diameter of 3.6m were identified. Other three house foundations were identified at the northern part of the site with a diameter of 3.2m. While 20m distance was measured from the northern stone defence wall to the house foundations identified at the northern portion of the site (Map of Gidan Boji).
Lower Grinding stones
Three ovals like lower grinding stones ranging from 45cm to 55cm in length and 50cm to 80cm in breadth with an average depression of 10mm were discovered at the north-western part of the site (Fig. 7). The lower grinding stones have a deep groove or hollow worn into the stones. A distance of 18m was measured from the northern granary foundations to the northernmost grinding stone. A distance of 15m was also measured from the north-eastern house foundations to the grinding stone in the north.
Fig 7. Grinding Stone
Artefact | Total |
Potsherds | 31 |
Defensive wall | 2 |
Rock Shelter | 1 |
House Foundations | 7 |
Granary Foundations | 20 |
Lower Grinding stone | 2 |
Table 1: Statistics of Artifacts from Gidan Boji
Fig. 9: Map of Gidan Boji. April 2015 and modified 2021
Discussion
The variation of the circular house foundations on the site may perhaps represent social units within the early inhabitants of the site. According to the oral tradition, the variation was a result of family life structure allowing children of a different gender from the age of 5 to 13 to have separate rooms away from their parents. Girls and boys of the above age were also separated into different rooms that had a diameter from 2.0m to 3.0m. The household head also had a separate room from those of his wives. The sizes of the head of the family and his wives had a diameter ranging from 4.5m to 5.0m as explained by the oral informants (A. Bala, Yar’duna and Rashida, 2014). The evidence of settlement on the hilltop sites may suggest a phase of early settlements associated with inselbergs depicting one of the characteristics of early Hausa settlements. In separate studies on Fulani settlements, David (2008), states that the number of huts in a compound could be determined by the number of household members. Even though David’s study was on Fulani compounds while the sites under study according to oral tradition were originally Hausa settlements. It is worthy of note that the pattern of the settlement's layout is synonymous.
Besides, there is evidence of grinding stones which are good indicators of a sedentary way of life by the early settlers of hilltop settlements. Some of the artefacts according to Yorke and Jennie (2008) are considered to be food processing tools and for other activities. Two oval shape grinding stones with different degrees of wear patterns and body sizes were identified in the course of surveying the site. These use wear patterns may perhaps, occur over time from grinding different types of materials. They were found in close association with the granary foundations and not far away from the house foundations. The presence of grinding stones is in close association with the granary foundations, which according to serves as a storage house of harvested crops such as groundnuts, guinea corn and millet. This development suggested that they may have been used for grinding grains before cooking as well as for other activities like sharpening bones or stone flints for hunting. Oral informants disclosed that grinding stones were usually used in the past to grind cereals before cooking. Yar’duna, Rashida and Abdullahi (2014) also confirmed early settlers of the sites positioned grinding stones closer to granar the y foundation to ease the movement of grains which were sometimes heavy for processing.
Several archaeological field schools organized by the Department of Archaeology A.B.U Zaria, in Turunku and Kwatarkwashi reported the defensive wall as one of the major features of hilltops settlement sites.
Defensive walls were constructed with either mud or stones standing erect to a certain meter to protect settlements, towns, and cities from external invaders. Therefore, a defensive wall can only retain its name when it has the potential capability to perform defensive functions. The builders of such walls intended to serve as a protective shield between those inside and outside the environment. This is also in addition to proper checks on anybody coming in and out of the settlements through designated points.
The linear stone walling identified at the Gidan Boji settlement site is a demarcation wall creating a dichotomy between and among separate areas (Abdullahi, Bala Ciroma and Dankwambo, 2014). It is interesting to construe that the wall as observed cannot physically stop any wild animal or external invaders from gaining access to the settlement enclosure. At the time of the settlement, lands may have been demarcated using stone boulders to indicate the extent of land belonging to an individual family. The location of the settlement as observed was technically defensive and therefore, did not require additional structural defence for the settlements to become secured. This view is further supported by David (2008) that close friends or relatives may build their compounds against each other and share a fence, while other compounds may also fence their compounds as demarcation.
The stone demarcation identified at the Gidan Boji site may perhaps indicate proof of land ownership using stone boulders. This may have control and as well reduced the tendencies of land grabbing which could have caused serious conflicts amongst them. The demarcation also provided a clue to the size of the family. Similarly, the mud defence wall observed at the western part of the site was probably constructed to provide cover for the privacy of the settlement.
More significant to the study, granary foundations were also identified on the site. According to the oral tradition, the diameter of the circular stone foundation differed depending on the sizes of the granaries (Kure, Bala, Muhammad and Abdullahi, 2014). The diameters of the granary foundations observed ranged from 1.9m to 4.5m. The sizes of the granaries were said to be a reflection of the storage capacity of every household (Kure, Bala, Muhammad and Abdullahi, 2014). Again, the large number of granaries in a compound also reflects the number of people in a household. For instance, a household with many granary foundations may indicate a large population in the household. Granaries also determine and indicate the socio-economic status of households in a settlement. However, the existence of granaries further confirmed the agrarian status of Gidan Boji fundamentally as the mainstay and matrix of development.
Also, Potsherds were identified as the dominant surface collections on the site. This could be attributed to the process of its resilient nature, which is largely due to the way it was produced. Pots are made up of clay and different tempering materials and are generally subjected to a certain degree of temperature which makes them hard and durable in archaeological sites. According to oral tradition, pottery wares used by the early settlers of the sites were reported to have been bought from a community market in Gulluba (Kure, Bala, Dauda and Abdullahi, 2014). Gulluba is a small community located about 2km north of Kwatarkwashi inselberg in the present Zamfara State. The rim typology of the preliminary analysis of the potsherds revealed that small and big pots were used by the early settlers of the site. The details and full analysis of the potsherds will be provided in due course.
The discovery of a rock shelter is another indicator of early settlement on the site. The rock shelter was believed to be one of the earliest forms of settlement. The entire settlement of Gidan Boji might probably originate from the rock shelter. The rock shelter was slightly modified by people and can contain up to ten people at once. The reconstruction of the entrance of the rock shelter with mud bricks may suggest the use of the rock shelter by the settlers of the site. It is very possible that people first experimented with sedentarism through the rock shelters. Thus, the rock shelter may indicate the existence of people on the site since the hunting and gathering period.
Conclusion
Gathered from the foregoing analysis, the study identified more sites on the Kwatarkwashi inselberg which Gidan Boji as a part. The site revealed relics of house and granary foundations, different types of defensive systems, grinding stones and potsherds. The presence of the artefacts confirms the existence of a settled society at a particular point in the past. Though the precision date of their settlement around the Inselberg could not be determined due to the absence of Chronometric dates and problems associated with historical chronology and documentation in the historic period, the presence of pottery and grinding stone indicates their use for daily activities of life on the hilltop. The rock shelter may also have been used as a hiding place for the people during raids. By and large, the presence of different types of defensive walls also suggests people’s consciousness about the security of their environment against wild animals and external invaders.
For better comprehension of the history of the area vis-à-vis peopling and settlement pattern of Gidan Boji, more attention is therefore needed towards systematic exploration and documentation of the entire sites and excavation around the inselbergs. This will yield materials that could be dated to determine the chronology of the sites as well as the earliest human settlement and occupation. It is quintessential to note that the origin of the cultural materials found, especially pottery has not been established because all the materials recovered were surface collections. With more funds and collaborations, thorough archaeological investigation can be activated to study different aspects of the cultural history of the area just like the Nok culture archaeological project.
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