Citation: Abubakar A. MUHAMMAD & Abdulhamid BASHIR (2020). A Brief Archaeological Report of Tsohon Gari Site in Kiyawa Local Government Area, Jigawa State, Northwest of Nigeria. Yobe Journal of Language, Literature and Culture (YOJOLLAC), Vol. .8 Department of African Languages and Linguistics, Yobe State University, Damaturu, Nigeria. ISSN 2449-0660
A BRIEF ARCHAEOLOGICAL REPORT OF TSOHON GARI SITE IN
KIYAWA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, JIGAWA STATE, NORTHWEST OF NIGERIA
By
Abubakar A. MUHAMMAD
Abdulhamid BASHIR
Abstract
The focus of this research is an archaeological
investigation of Tsohon Gari site, Kiyawa Local Government Area, Jigawa State,
Nigeria. Its aim is primarily to identify, collect and study finds and features
on the site surface, with a view of reconstructing aspects of the culture
history of the area. Part of the methods used for this study were archaeological
reconnaissance, survey, collection of oral tradition, and the consultation of
written sources. This report provides evidence of past human activity and
occupation in form of a collapsed defensive wall, potsherds and dye pits on the
site surface - all of which are pointers to a sedentary lifestyle.
1.0 Introduction
A study of this nature is very crucial because it adds to the patchy
existing knowledge on the settlement and material culture history of Hausaland
and its inhabitants. However, to obtain a seemingly complete picture of the
history of Hausaland, there are certain questions that require urgent answers.
What kind of habitats were favoured for settling ? What resources were exploited
? And What makes an ideal Hausa settlement ? The above questions if properly
answered will help in understanding both the physical/material and immaterial
aspects of Hausa history.
This research therefore attempts to highlight the potentials of
archaeological data as a means of obtaining information about past human
societies in the case of Tsohon Gari site. It had as its aim to identify,
collect and study finds and features on the site surface, with a view of
reconstructing aspects of the cultural history of the area. And the collection
of oral tradition or history to shed light on the tradition of origin of the
settlement.
Tsohon Gari site lies between Latitude 11047’37’’ - 11047’50’’N
and Longitude 9037’21’’- 9037’35’’E and covers an area of
0.087 square kilometers (See fig. 4). It is located about 4km Northeast of
prsent day Kiyawa town. Tsohon Gari is the old settlement of the Kiyawa people
that was abandoned in 1902 and now used as the cultivation area of the
inhabitants of the area. The people now refer to this abandoned site as Tsohon Gari meaning Old Settlement.
2.0 Current State of
Knowledge
Written sources on the archaeology of Kiyawa are not available as Tsohon Gari had not been investigated archaeologically.
However, a number of literature exist on the evolution and structure of
settlements in Hausaland based on the Gida
– Unguwa – Kauye – Gari – Birni hypotheses. Notable researchers like Smith
(1972), Sutton (1979), Effah-Gyamfi (1986) have postulated that a number of
factors influence the site and nature of settlements in this region. Some of
these factors were largely environmental and resource based with potentials to
attract large scale populations to form settlements that were organized around
lineages. As such, it would not be out of place to suggest that this was the
case for the evolution of Tsohon Gari (Old Kiyawa) settlement. Its tradition of
origin also attests to this model of settlement history.
3.0 Methods
i. Archaeological
Reconnaissance and Survey
This involves the identification of sites, recording and collection of
finds and features. It is also the careful observation of the landscape,
characterized with systematic identification and recording of finds and
features on the site surface. Additionally, reconnaissance and survey involves
the measurement of finds and features in relation to one another and the
recording of surface finds and features, and their relationship with the
natural environment (Renfrew & Bahn, 1996). Often, archaeological researches
depend on the use of old maps, previous site reports, local information (oral
traditions or history) and other sources of information related to the site
under study to locate sites. Through these, background information on site can
also be obtained. For this research, information about it was obtained from the
oral tradition of Kiyawa settlement.
The reconnaissance and survey conducted on this site was done through field
walking or open traversing. The area was divided into transects and finds observed
and collected base on the simple random method. This involved walking in a N-S or W-E direction across the site from one
end to the other with eyes fixed to the ground for identifying and collection
of finds
and documentation of features of archaeological interest. Artefact bags were
used to collect the finds from the site surface. All the finds collected were
potsherds with no traces of other finds available on the site surface. This may
however not necessarily be the case when the site is excavated. Two dye pits
and the remnants of a defensive wall were some of the features documented on
the site.
ii. Collection of Oral Tradition
Oral tradition is commonly viewed as the account of history or testimonies
of the past that
are transmitted verbally from one generation to the another. It is one of the
key and unique sources of history of many non-literate societies. When properly
collected and in conjunction with other sources, they can shed more light on
the socio-economic and the relative chronology of the settlement history of a
people. It is however important to note that not all data collected through
oral tradition is valid. Rumor, exaggeration, manipulation and loss of memory
are some of the key factors that tend to interfere with the validity of oral
traditions. Archaeologists therefore are often more careful when employing it
as a source of history (Vansina, 1981, p.142).
This notwithstanding,
the tradition of origin of Tsohon Gari was collected through structured and
unstructured interviews administered in Hausa language. Ten informants were
interviewed on questions relating to origin of the settlement, socio-economic
activities, craft and industry, intergroup relations and so on.
From the data
collected it is clear that not much is known about the settlement history of
Kiyawa especially when compared with the available body of knowledge on towns
like Gumel, Kazaure, Hadejia, Birnin Kudu, Dutse and Ringim in Jigawa state.
What is certain however, is that the population of Kiyawa is heterogeneous.
Tradition has it that
the area was first settled by a Fulani cattle herder who migrated from the
southern Yobe area. This herder was known as Bokkoto and is said to have
founded Tsohon Gari around 1764 AD. Bokkoto arrived the area with his cattle
and settled there because of the conducive environment for grazing – thus,
earning the area the name Kiyawa derived from the phrase Wannan wurin yana da kyau (meaning: this land is beautiful). It was
after Bokkoto’s arrival that other people migrated to join him at the
settlement. Some of these later migrants came from places like Kano, Dutse,
Bauchi and environs. Tsohon Gari was abandoned as a result of population growth
and the annual floods that often had devastating effects on the settlement.
4.0 Results
a. Potsherds
Pots constitute one of the important facets of human material culture the
world over. To the archaeologist, they can be used to establish among other
things, cultural phases as well as aspects of the socio-economic life of a
society. They play a very crucial role in archaeological investigations and are
some of the most predominant artefacts in the archaeological record.
On the Tsohon Gari site, potsherds were the most available finds on the
site surface. They were scattered across more than 75% of the site, with the
most concentration at the North Eastern end of the site. Fifty-two (52) of them
were randomly collected from the established transects at an interval of five
feets per potsherd. Retrieved potsherds were classified based on typological
attributes taking into consideration aspects of such as style/rendering and
form.
b. Dye Pits
Traditional dyeing as an economic mode of production in this part of the
world is of immense importance to the archaeologist. This craft and its
resultant effects speak volume of the ingenious ways traditional societies
adapted to their environments and have developed therein. Two dye pits were
visible on the surface of a small mound which could have been intentionally
built or could have resulted over the years from ash deposits associated with
dyeing. Several dye pits existed in the area in pre-colonial times and the
settlement could have supplied dyed materials to neighbouring towns in the
past. At the moment however, both the dye pits seen on the site are now filled
with soil and overgrown with grasses. These dye pits are situated in close
proximity to one another and located away from the habitation area. They
measure 1.20m in diameter and 2meters away from each other.
c. Wall
Several towns and cities across Hausland were once enclosed by walls in the
past. These walls reveal a lot about a settlement’s past character, changing
fortunes and military outlook. This can be said of the remnants of a defensive
wall made from mud on the Tsohon Gari
site. This feature measures 1.5meters in height and 0.8meters in width at the
western section of the settlement where it is more visible. Other sections of
the wall have been largely destroyed by intense farming and grazing activities.
5.0 Discussion
In archaeology the study of material objects centers upon the nature of the
objects, their attributes, and the ways in which they are central to the
understanding of human cultures and social relations. This is largely so
because materials hold special meanings for individuals or groups. Objects and
the values attached to them are what sets humans apart from other animal
species. Material culture studies therefore, investigates the idea behind the
production, use/function and discard of finds and features by societies
(Woodward, 2015, p. 1; Hirst, 2018, p. 3).
Regarding the materials from the Tsohon Gari site, it can be said that the
site was a thriving sedentary settlement from the point of view of the
available evidence on the landscape. Potsherds which form majority of the
evidence as observed from their distribution points to the fact that the past
inhabitants of the society lived a settled life and engaged agricultural
activities. This mode of economic activity may not have been carried out alone
but side by side with pastoralism as is the case in most parts of the sahel.
Potsherds from Tsohon Gari illustrate that the vessels (pots and bowls) were of
utilitarian and trade value. The decorative motifs consist mostly of grooves,
incisions, perforations, stamps, and roulettes. Diversity in decorative motifs
and rim types is also an attestation to the sophistication of the art of
pottery production among the people.
The presence of dye pits is also an indication of a settled lifestyle and
involvement in the trans-saharan trade with other neighbouring towns within and
outside the region in pre-colonial times. Dyeing is a popular craft in
Hausaland and a major part of the economy of most towns. From an archaeological
perspective the presence of dye pits signify the production of fabric
materials. Clothes in this part of the world reflect social stratification
along economic and religious divides. And come in different patterns and
varieties depending on the requirement of the customer. Highly patterned
apparells are the exclusive reserve of the nobles and wealthy individuals in
the society. Generally, prized fabrics were symbols of the economic posperity
of a society.
With economic posperity comes the challenge of security and the need to
protect trade routes and settlements from outsiders. Most Hausa settlements
were faced with the challenges of insecurity from bandits and slave raiders in
the past. A good way that these settlements sought to curtail insecurity was to
settle around inselbergs and the construction of town or city walls. These
defensive structures served as barriers to undermine the advancement of
invaders into settlements.
6.0 Conclusion
From the foregoing it
can be said that Tsohon Gari site
like most other settlements in Hausaland was settled as a response to the
search for scarce or declining environmental resources. Current researches
point to the crucial need to appreciate the part environmental factors play in
the location of settlements. This has been stressed most often as the economies
of societies tend to be closely linked to the conditions of their immediate
environments.
The conclusion,
therefore, is that cultural materials from Tsohon
Gari site reflect the nature of the environment and the resultant
historical and socio-cultural dynamics of the society at the time.
References
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Hirst, K.K. (2018). Material
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Renfrew, C. & Bahn, P. (1996) Archaeology:
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