History of Nigeria before 1500

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Nok culture 1500-1 BC
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The history of Nigeria before 1500 has been divided into its prehistory, Iron Age, and flourishing of its kingdoms and states. Acheulean tool-using archaic humans may have dwelled throughout West Africa since at least between 780,000 BP and 126,000 BP (Middle Pleistocene).[1] Middle Stone Age West Africans likely dwelled continuously in West Africa between MIS 4 and MIS 2,[2] and Iho Eleru people persisted at Iho Eleru as late as 13,000 BP.[3] West African hunter-gatherers occupied western Central Africa (e.g., Shum Laka) earlier than 32,000 BP,[4] dwelled throughout coastal West Africa by 12,000 BP,[5] and migrated northward between 12,000 BP and 8000 BP as far as Mali, Burkina Faso,[5] and Mauritania.[6] The Dufuna canoe, a dugout canoe found in northern Nigeria has been dated to around 6556-6388 BCE and 6164-6005 BCE,[7] making it the oldest known boat in Africa and the second oldest worldwide.[7][8]

Following migration from the Central Sahara to Nigeria, Nok people settled in the region of Nok in 1500 BCE, and Nok culture continued to persist until 1 BCE.[9] Later, the emergence and flourishing of kingdoms and states occurred, which included the Igbo Kingdom of Nri, the Benin Kingdom, the Yoruba city-states as well as the Kingdom of Ife, Igala Kingdom, the Hausa states, and Nupe. Numerous small states to the west and south of Lake Chad were absorbed or displaced in the course of the expansion of Kanem, which was centered to the northeast of Lake Chad. Bornu, initially the western province of Kanem, became independent in the late 14th century CE.

  1. ^ Scerri, Eleanor (October 26, 2017). "The Stone Age Archaeology of West Africa" (PDF). Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History. Oxford University Press. pp. 1, 31. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.137. ISBN 978-0-19-027773-4. S2CID 133758803.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Niang was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bergström was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference MacDonald was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference MacDonald X was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Abd-El-Moniem, Hamdi Abbas Ahmed (May 2005). A New Recording Of Mauritanian Rock Art (PDF). University of London. p. 221. OCLC 500051500. S2CID 130112115.
  7. ^ a b Breunig, Peter; Neumann, Katharina; Van Neer, Wim (1996). "New research on the Holocene settlement and environment of the Chad Basin in Nigeria". African Archaeological Review. 13 (2): 116–117. doi:10.1007/BF01956304. JSTOR 25130590. S2CID 162196033.
  8. ^ Richard Trillo (16 June 2008). "Nigeria Part 3:14.5 the north and northeast Maiduguri". The Rough Guide to West Africa. Rough Guides. pp. Unnumbered. ISBN 978-1-4053-8070-6.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Champion II was invoked but never defined (see the help page).