Browsing by Author "McIntosh, Susan Keech"

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    Archaeological investigation of long-term culture change in the Lower Falemme (Upper Senegal region), A.D. 500-1900
    (1999) Thiaw, Ibrahima; McIntosh, Susan Keech
    This thesis is based on six-months of archaeological field research in the upper Senegal/Lower Falemme region aimed at reconstructing patterns of social and economic change during the past 1500 years. The target area was a 50 kilometer-segment of the lower Falemme river that was directly opened into an important ancient gold trading zone. This area is economically marginal today but had important links to both the trans-Saharan and Atlantic systems over the past thousand years, offering great potential for the study of the changes triggered by incorporation into wider economic networks. The main objectives of the research were to recover data on change in subsistence, trade and technology to provide preliminary direct empirical evidence on processes of change over the 1500 years. Archaeological excavations carried out at three sites and regional survey permitted recovery of local and imported artifacts, paleoeconomic data and information on context and chronology. The data accumulated suggests the incorporation into the trans-Saharan international trade beginning AD 700 of small-scale societies with a subsistence economy dominated by agriculture, herding and occasional hunting. Significant changes were noted beginning in the fifteenth century, which corresponds to a period of increased contact with the Europeans and the expansion of Islam. These changes are reflected in the growth of imports and important changes in the nature and location of archaeological sites. While the region was incorporated into the wider Atlantic market economy, African initiatives were a key component of system until the imposition of colonial government in the second half of the nineteenth century.
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    Archaeological Investigations of Early Glass Production at Igbo-Olokun, Ile-Ife (Nigeria)
    (2016-02-26) Babalola, Abidemi Babatunde; McIntosh, Susan Keech
    The sacred grove at Igbo Olokun, located in Ile-Ife, Southwestern Nigeria, has long been known for the massive quantities of glass beads present on the surface and in subsurface deposits. Overshadowed by the bravura terracotta and copper alloy sculptures of human heads that characterize the so-called Classic period (12th-15th century A.D.) of Ife’s history, the glass materials at Igbo Olokun have received relatively cursory attention. Few of these materials have been described in any detail and their subsurface contexts are largely undocumented. Between 2010 and 2012, the archaeological excavations I conducted at Igbo-Olokun recovered over 12,000 glass beads as well as hundreds of glass-encrusted crucible fragments, other glass production debris, and pottery. This dissertation describes the deposits and the recovered materials in significant detail, establishing a basic framework for future comparative and analytic research at the site. Using chemical and physical analyses of the glass beads and glass production debris, the competing hypotheses of local primary glass production or re-melting of imported glass to create beads are explored in detail. Optical microscopic examination of the glass-encrusted crucibles in cross-section provides evidence for use in primary glass production rather then secondary re-melting of glass. Studies of other production debris including glass droplets, wasters, and cullet suggest the different stages in glass bead production from initial drawing of glass canes to heat treatment of snapped bead ends. The techniques used were highly sophisticated; producing mainly seed beads less than four millimeters in diameter. The thread or wire used to string the beads must have been exceptionally fine, but there is no evidence of the material used. The large quantity of material recovered from a relatively small area suggests glass production on an industrial scale. Compositional analysis of samples of the glass beads, crucibles, and other production materials using LA-ICP-MS, SEM/EDS, and SEM confirms the prevalence of glass that is very high in alumina content. High Lime High Alumina (HLHA) glass has previously been identified at Igbo-Olokun on samples of uncertain provenience. The recently excavated beads confirm that HLHA glass is very common, but Low Lime High Alumina (LLHA) glass is also present. These results expand on the work of James Lankton, Akin Ige, and Thilo Rehren who first proposed in 2006 that high alumina glass represents a glassmaking tradition unique to West Africa, and possibly unique to southern Nigeria. The compositional analysis provides additional evidence for local sourcing of the raw materials for this glass. The dissertation contextualizes this tradition with reference to the history and geography of early glass production in the Old World. The chronology of glass production at Igbo Olokun is not incontrovertibly established, since much of the material may have been redeposited and may therefor represent materials from different time periods. However, analysis of the pottery recovered from the excavations shows characteristics consistent with Classic period pottery from nearby sites in Ile-Ife that have been radiocarbon dated to the twelfth to fifteenth centuries CE. Several radiocarbon dates from the 2010-2012 excavations also fall within this time range, but there are also two much later dates, indicative of mixed deposits. Results of thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of crucible samples, undertaken to clarify the chronology of glass production, have instead confused it further. The dates cluster in the early second millennium and the first millennium BCE, with some weaker evidence for the second millennium CE. The dissertation evaluates the various factors that might be at play, and identifies the additional data that will be necessary to support one or more possible scenarios for the dates of glass production at Igbo Olokun. The results of the bead classification and compositional studies have expanded the limited comparative database for distribution studies of various glass recipes and bead types in West Africa. The presence of HLHA beads in other West African archaeological sites after the ninth century CE suggests interaction between Ile-Ife and sites such as Igbo-Ukwu in southern Nigeria, Gao and Essouk in Mali, and Kissi in Burkina Faso. The dissertation concludes that Igbo-Olokun was a regional primary glass production center that specialized in large-scale production of glass beads, which then enjoyed widespread distribution in West Africa, particularly in the first half of the second millennium CE.
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    Archaeological Investigations of Early Trade and Urbanism at Gao Saney (Mali)
    (2011) Cisse, Mamadou; McIntosh, Susan Keech
    Excavations at the mound site of Gao Saney, located near the historic town of Gao eastern Niger Bend, Mali, revealed over six meters of domestic deposits and debris from secondary processing of glass and copper dating to the period 700--1100 A.D. This is 200-300 years earlier than anticipated and points to the early development oflong distance trade networks. Lead isotope analysis of copper and glass samples using LAICP- MS points to multiple sources areas, including copper ores in Tunisia and glass production areas in the Middle East. Secondary processing of copper and glass took place at the site, and a substantial portion ofthe sequence comprised mud brick structures and associated domestic trash and wall collapse episodes. The distinctive polychrome pottery assemblage found in the Gao Saney deposits occurs along a 500 km stretch of the Niger Bend between Bentia to the south and Timbucktu to the west, where it appears suddenly and intrusively c. 650-700 A.D. This thesis documents the excavations and the material culture, chronology, subsistence economy and production activities at the site. It argues that the findings support the identification of Gao Saney with the trading town Sarneh mentioned in a tenth century Arab chronicle. The relationship of Gao Saney to Gao Ancien, the putative "royal town" of Kawkaw, is considered through a comparison of material excavated from a massive stone building complex there with the material from Gao Saney. The first millennium pottery at both sites is identical, but elite goods and stone architecture are present in abundance only at Gao Ancien. The evidence supports the identification of a royal town linked to Gao Saney by market and trade relations linked to early long-distance trade.
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    Archaeological investigations of Iron Age sites in the Mema region, Mali (West Africa)
    (1993) Togola, Tereba; McIntosh, Susan Keech
    Archaeological research undertaken in 1989/90 has demonstrated that a millenium ago, the Malian region of Mema (a now dry alluvial basin located northwest of the current Inland Niger Delta and south of the Lakes Region), was intensely occupied by iron using people. This intense occupation, clearly associated with a period of climatic amelioration, extends back in time to the Late Stone Age. During the regional site survey, 137 archaeological sites (29 Late Stone Age sites and 108 Iron Age sites) were identified, recorded by size, surface material and features, and location on different geomorphological zones. Radiocarbon dates spanning the fourth to fourteenth centuries AD from excavations at the Iron Age mound complex of Akumbu, and a preliminary analysis of both the excavation and survey pottery permitted the determination of a broad chronology of occupation. Numerous slag heaps (associated with smelting furnaces) found during the regional site survey, and exotic goods uncovered during the excavations at Akumbu indicated that local iron production and long distance trade played an important role in the Mema economy.
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    Archaeological investigations of settlement and emerging complexity in the Middle Senegal Valley
    (2004) Deme, Alioune; McIntosh, Susan Keech
    This thesis reports on three months of excavation and a month of site survey undertaken in 1999--2000 in the central sector of the Middle Senegal Valley that was associated with the historical polity of Takrur. The focus of the research was two-fold: to investigate the earliest permanent or semi-permanent settlement along the Middle Senegal Valley floodplain; and to examine the emergence of larger-scale, more complex settlements in the region. Excavation of the five hectare site of Walalde, provisionally dated to the first century A.D., revealed a much earlier occupation by iron-using cattle herders that began c. 800--550 B.C., and continued until c. 200 B.C. The sequence appears to document the transition from stone- to iron-based technology, with the use of iron objects and stone initially, and evidence for iron production (smelting and forging) from 550--200 B.C. Copper with the distinctive chemical signature of the Akjoujt mines in Mauritania was also present after 550 B.C., attesting to trade and interaction over long distances. The iron and copper at Walalde are among the earliest metals recovered from excavation contexts in West Africa. Other important aspects of the Walalde sequence include ceramic materials and a series of red ochre burials. Excavations at a large cluster of sites at Kaskas revealed a continuation of the Walalde sequence for the period 150 B.C.--A.D. 100, linking the settlement history documented by this field work to the existing archaeological sequence for the region. Iron production was a significant activity at some of these, and fishing was intensively practiced at others. Kaskas may represent the spatial integration of specialist economies (herding, fishing) to achieve greater productivity in a situation of high environmental stress produced by an extreme drought c. 1900 BP. The survey found and documented 22 sites on the transitional zone from floodplain to upland. This adds to our understanding of settlement distributions formerly known primarily from survey on the floodplain.
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    Chemical analysis of glass beads from Igbo Olokun, Ile-Ife (SW Nigeria): New light on raw materials, production, and interregional interactions
    (Elsevier, 2018) Babalola, Abidemi Babatunde; Dussubieux, Laure; McIntosh, Susan Keech; Rehren, Thilo
    The site of Igbo Olokun on the northern periphery of Ile-Ife has been recognized as a glass-working workshop for over a century. Its glass-encrusted crucibles and beads were viewed as evidence of secondary processing of imported glass until the high lime, high alumina (HLHA) composition of the glass was recognized as unique to the region. Archaeological excavations conducted at Igbo Olokun recovered more than twelve thousand glass beads and several kilograms of glass-working debris. Fifty-two glass beads from the excavated assemblage were analyzed by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) to understand the chemical characteristics of the Igbo Olokun glass beads in comparison with previously analyzed beads. The analyses affirm the prevalence of HLHA glass beads, and provide firm evidence of a new compositional group characterized by low lime, high alumina (LLHA); no imported soda-lime glass beads were among the analyzed samples. The evidence from crucibles indicates that LLHA glass was worked together with HLHA glass at Igbo Olokun and may have been made locally as part of the same technological tradition. Most likely, granitic sand with or without added calcium carbonate was used to produce these two types of glass, and colorants rich in MnO, Fe2O3, CuO, and CoO were intentionally added. Its occurrence in other West African societies, and the presence of some soda-lime glass beads in other sites in Ile-Ife suggest that Ife was involved in regional and inter-regional networks during the early to mid 2nd millennium AD and possibly earlier.
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    From monuments to cultural landscapes: Rethinking heritage management in Botswana
    (2010) Dichaba, Tsholofelo Sele; McIntosh, Susan Keech
    This thesis aims to understand how Manonnye Gorge in eastern Botswana can be sustainably managed as both a natural and cultural landscape. At issue are conflicting views over the meaning and legitimate uses of the Gorge by the National Museum, Monuments and Art Gallery (NMMAG), tourists, and the community in Moremi, at the edge of the gorge. Regional survey in the gorge and ethnographic research with the Moremi community led to a more complex understanding of how conflicting perceptions of the gorge as a sacred cultural landscape by community members and as a natural monument by NMMAG have affected implementation of ecotourism projects. The thesis critiques the idea of the gorge as simply a natural monument and provides recommendations for reassessing management plans and ecotourism projects.
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    Igbo-Ukwu Textiles: AMS Dating and Fiber Analysis
    (Springer Nature, 2022) McIntosh, Susan Keech; Cartwright, Caroline R.
    Thurstan Shaw’s excavations at Igbo-Ukwu revealed many artifacts and technologies that remain astonishing, unique, and incompletely understood, both within Africa and more broadly, even after 50 years. Among these are the textiles recovered primarily from Igbo Isaiah, where fragments were preserved by contact with the bronze artifacts gathered in what has been interpreted as a shrine. In the 1960s, an analysis of 20 textile samples was unable to identify the plant fibers used to weave the fabric. In this article, we report the results of new fiber identifications based on the SEM study of two Igbo-Ukwu fabric samples curated by the British Museum. The combination of bast fibers from one or more species of the fig tree (Ficus genus) and leaf fibers from Raphia sp. provides evidence of a complex indigenous weaving technology that has largely disappeared from Africa. An AMS date on one of the samples provides an important new element to our understanding of the culture and chronology of Igbo-Ukwu. A final section positions the Igbo-Ukwu cloth within the known history of textiles in Africa, emphasizing sub-Saharan West Africa over the past two millennia.
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    It's Getting Better All the Time: Comparative Perspectives from Oceania and West Africa on Genetic Analysis and Archaeology
    (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 2012) McIntosh, Susan Keech; Scheinfeldt, Laura B.
    Technological advances are making genetic data collection and analysis feasible on a scale unimaginable only a few years ago. Early genetic research using mitochondrial DNA and the Y chromosome provided important insights for macroscale modeling of regional and continent-wide population movements, but the capacity to study the entire genome now opens an era of finer-grained,mesoscale studies of regional and local population histories that are more compatible with the scale of archaeological analysis. The utility of integrating both types of data is illustrated by a case study from Oceania, where genetic studies were used to evaluate two models for the geographic origins of the populations that colonized Polynesia beginning ca. 3000 BP, bringing with them the distinctive Lapita cultural assemblage. A second case study considers the application of genetic studies to an understanding of Fulbe history, especially that of the pastoral Fulbe. Both archaeological and genetic data are underdeveloped for the key Fulbe homeland regions of Mauritania and Senegal, but recent research in the Middle Senegal Valley permits some conjectures on the history of Fulbe nomadic pastoralism. The article concludes with suggestions for a multidisciplinary research agenda to expand and upgrade the quality of relevant archaeological data, incorporate biodistance studies of human skeletal material, and improve and expand genetic sampling using more historically sensitive collection protocols.
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    Thinking Across the African Past: Interdisciplinarity and Early History
    (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 2012) de Luna, Kathryn M.; Fleisher, Jeffrey B.; McIntosh, Susan Keech