For the water spirits, see Neck (water spirit). For the Nigerian village, see Nok. For other uses, see NOK.
9°30′N8°0′E / 9.500°N 8.000°E / 9.500; 8.000
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Nok culture
Geographical range
West Africa
Period
Neolithic, Iron Age
Dates
c. 1500 BC — c. 1 BC
Type site
Nok
Major sites
Nok village
Jama'a
Samun Dukiya
Taruga
Jos
Followed by
Kwararafa
The Nok culture is a population whose material remains are named after the Ham village of Nok in southern Kaduna State of Nigeria, where their terracotta sculptures were first discovered in 1928.[1][2] The Nok people and the Gajiganna people may have migrated from the Central Sahara, along with pearl millet and pottery, diverged prior to arriving in the northern region of Nigeria, and thus, settled in their respective locations in the region of Gajiganna and Nok.[3] Nok people may have also migrated from the West African Sahel to the region of Nok.[4] Nok culture may have emerged in 1500 BCE and continued to persist until 1 BCE.[3]
Nok people may have developed terracotta sculptures, through large-scale economic production,[5] as part of a complex funerary culture[6] that may have included practices such as feasting.[3] The earliest Nok terracotta sculptures may have developed in 900 BCE.[3] Some Nok terracotta sculptures portray figures wielding slingshots, as well as bows and arrows, which may be indicative of Nok people engaging in the hunting, or trapping, of undomesticated animals.[7] A Nok sculpture portrays two individuals, along with their goods, in a dugout canoe.[7] Both of the anthropomorphic figures in the watercraft are paddling.[8] The Nok terracotta depiction of a dugout canoe may indicate that Nok people used dugout canoes to transport cargo, along tributaries (e.g., Gurara River) of the Niger River, and exchanged them in a regional trade network.[8] The Nok terracotta depiction of a figure with a seashell on its head may indicate that the span of these riverine trade routes may have extended to the Atlantic coast.[8] In the maritime history of Africa, there is the earlier Dufuna canoe, which was constructed approximately 8000 years ago in the northern region of Nigeria; as the second earliest form of water vessel known in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Nok terracotta depiction of a dugout canoe was created in the central region of Nigeria during the first millennium BCE.[8]
Latter artistic traditions of West Africa – Bura of Niger (3rd century CE – 10th century CE), Koma of Ghana (7th century CE – 15th century CE), Igbo-Ukwu of Nigeria (9th century CE – 10th century CE), Jenne-Jeno of Mali (11th century CE – 12th century CE), and Ile Ife of Nigeria (11th century CE – 15th century CE) – may have been shaped by the earlier West African clay terracotta tradition of the Nok culture.[9] Nok settlement sites are often found on mountaintops.[10] Iron metallurgy may have independently developed in the Nok culture between 750 BCE and 550 BCE.[3][11][12][13]
^"Nok". Retrieved 25 February 2022.
^Obikili, Nonso (2018). "State Formation in Precolonial Nigeria" (PDF). In Levan, Carl; Ukata, Patrick (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Nigerian Politics. Oxford University Press. p. 35. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198804307.013.1. ISBN 9780198804307. OCLC 1076346474. S2CID 202374677.
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500°N 8.000°E / 9.500; 8.000 The Nokculture is a population whose material remains are named after the Ham village of Nok in southern Kaduna State of Nigeria...
Look up NOK, nok, or -nok in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Nok or NOK may refer to: NYSE stock ticker for Nokia Corporation, based in Finland Nok Air,...
terracotta figurines at this location caused its name to be used for the Nokculture, of which these figurines are typical, which flourished in Nigeria in...
migration from the Central Sahara to Nigeria, Nok people settled in the region of Nok in 1500 BCE, and Nokculture continued to persist until 1 BCE. Later,...
capital city of the empire was Aksum, now in northern Ethiopia. The Nokculture appeared in Nigeria around 1000 BC and mysteriously vanished around AD...
Nigeria, around 1,500 BC, the Nokculture developed on the Jos Plateau. It was a highly centralized community. The Nok people produced lifelike representations...
date from at least 13,000 BC through early civilizations such as the Nokculture which began around 1500 BC. Numerous ancient African civilizations settled...
textiles, beads, and slaves. The Tichitt culture developed in 2200 BCE and lasted until around 200 BCE. The Nokculture developed in 1500 BCE and vanished under...
Kaduna [kudǝnt͡ʃin kəduna] ; formerly Southern Zaria) is an area of the NokCulture region inhabited by various related ethnic groups who do not identify...
terracotta human head known as the Jemaa Head (c. 900 to 200 BC), part of the Nokculture. The piece is named after Jema'a, the village where it was discovered...
is an archeological site in Nigeria famous for the artifacts of the Nokculture that have been discovered there, some dating to 600 BC, and for evidence...
that the Ham people created the Nokculture after archaeological discoveries in the Ham village of Nok. The Nokculture flourished between c. 1500 BC —...
independently developed in the Nokculture between the 9th century BCE and 550 BCE. The nearby Djenné-Djenno culture of the Niger Valley in Mali shows...
D. 200 – Nokculture flourishes in Northern Nigeria. 400–100 B.C. – Ironworking develops around Opi, Nsukka 500 A.D. - End of the Nokculture 700 A.D –...
introduction of metallurgy in the upper savanna by more than 800 years. The Nokculture thrived from approximately 1,500 BC to about 200 AD on the Jos Plateau...
indigenous Nigerian cultures List of museums in Nigeria Music of Nigeria Nokculture Nwafor (11 August 2022). "Nigerian cultural values are under threat,...
to be of the Nokculture, on the basis of the type of archaeological evidence discovered, specifically, Nok terracotta remnants and Nok pottery. Mountaintops...
000 BCE. The Nokculture of Nigeria may have practiced iron smelting from as early as 1000 BCE, while the nearby Djenné-Djenno culture of the Niger Valley...
subcontinent, although West Africa also had iron metallurgy, beginning with the Nokculture c. 550 BC and spread by the Bantu expansion. There are also cast iron...
ancient sculptures of the Nokculture, both at Suleja town and in the Makabolo River bed, have helped prove the influence of Nok on the Yoruba art of Ife...
Sub-Saharan Africa West: NokCulture slowly diffuse discernible ceramic sculpting, iron metallurgy and cereal farming cultures through the Niger Delta...
Karbagari. Though the 7 Hausa states shared the same lineage, language and culture, the states were characterized by fierce rivalries with each other with...
broadloom strategy. The Nokculture is an early Iron Age population whose material remains are named after the Ham village of Nok in Kaduna State of Nigeria...
central Nigeria, around 1,500 BC, the Nokculture developed in Jos Plateau. It was a highly centralized community. The Nok people produced lifelike representations...
spread to Central Africa via the Bantu migration. Kerma culture Savanna Pastoral Neolithic Nokculture c. 2000 BC – Seima-Turbino Phenomenon. c. 1700–1300...
last king of Shang dynasty; Zhou dynasty established in China. 1000 BC: Nokculture begins in West Africa. 1000 BC: The second stream of Bantu expansion...