book chapter
Brilliance beneath the trees: the West African forest and its fringes
African civilizations : precolonial cities and states in tropical Africa : an archaeological perspective • Cambridge [Cambridgeshire] • Published In 1987 • Pages: 121-149
By: Connah, Graham.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This overview of the West African Regional Development makes use of historical accounts and data from archaeological sites in Ghana and southern Nigeria (Akan states, Old Oyo, Ife City, Benin City, and Igbo-Ukwu) to extrapolate what likely was happening in the rest of West Africa. The discussion of state development and urbanization in the West African forest stresses how they pre-date European contact. The author also covers geography, environmental setting, subsistence, specialized technology (e.g. iron smelting), bronze work, terracotta sculpture, gold mining, increasing social stratification in many areas, population growth, religious beliefs and their role in the rise of some states, and long-distance trade (including throughout Africa and with Europe).
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Culture summary
- Flora
- Tillage
- Land use
- Nonferrous metal industries
- Urban and rural life
- Production and supply
- External trade
- Occupational specialization
- Territorial hierarchy
- Cities
- Prayers and sacrifices
- traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- West African Regional Development
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Western Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- book chapter
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Sarah Berry; 2022
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1960s
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 800-1507 AD
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- West Africa
- NotesAdditional notes
- Graham Connah ; drawings by Douglas Hobbs
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 86032745
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- West African Regional Development