عنوان

EXCAVATIONS AT WALALDÉ:

LA113667

انگلیسی

EXCAVATIONS AT WALALDÉ:

[Article]

NEW LIGHT ON THE SETTLEMENT OF THE MIDDLE SENEGAL VALLEY BY IRON-USING PEOPLES

Alioune Deme, Susan Keech McIntosh, Alioune Deme, et al.

Leiden

Brill

Excavation of the five hectare site of Walaldé revealed an occupation by iron-using agropastoralists that began [800-550] cal BC, and continued until [400-200] cal BC. The earliest occupation phase appears to document a period of transitional iron use, with some worked stone in evidence. Smelting and forging slags and tuyeres are present in considerable quantities in the later phase. Copper with the distinctive chemical signature of the Akjoujt mines in Mauritania was also present after 550 cal BC, attesting to trade and interaction over long distances. Other important aspects of the Walaldé sequence include ceramic materials and a series of red ochre burials. Possible cultural affinities with shell midden sites in the Senegal Delta, surface material from the Lac Rkiz region, and pastoralist sites of the 'Boudhida Culture' around Nouakchott are discussed. The article concludes with a consideration of Walaldé's significance to the debate over the origins of iron metallurgy in West Africa. Excavation of the five hectare site of Walaldé revealed an occupation by iron-using agropastoralists that began [800-550] cal BC, and continued until [400-200] cal BC. The earliest occupation phase appears to document a period of transitional iron use, with some worked stone in evidence. Smelting and forging slags and tuyeres are present in considerable quantities in the later phase. Copper with the distinctive chemical signature of the Akjoujt mines in Mauritania was also present after 550 cal BC, attesting to trade and interaction over long distances. Other important aspects of the Walaldé sequence include ceramic materials and a series of red ochre burials. Possible cultural affinities with shell midden sites in the Senegal Delta, surface material from the Lac Rkiz region, and pastoralist sites of the 'Boudhida Culture' around Nouakchott are discussed. The article concludes with a consideration of Walaldé's significance to the debate over the origins of iron metallurgy in West Africa.

2006

317-347

Journal of African Archaeology

4/2

2191-5784

agropastoralists

copper

Early Iron Age

red ochre burial

transition to iron

Alioune Deme

Susan Keech McIntosh

10.3213/1612-1651-10078

p

[Article]

275578

a

Y