UNESCO Ancient Civilizations of Africa (Editor G. Mokhtar)

West Africa before the seventh century
smelters of Udi, east of Awka, and only much later received supplies
of European iron. Other foci of metal working among the Ibo were the
Abiriba iron smelters, among the Cross river (eastern) Igbo; the iron and
brass smiths located near the Okigwe—Arochuku ridge, and the Nkwerre
smiths in the southern part of this region.
Because insufficient archaeological work has been done in this area, it
is difficult to elaborate on the development of iron working. The proximity
of the Awka to the Igbo Ukwu sites, and the general similarity of many
of the items suggest possible relationships; but the time difference between
the two complexes is vast, and the Awka smiths have not, at least in more
recent times, exhibited certain of the artistic and technical traits, including
brass casting, typical of the Igbo Ukwu work.
One excavation in the Awka area 49 yielded fifteen iron gongs and an
iron sword similar to those still made by the Awka smiths, as well as a
large number of cast bronze bells and other objects dated to +1495 (±95)
which cannot be so readily attributed to Awka smiths.
It is also not clear what the time/cultural relationship is between Ife
and Igbo Ukwu, although Willett thinks it possible that Ife may be much
earlier than is at present supposed and may even be much nearer Nok than
present evidence (c. thirteenth to fourteenth centuries of our era) suggests.
If the Ife beads are indeed the same as the 'akori' beads of the Guinea
coast, as both Frobenius and ethnographic evidence from southern Nigeria
suggest, then it is conceivable that the Igbo Ukwu glass beads were
manufactured at Ife. If so, it would mean that Ife culture dates at least as
far back as the Igbo Ukwu finds (ninth century of our era). In this connection
it may also be significant that a discontinuity of tradition at Ife in the
stone sculpture, glass industry and clay figurines is largely paralleled at
Daima, so and that the cultural discontinuity at Daima dates from between
the sixth and ninth centuries of our era. As some burial goods at Daima
could also indicate trade contacts between Ife and Daima, it is quite likely
that the cultural parallel may have a time significance. Thus there is a real
possibility that Ife dates back to at least the sixth century of our era.
The iron age in the extreme west
The iron age in the extreme western section is even less well known than
that of Nok and neighbouring areas. For instance, such information as
exists for Mauretania relates not to an iron age but to a 'copper age'. In
the middle Niger region, and particularly in Senegambia, only a partial
chronological sequence has so far been obtained. 51
49. D. Hartle, 1966, p. 26; idem, 1968, p. 73.
50. G. Connah, 1967a, pp. 146-7.
51. O. Linares de Sapir, pp. 23-54.
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