UNESCO Ancient Civilizations of Africa (Editor G. Mokhtar)

Ancient Civilizations of Africa
Akjoujt mines or to the western Saharan trade-route. One area from which
copper objects can be dated to the end of the millennium is the Niger
valley above Segu, in which spectacular tumuli like El Ouladji and Killi
are situated. The copper in these objects could either have been obtained
from the Sahelian sources in Mali or Niger or derived from trade.
Unfortunately most of the objects from these tumuli were found in the
early part of this century and have now been lost so that they only
remain as tantalizing illustrations in the excavators' reports. Spectographic
analyses should help in determining the original copper sources but the
problem with cuprous objects is that they are often made up of an
amalgam of new metal and melted-down scrap. Nevertheless, eventually
some trace elements should be able to be detected which can indicate
whether the Nioro and Takedda ores were being exploited at the time the
tumuli were built.
Another copper source worked at this time was that in the Shaba region
of Zaïre, where the excavations at Sanga and Katoto have revealed an
abundance of copper objects. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that in the
tripartite cultural division suggested by the excavator Nenquin 5 the earliest
phase, the Kisalian, is represented by twenty-seven graves, of which only
two contained copper ingots. This suggests that during the Kisalian period,
dating from the seventh to the ninth centuries of our era, copper, though
being exploited and made into ornaments, was not really abundant. The
copper belt in northern Zambia was also exploited at this time with a date
for copper-mining of +400 ±90 being reported from Kansanshi. 6 Copper
items, however, were more numerous in southern than in northern Zambia
at this time. The first and far from numerous copper items in southern
Zambia were probably obtained from the Sinoia area of Zimbabwe and
sources in eastern Zambia. So far we know nothing about the exploitation
methods in either of these areas. Elsewhere in Africa copper was a very
scarce resource: it has not been found on sites in Eastern Africa until a much
later date.
Salt
Salt is a mineral that was in great demand particularly with the beginning
of an agricultural mode of life. Hunters and food-gatherers probably
obtained a large amount of their salt intake from the animals they hunted
and from fresh plant food. Salt only becomes an essential additive where
fresh foods are unobtainable in very dry areas, where body perspiration is
also normally excessive. It becomes extremely desirable, however, amongst
societies with relatively restricted diets as was the case with arable agriculturalists.
We have no idea when the salt resources of the Sahara at
5. J. Nenquin, 1957; 1963, p. 277.
6. M. S. Bisson, pp. 276-92.
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