Anthonia Kehinde Fatunsin | |
---|---|
Personal details | |
Born | Owo Ondo state |
Citizenship | Nigeria |
Nationality | Nigeria |
Occupation | Archeologist |
Known for | Being the first female archaeologist from Nigeria |
Anthonia Kehinde Fatunsin is a Nigerian archaeologist. She is regarded as Nigeria's first female archaeologist, and the first woman to head National museum of Ibadan. [1] Her fieldwork has primarily focused on yoruba pottery, particularly from Owo community. [2]
In 1981, Fatunsin began excavating Igbo'laja and Ijebu-Owo sites in Owo town to discover what was known as Owo terracotta. Babasehinde Ademuleya from Obafemi Awolowo University noted that her examination marked the second time the town had been excavated, following the 1976 visit of Ekpo Eyo. However, Fatunsin is recognised as the first to provide a comprehensive description of the characteristics of the sculptures. [3]
Fatunshin has written about the role of archaeology in Nigerian museums and it's impact on the county's cultural heritage. [4] She has been recognised as a pioneer of postcolonial archaeological thought and interpretation in Africa. [5]
Cotonou is the largest city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area.
Porto-Novo is the capital and second-largest city of Benin. The commune covers an area of 110 square kilometres (42 sq mi) and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people.
Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta, is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware objects of certain types, as set out below.
African art describes modern and historical paintings, sculptures, installations, and other visual cultures from native or indigenous Africans and the African continent. The definition may also include the art of the African diasporas, such as art in African-American, Caribbean or South American societies inspired by African traditions. Despite this diversity, there are unifying artistic themes present when considering the totality of the visual culture from the continent of Africa.
Ifẹ̀ is an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria founded sometime between the years 500 BC-1000 BC. By 900AD, the city had become an important West African emporium producing sophisticated art forms. The city is located in present-day Osun State. Ifẹ̀ is about 218 kilometers northeast of Lagos with a population of over 500,000 people, which is the highest in Osun State according to population census of 2006.
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. 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. Nok people may have also migrated from the West African Sahel to the region of Nok. Nok culture may have emerged in 1500 BCE and continued to persist until 1 BCE.
Owo is a local government area in Ondo state, Nigeria.Between 1400 and 1600 CE, it was the capital of a Yoruba city-state. The local government area has a population of 222,262 based on 2006 population census.
Sungbo's Eredo is a system of defensive walls and ditches that is located to the southwest of the Yoruba town of Ijebu Ode in Ogun State, southwest Nigeria. It was built in 800–1000 AD in honour of the Ijebu noblewoman Oloye Bilikisu Sungbo. The location is on Nigeria's tentative list of potential UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The history of Nigeria before 1500 has been divided into its prehistory, Iron Age, and flourishing of its kingdoms and states. Acheulean tool-using archaic humans may have dwelled throughout West Africa since at least between 780,000 BP and 126,000 BP. Middle Stone Age West Africans likely dwelled continuously in West Africa between MIS 4 and MIS 2, and Iho Eleru people persisted at Iho Eleru as late as 13,000 BP. West African hunter-gatherers occupied western Central Africa earlier than 32,000 BP, dwelled throughout coastal West Africa by 12,000 BP, and migrated northward between 12,000 BP and 8000 BP as far as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania. The Dufuna canoe, a dugout canoe found in northern Nigeria has been dated to around 6556-6388 BCE and 6164-6005 BCE, making it the oldest known boat in Africa and the second oldest worldwide.
The Yoruba of West Africa are responsible for a distinct artistic tradition in Africa, a tradition that remains vital and influential today.
The Nigerian National Museum is a national museum of Nigeria, located in the city of Lagos. The museum has a notable collection of Nigerian art, including pieces of statuary, carvings, and archaeological and ethnographic exhibits. Of note is a terracotta human head known as the Jemaa Head, part of the Nok culture. The piece is named after Jema'a, the village where it was discovered. The museum is located at Onikan, Lagos Island, Lagos State. The museum is administered by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments.
The Owo Museum is a museum in Owo, Ondo state Nigeria. The museum was founded in 1968, to accommodate the antiquities which were formerly in the Olowo Palace. The museum contains significant archaeological artifacts and ethnographic materials discovered in the Owo area. The Museum showcases Sculptures, and traditional regalia, offering visitors a deep understanding of the Yoruba people's lives, beliefs, and artistic customs. Through intricately carved ivory and impressive terracotta sculptures, the museum provides an engaging experience that emphasizes the remarkable craftsmanship and cultural richness central to Yoruba heritage.
Some African objects had been collected by Europeans for centuries, and there had been industries producing some types, especially carvings in ivory, for European markets in some coastal regions. Between 1890 and 1918 the volume of objects greatly increased as Western colonial expansion in Africa led to the removal of many pieces of sub-Saharan African art that were subsequently brought to Europe and displayed. These objects entered the collections of natural history museums, art museums and private collections in Europe and the United States. About 90% of Africa's cultural heritage is believed to be located in Europe, according to French art historians.
The Bronze Head from Ife, or Ife Head, is one of eighteen copper alloy sculptures that were unearthed in 1938 at Ife in Nigeria, the religious and royal centre of the Yoruba people. It is believed to represent a king. It was probably made in the 12th-13th century CE. The realism and sophisticated craftsmanship of the objects challenged the dismissive and patronising Western conceptions of African art. The naturalistic features of the Ife heads are unique and the stylistic similarities of these works "suggest that they were made by an individual artist or in a single workshop."
Marie-Cécile Zinsou is a French-Beninese art historian and entrepreneur, She is president of the Fondation Zinsou, founded in 2005 in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, which promotes contemporary art in Africa and leads cultural, educational and social initiatives. In 2014, she opened the first museum of contemporary art in Benin.
The Restitution of African Cultural Heritage. Toward a New Relational Ethics is a report written by Senegalese academic and writer Felwine Sarr and French art historian Bénédicte Savoy, first published online in November 2018 in a French original version and an authorised English translation.
The Fourth German Inner Africa Research Expedition was carried out in Nigeria and Cameroon between 1910 and 1912 under the leadership of ethnographer Leo Frobenius. Frobenius carried out archaeological excavations at the ancient Yoruba city of Ife in Nigeria and published his findings in twelve volumes between 1921 and 1928. Frobenius theorised that the intricate bronze and terracotta sculptures he discovered at Ife were relics from the mythological city of Atlantis.
Alexis Bertrand Agunmaro Adandé is an archaeologist from Benin, who has been key to the foundation of the discipline in the country.
Anne Haour is an anthropologically trained archaeologist, academic and Africanist scholar. She is Professor in the Arts and Archaeology of Africa at the Sainsbury Research Unit for the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom. She is a Fellow of the British Academy in Anthropology, Archaeology and Geography in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the social sciences, humanities and arts.
The Ife National Museum is a museum located in Osun State, Nigeria. The museum exhibits objects from ancient Ife, some of these objects are made of terracotta or bronze. The museum is administered by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments of Nigeria.