Samun Dukiya is an archeological site in Nigeria in the Nok valley where artifacts from the Nok culture have been found, dating to between 300 BC and 100 BC.[1]
Radiocarbon dating indicates that the site was occupied between 2500 and 2000 years ago.[2] No traces of occupation before the Iron Age have been found.[3] The site contained broken pottery, iron and other artifacts, and fragments of terracotta statues which may have been used in shrines.[2] Angela Fagg, daughter of the archeologist Bernard Fagg, has discovered parts of earthenware figurines and pottery, shaped stone implements including a stone axe and a large deeply grooved stone. She also found many pieces of iron objects including hooks, bracelets, knife fragments, arrowheads, spearheads and a cylinder made from a rolled metal band.[4] The iron slag has been dated to around 210 BC.[5]
Although part of the same artistic tradition, there are stylistic differences between the domestic pottery found in Samun Dukiya and that of other Nok sites at Taruga and Katsina-Ala.[6] It seems probable that the overall Nok style was adopted by various farming communities of different peoples, rather than being the work of one people.[2]
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Archaeological sites in Nigeria
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| Neolithic sites |
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| Iron Age sites |
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| Nok culture |
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| Other sites |
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9°05′00″N 8°00′00″E / 9.0833°N 8.0000°E / 9.0833; 8.0000
