Dr. Kevin MacDonald

There's this sort of peak intensity between 800 or at best 900 BC, might have the earliest terracottas by then. But more certainly from 800 BC, 300 BC, it's just a cliffhedge drop-off. So something happens then. There are all sorts of things one can invoke. You could say there could be conflict, there could be environmental collapse. These are all the sort of things we tend to use as explanations.

There's this sort of peak intensity between 800 or at best 900 BC, might have the earliest terracottas by then. But more certainly from 800 BC, 300 BC, it's just a cliffhedge drop-off. So something happens then. There are all sorts of things one can invoke. You could say there could be conflict, there could be environmental collapse. These are all the sort of things we tend to use as explanations.

But there is no good evidence yet to explain that collapse. And then, you know, there is nothing very special in the area for a while after that. That said, Nigeria remains one of the peak areas in Africa for technological sophistication.

But there is no good evidence yet to explain that collapse. And then, you know, there is nothing very special in the area for a while after that. That said, Nigeria remains one of the peak areas in Africa for technological sophistication.

But there is no good evidence yet to explain that collapse. And then, you know, there is nothing very special in the area for a while after that. That said, Nigeria remains one of the peak areas in Africa for technological sophistication.

So, you know, it's centuries later, but farther south in the Igbo area, you have sites like Igbo Uku, which has some of the most fantastic bronze artwork ever created. I mean, globally, amazing work and technology. So, you know, that's happening from maybe 800 at the earliest, probably closer to 900 or 1000 AD. You have at Ife, and, you know, not to mention Benin, but at Ife...

So, you know, it's centuries later, but farther south in the Igbo area, you have sites like Igbo Uku, which has some of the most fantastic bronze artwork ever created. I mean, globally, amazing work and technology. So, you know, that's happening from maybe 800 at the earliest, probably closer to 900 or 1000 AD. You have at Ife, and, you know, not to mention Benin, but at Ife...

So, you know, it's centuries later, but farther south in the Igbo area, you have sites like Igbo Uku, which has some of the most fantastic bronze artwork ever created. I mean, globally, amazing work and technology. So, you know, that's happening from maybe 800 at the earliest, probably closer to 900 or 1000 AD. You have at Ife, and, you know, not to mention Benin, but at Ife...

you have these fantastic naturalistic sculptures of rulers and high-casted people, you know, sort of nobility or whatever, which are, you know, utterly naturalistic, amazing sculptures. And then also at Ife, the work of Tunde Babalola, it's clear that there is early glassmaking and extensive and very sophisticated glassmaking at Ife.

you have these fantastic naturalistic sculptures of rulers and high-casted people, you know, sort of nobility or whatever, which are, you know, utterly naturalistic, amazing sculptures. And then also at Ife, the work of Tunde Babalola, it's clear that there is early glassmaking and extensive and very sophisticated glassmaking at Ife.

you have these fantastic naturalistic sculptures of rulers and high-casted people, you know, sort of nobility or whatever, which are, you know, utterly naturalistic, amazing sculptures. And then also at Ife, the work of Tunde Babalola, it's clear that there is early glassmaking and extensive and very sophisticated glassmaking at Ife.

So there is sort of a gap of maybe a thousand years between knock and what comes later in terms of high technology artwork, but it does come. And so it's almost a foreshadowing. But the other thing I would just bear in mind in all of this and I always say this, this is what we can see. What we can't see is all of the wooden sculptural traditions.

So there is sort of a gap of maybe a thousand years between knock and what comes later in terms of high technology artwork, but it does come. And so it's almost a foreshadowing. But the other thing I would just bear in mind in all of this and I always say this, this is what we can see. What we can't see is all of the wooden sculptural traditions.

So there is sort of a gap of maybe a thousand years between knock and what comes later in terms of high technology artwork, but it does come. And so it's almost a foreshadowing. But the other thing I would just bear in mind in all of this and I always say this, this is what we can see. What we can't see is all of the wooden sculptural traditions.

I mean, there's very little wood artistry in Africa, which for obvious environmental and preservation reasons, we can maybe look back a few hundred years at best. But probably before there was knock terracotta statuary, there was wooden statuary. And running along with all of these different traditions, there's probably highly artistic woodworking.

I mean, there's very little wood artistry in Africa, which for obvious environmental and preservation reasons, we can maybe look back a few hundred years at best. But probably before there was knock terracotta statuary, there was wooden statuary. And running along with all of these different traditions, there's probably highly artistic woodworking.

I mean, there's very little wood artistry in Africa, which for obvious environmental and preservation reasons, we can maybe look back a few hundred years at best. But probably before there was knock terracotta statuary, there was wooden statuary. And running along with all of these different traditions, there's probably highly artistic woodworking.

We see the sort of tools that they would have used. We have small woodworking tools even from 2000 BC, 1000 BC. So what we can't see are the wooden sculpture traditions, which have now largely vanished. But we get some idea about what survived and what was documented in the 19th century and the early 20th century.

We see the sort of tools that they would have used. We have small woodworking tools even from 2000 BC, 1000 BC. So what we can't see are the wooden sculpture traditions, which have now largely vanished. But we get some idea about what survived and what was documented in the 19th century and the early 20th century.

We see the sort of tools that they would have used. We have small woodworking tools even from 2000 BC, 1000 BC. So what we can't see are the wooden sculpture traditions, which have now largely vanished. But we get some idea about what survived and what was documented in the 19th century and the early 20th century.