COMPLEX SOCIETIES IN THE SENEGAMBIAN REGION Flashcards
COMPLEX SOCIETIES IN THE SENEGAMBIAN REGION
What is the Location?
Which rivers and size ?
Number of Sites?
Number of Monuments?
Location (West Africa) Senegambia river River Senegal River Gambia Size- 33,000 sq km. Number of sites - 1,624 Number of Monuments- 16,320
COMPLEX SOCIETIES IN THE SENEGAMBIAN REGION
What all was found?
What is a Megalith?
What shape and size were the Laterite blocks?
Where were the stones taken from?
What shape was the stone in the middle of the circles?
They found :
Megaliths- Large stones
Circles of laterite blocks, each about 3meters high
8-25 stones in a circle, about 10m in diameter
Quarries within vicinity where the stones were taken from
“Y” shaped stone planted in the middle of the circles (North-South axis)
COMPLEX SOCIETIES IN THE SENEGAMBIAN REGION
What is a Tumuli/Tumulus ?
What Happened to them over time?
They are:
Low earth mounds (3,396)
people lived in them
people abandoned the site and nature took over
COMPLEX SOCIETIES IN THE SENEGAMBIAN REGION What was found during the Excavation: Were their Burials? how many sites were Burials? How Many Bodies in a single circle? What Percent was over 15 years? How could they tell how old they were?
after excavation they discovered: yes 3/4 of sites were burial sites 59 bodies found in single circle 89% of individuals were over 15 years By the teeth
COMPLEX SOCIETIES IN THE SENEGAMBIAN REGION
Did they believe in life after death ?
Did they bury belongings with them ?
What is Ascribed status ?
yes
yes
Ascribed status: things people inherited from their elders which can help determine the social status of the person buried
COMPLEX SOCIETIES IN THE SENEGAMBIAN REGION
What exactly are Grave Goods?
What all would be buried?
- Through grave goods we can determine the class of the people that were buried.
- Iron Lances
Beads
Copper Bracelets,
Ceramics
COMPLEX SOCIETIES IN THE SENEGAMBIAN REGION
what were the dates?
any other evidence ?
Dates
17/+/- 11- B.C
30 +/- B.C
600-1100 A.D
Other archaeological evidence Shell Middens- left overs of shell fish Iron Slags Copper Alloys Leglets- leg rings Rings
COMPLEX SOCIETIES IN THE SENEGAMBIAN REGION
Importance of Megaliths of Senegambia:
what does it refute?
What type of evidence?
- Refutes the idea of Egypt-hamithic origin of complex societies in West Africa
- Evidence of Social Stratification
- Evidence of trade and contact with different polities
- They were getting copper from Mauritaniao
