Djenné-Djenno
Djenné-Djenno (also Jenne-Jeno) is the original site of Djenné, Mali and considered to be among the oldest urbanized centers in sub-Saharan Africa. It has been the subject of archeological excavations by Susan and Roderick McIntosh (and others) and has been dated to the 3rd century BC. There is evidence of iron-production, use of domesticated plants and animals, and complex homoarchical urban development as early as 900 AD.[1]
Radiocarbon dates show that people first settled here permanently in about 250 BC. Between 750 and 1000 AD, after centuries of occupation stood an 82-acre (330,000 m2) near the Bani River consisting of a large tear-shaped mound surrounded by 69 hillocks, created by its people (which may have numbered up to 27,000), who built and rebuilt their houses.[2] During this time period, notable changes are observed as having occurred. Previously, from the fifth to ninth century, houses at Jenne-Jeno were constructed with puddled mud or tauf foundations, later to be replaced by innovative cylindrical-brick architecture. While data on the source of this apparent innovation is scant, it is suggested that the process was indigenous since change is also seen with an accompanied continuity in pottery and the general structural lay-out of the houses; therefore it is unlikely that any change in ethnic composition had occurred.[3] The first verifiable Islamic influence on the town appears in the eleventh and twelfth centuries in the form of brass, spindle whorls, and rectilinear houses.
The community of Djenne-Djenno drew sustenance from of “rice, sorghum, millet, and a high volume of wild grains” combined with a supply of cattle, sheep and goats [4]. The land surrounding Jenne –Jenno lent itself to such high-yielding crops due to its mixture of highland and floodplain soils at different elevations that allowed floodwater farming of rice. Moreover, the Jenne-Jenno site lies in close proximity to dune landscape, which allows for necessary recreation needed for keeping cattle in floodplain environments. Overall, the diversified sources of food provided food security that allowed for permanent settlement in a region of volatile climate [5].
The Djenne-Djenno urban complex consists of 40 mounds within a 4 kilometer radius; population estimates range from 11,000 to 50,000. Culturally distinct communities of the Middle Niger settled each individual mound [6]. The configuration of the mounds helped “segmented” communities to surmount the ecological challenges caused by the volatile weather patters characteristic of the Middle Niger. The fact that the mounds were disjoint allowed communities to specialize their trade while the relative proximity of the mound facilitated the exchange of goods and services between these communities. Thus, this urban configuration incentivized peaceful reciprocity between the communities, which in turn caused the communities to specialize further leading to the prosperity of the community as a whole. These separate communities may come together into an urban complex through the burden of debt or fictive ties of kinship [7].
Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name (see the help page).In addition, the Djenne-Djenno accomplished what is thought to have been among the first examples of rice domestication on the continent and were the first in the Western Sudan region to establish its signature mudbrick architecture; a predecessor to Sudano-Sahelian.[8] They also possessed their own iron technology and developed some of the finest terracotta figures in the region.[9]
Notes
- ^ McIntosh 2005
- ^ McIntosh & McIntosh 1981
- ^ McIntosh, Susan Keech; McIntosh, Roderick J., Jenne-jeno, an ancient African city, Rice University Anthropology
- ^ McIntosh, Roderic J., McIntosh, Susan Keech. "Early Urban Configurations on the Middle Niger: Clustered Cities and Landscapes of Power", Chapter 5.
- ^ McIntosh, Roderic J., McIntosh, Susan Keech. "Early Urban Configurations on the Middle Niger: Clustered Cities and Landscapes of Power", Chapter 5.
- ^ McIntosh, Roderic J., McIntosh, Susan Keech. "Early Urban Configurations on the Middle Niger: Clustered Cities and Landscapes of Power", Chapter 5.
- ^ McIntosh, Roderic J., McIntosh, Susan Keech. "Early Urban Configurations on the Middle Niger: Clustered Cities and Landscapes of Power", Chapter 5.
- ^ Brass, Mikey (1998), The Antiquity of Man: East & West African complex societies
- ^ Mali Empire and Djenne Figures, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
References
- McIntosh, Roderick J.; McIntosh, Susan Keech (1981), "The inland Niger delta before the empire of Mali: evidence from Jenne-jeno", Journal of African History, 22: 1–22, doi:10.1017/S0021853700018983, JSTOR 182149. Also available from Rice University.
- McIntosh, Roderick J.; McIntosh, Susan Keech (1986), "Dilettantism and plunder: illicit traffic in ancient Malian art" (PDF), UNESCO Museum, 38 (1): 49–57. Link is to a file of the complete issue. It contains poor images. Also available from Rice University.
- McIntosh, Susan Keech (ed.) (1995), Excavations at Jenné-Jeno, Hambarketolo, and Kaniana (Inland Niger Delta, Mali), the 1981 season, Berkeley: University of California Press, doi:10.5555/AL.CH.DOCUMENT.sip100038, ISBN 0-520-09785-8
{{citation}}:|first=has generic name (help); Check|doi=value (help). Link requires subscription to Aluka. - McIntosh, Roderick J. (2005), Ancient Middle Niger: Urbanism and the Self-organizing Landscape, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-81300-X.