Nok Civilization Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Nok Civilization - Term Paper Example It was during unearthing a part of an alluvial tin mine nearby the Nok village that discoveries were made. The Nok village is in Jaba Local Government to the south of Kaduna state, next to Jos Plateau that is located in Central Nigeria in West Africa. Natural erosion and deposition led to Nok terracotta being spread all over the Sahel grasslands at various depths, therefore making it difficult to date and classify them. Due to sheer luck two sites were found to have Nok art which had not been moved. With the help of radiocarbon and thermo-luminescence tests the archaeologists were able to narrow down the age of the sculptures to between 2000 and 2500 years back. This meant that these artifacts were among the oldest ones of West Africa (Nok - a visit to Africa’s ancient civilisation 2013). Nok culture belongs to the Nigerian heritage which has not been given a lot of attention – at least not as much as other civilizations around the globe. Among all ancient tribes the Nok civilization was the most advanced and organized with respect to their living style. Unfortunately, though, a majority of the qualities that were associated with the Nok culture are no longer there and just a silhouette of their past exists today (Nok - a visit to Africa’s ancient civilisation 2013). For instance, today there is a single Nok blacksmith in the whole community and just a couple of weavers when in fact the Nok civilization was prominent due to their talents in weaving, molding and blacksmith. The same trades that they were known for now hardly exist (Nok - a visit to Africa’s ancient civilisation 2013). Nok people can be categorized as traditionalists – they considered their culture and traditions important and made sure that their children also followed them. For instance, they used to prepare their male children for manhood and made sure that the women followed their ‘female’ roles rather than taking over the males’ position.