Djenne: A thousand-year-old city in Mali

Abstract

Djenne, situated in the Inland Niger Delta of Mali, is a modern city neighboring an older sister settlement- Jenn6-Jeno or "old Jenne." Jenn6-Jeno is an occupation mound (tell) which was first settled in the last two centuries BC, with evidence suggesting the emergence of full-blown urbanism at the site between AD 450 and 850 AD (Mclntosh and Mclntosh, 1980; Mclntosh, 1995). Recently, coring in Djenne (also transliterated as Jenne) revealed that it too was occupied during the first millennium AD, implying a far greater expanse of ancient settlement in the area than originally anticipated (Mclntosh and Mclntosh, 1994). In December of 1994, Djenne was the focus of one of the most complete museum exhibits on African urbanism yet seen in Europe. 2 The exhibit opened at the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, Leiden. Stocked handsomely with modern craft items as well as pottery and small finds from the ancient Inland Niger Delta (including pieces from the excavations of the Mclntoshes, Bedaux~ Demb616, and van der Waals), the exhibition richly fulfills the expectations of interested Africanists and turns the heads of visitors unaccustomed to such notions of grandeur in the heart of Africa. In point of fact, an astonished Japanese visitor queried me in English as I gazed at the exhibits, "Do you mean there were really cities in Africa as long ago as that?" Such a lesson might usefully be taught at many more of the world's museums.