Ethnoarchaeological Investigation of Affa in Udi local Government Area of Enugu

Abstract

In the past, many archaeological researchers have targeted on unearthing the earliest origin of this technological know-how in the continent of Africa and its diversification or diffusion to different parts of the continent. Many of such researches have taken place in the Nsukka vicinity of Enugu, Nigeria. Some of the communities in the Nsukka subculture location have traces of this earliest technological know-how in their environment with little or no sizable answer to their origin. To this regard, this study is aimed at; studying one of the earliest technologies of Africans in this phase of Nigeria, conduct a reconnaissance and ethnographic research in Affa community, excavate an iron smelting web site in the community, decide the starting place of the humans and that of the iron smelting, and determine the cultural correlate of the extinct and extant societies of Affa. Ethnoarchaeology studies are useful to archaeology because it helps to draw analogy between the past and the present. The archaeologist uses ethnography to reconstruct past human culture by detailed study of the technology (tools), behaviour and environment of present day people in order to properly understand and reconstruct artifacts, eco-facts and features recovered from excavation. The study reveals that they were iron smelters.