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What oral testimony preserves

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The finds at Igbo-Ukwu, excavated by Thurstan Shaw between 1959 and 1964, comprise ritual vessels, regalia and over 100,000 glass and stone beads. Their radiocarbon dates place them in the ninth to tenth centuries CE.1

Competing interpretations

Interpretation A

The burial is of an early holder of Nri-type ritual office, linking the site to later Nri authority.2

Interpretation B

Continuity with Nri cannot be demonstrated; the evidence supports ritual specialisation without a named institution.3

References

  1. Shaw, T. (1970). Igbo-Ukwu: An Account of Archaeological Discoveries in Eastern Nigeria. Faber.
  2. Onwuejeogwu, M. A. (1981). An Igbo Civilization: Nri Kingdom and Hegemony. Ethnographica.
  3. Afigbo, A. E. (1981). Ropes of Sand: Studies in Igbo History and Culture. UPL.