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| Glass beads from Ile-Ife (Babalola, 2015) |
Africa is a large continent that has a very full and rich archaeological history. Unfortunately, this has often gone unnoticed for various reasons, largely due to prejudice. Fortunately, greater attention has recently been cast on Africa’s vast archaeological discoveries, which is enriching our knowledge of human history while also demonstrating and reinforcing the complex culture history of Africans. Today’s blog post will address Sub-Saharan Africa’s oldest glass production site.
The site of Ile-Ife was already well known to various African archaeologists due to its rich material culture evidence. The site had already yielded a wide array of ceramics and copper artifacts that had been previously and widely studied, but the glass production area of Igbo Olokun in the city was neglected. Archaeologist Abidemi Babatunde Babalola decided to place his attention here and began excavating the site further in 2010. His efforts returned a wealth of new information about the site, specifically in that it was home to the earliest Sub-Saharan glass production.
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| Glass beads from Ile-Ife (Babalola, 2015) |
The glass manufacturers of Igbo Olokun in Ile-Ife produced a locally derived glass that was made from high feldspar granite sands with the aid of snail shells between the 11th and 15th centuries. This produced a high lime high alumina glass, which is unique to the area and demonstrated that the glass was locally sourced and produced. It was recreated to meet community and regional needs. Further evidence to support the conclusion that the glass was locally produced was the sheer number of furnaces, glass beads, glass manufacturing tools, and glass waste recovered during the excavation. The glass beads recovered from the site matched those found elsewhere throughout Africa and across Old World sites, demonstrating that the glass production was not only important to the city residents but played a significant role in the African continent’s role in global trade.
References
Babalola, A. B. (2015). Archaeological Investigations of Early Glass Production at Igbo-Olokun, Ile-Ife (Nigeria). Afrique : Archéologie & Arts, 61-64.
Babalola, A. B. (2020, July 14). How we found the earliest glass production south of the Sahara, and what it means . The Conversation.
Brown, M. (2017, November/December). The Glass Economy. Archaeology Magazine.
9 comments:
I really enjoyed this blog. It taught me a lot. I learned The glass manufacturers of Igbo Olokun in Ile-Ife produced a locally derived glass that was made from high feldspar granite sands with the aid of snail shells between the 11th and 15th centuries,
I also enjoyed the part where they talked about the site of Ile-Ife and how it was already well known to various African archaeologists due to its rich material culture evidence. The site had already yielded a wide array of ceramics and copper artifacts that had been previously and widely studied,
Josh w.
Very Informative Blog! I learned that main glass production city in African was Igbo Olokun but it was neglected. It was also home of the Sub-Saharan glass production.
-Jasmine Hill
Reading this blog gave lots of informative information.I never knew the main glass production was the city of Igbo Olokun in Africa. I learned that ancestors had glass in the 11th century.-FE
What I found cool in the blog is that the glass manufacturers made of " high feldspar granite sands with the aid of snail shells". I have never thought you can make something from snail shells, so that taught me something new. -Hiba A.
This blog was educational and it taught me a lot. It taught me that the glass manufactures were made in Igbo Olokun. It also taought me that in the 11th century, they never had glass.
- Jada Watkins
In the past i saw a documentary on "great Zimbabwe" and the international trade they produced during the same period as the production of these beads. When I first viewed the movie I wondered how much of the goods that moved through this empire were African made.I'm now glad that i read this blog and my question was answered. Now I understand the producing ability of Africans during the time and their actual impact.
_Gavin G
I found this post to be very interesting. The history of Africa archaeology has gone overlooked for quite a while. The site of lle-lfe is well known to several archeologists for its ethnic artifacts. Even Though some ancient objects have resurfaced and were highlighted many of their cultural objects were abandoned such as the glass production located in Igbo Olokun. Taking it upon himself to dive deeper in the rich history of Africa, archaeologist Badatunde Babaloa. This glass played a vital role in the expansion of African culture and their trading system that has evolved throughout the continent. Glass was able to make many plentiful things that were very useful upon the country and continues to be something that will help o the development of it.
Who knew that glass was produced so early in the 11th-15th century that must have been a large discovery in Africa during that time. However, it was saddening to hear it took so long to make such a grand archaeology discovery because of prejudice. Discovering such artifacts can teach many about the continent's culture and past advancements in technology and building materials. The possibility of discovering more artifacts like this could help in better understanding past societies and ancestors of Africa. Renn Bullard
This blog post was very insightful. I never knew that glass was produced so early and honestly like Dana said the history of Africa archeology has been overlooked for some time. It was cool to know about the glass production and to learn that it was important to the city residents as well as played a role in Africa's global trade.
-Keira Robinson
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