Ugwuele
Encyclopedia
Ugwuele is a stone age site in Igbo
country near Uturu
, Okigwe
, Abia State
in Nigeria
that provides evidence that humans inhabited the region as far back as 250,000 years ago. It was the largest handaxe factory in Nigeria, and possibly in the world.
The site at Ugwuele-Uturu, which lies on a dolerite ridge, was excavated between 1977 and 1981.
Archaeologists were led to the site by local people who were aware of the unusual artifacts to be found.
The northern end of the site held a huge accumulation of stone-age artifacts up to 6 meters in depth.
There was no pottery and no polished stone tools, but there were triangular preforms for bifacial tools as well as many flakes and some cores.
Handaxes, mostly broken, accounted for four out of five of the tools, and there were also cleavers, picks and sidescrapers. Based on this mix, the site has been classified as Acheulean
.
It is possible that these tools were rough or unsuccessful attempts, and the successful tools were carried elsewhere to be refined further.
There are three layers of occupation. The oldest and lowest holds quartz flakes, small stone tools and points. Above that is a layer with hoe-like tools, polished stone axes, red ochre, bored stone and red pottery.
The top level, with dates between 2935 BC and 15 AD, held grey pottery wares.
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...
country near Uturu
Uturu
Uturu is a town in Abia State, Nigeria mainly known as a location for several educational institutions and the Marist Brothers community.Schools in Uturu include Abia State University, Marist Brothers' Juniorate, Uturu, and Marist Comprehensive Academy, Uturu....
, Okigwe
Okigwe
-See also:Roman Catholic Diocese of Okigwe...
, Abia State
Abia State
Abia State is a state in southeastern Nigeria. The capital is Umuahia, although the major commercial city is Aba, formerly a British colonial government outpost. The state was created in 1991 from part of Imo State and its citizens are predominantly Igbo people...
in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
that provides evidence that humans inhabited the region as far back as 250,000 years ago. It was the largest handaxe factory in Nigeria, and possibly in the world.
The site at Ugwuele-Uturu, which lies on a dolerite ridge, was excavated between 1977 and 1981.
Archaeologists were led to the site by local people who were aware of the unusual artifacts to be found.
The northern end of the site held a huge accumulation of stone-age artifacts up to 6 meters in depth.
There was no pottery and no polished stone tools, but there were triangular preforms for bifacial tools as well as many flakes and some cores.
Handaxes, mostly broken, accounted for four out of five of the tools, and there were also cleavers, picks and sidescrapers. Based on this mix, the site has been classified as Acheulean
Acheulean
Acheulean is the name given to an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture associated with early humans during the Lower Palaeolithic era across Africa and much of West Asia, South Asia and Europe. Acheulean tools are typically found with Homo erectus remains...
.
It is possible that these tools were rough or unsuccessful attempts, and the successful tools were carried elsewhere to be refined further.
There are three layers of occupation. The oldest and lowest holds quartz flakes, small stone tools and points. Above that is a layer with hoe-like tools, polished stone axes, red ochre, bored stone and red pottery.
The top level, with dates between 2935 BC and 15 AD, held grey pottery wares.