Adorning the Body, Asserting Status: Prestige-Goods and Social Distinction at Ancient Chadic Chiefdom of Houlouf (Northern Cameroon)

Augustin Ferdinand Charles Holl

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12

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Adorning the Body, Asserting Status: Prestige-Goods and Social Distinction at Ancient Chadic Chiefdom of Houlouf (Northern Cameroon)

Augustin Ferdinand Charles Holl

Published in International Journal of Archaeology (Volume 8, Issue 2)

Received: 13 November 2020 Accepted: 23 November 2020 Published: 4 December 2020

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Abstract

Copper and alloyed copper artefacts, carnelian and glass beads have been recovered in archaeological excavations since the middle of the 20th century in the Chadian plain in northern Cameroon, northeastern Nigeria and southwestern Chad Republic. The initial research projects conducted by Marcel Griaule and Jean-Paul Lebeuf resulted in the “creation” of the Sao Civilization, characterized by a relatively high level of art craftmanship. They made impressive large pottery vessels, terracotta figurines, iron objects, and copper and alloyed copper artefacts, called “Sao Bronzes”. These artefacts were generally analysed from their supposed artistic characteristics; production techniques – the lost wax technique – were addressed but no metal production features were ever recorded in the first decades of research on northernmost Cameroon mounds. The Houlouf archaeological project conducted from 1981 to 1991 allowed for a better understanding of the production and use of the copper/alloyed copper artefacts and other prestige goods recovered from archaeological contexts. They range widely in nature, forms, and shape. There are ordinary personal adornment items – finger-rings, arm-rings, and ankle rings, necklaces, waist-beads – to very specialized cavalry – leg-guards – and archery – arm-bands -, including exceptional figurines. This contribution brings to light the context of use and socio-political implications of these prestige artefacts and outlines their meaning in the developing Central Sudan long-distance trade networks.

Published in	International Journal of Archaeology (Volume 8, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12
Page(s)	22-31
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Alloyed Copper, Copper, Carnelian, Glass Beads, Personal Adornment, Prestige Good, Grave Goods, Houlouf, Cameroon, Chadian Plain, Central Africa

References

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Augustin Ferdinand Charles Holl. (2020). Adorning the Body, Asserting Status: Prestige-Goods and Social Distinction at Ancient Chadic Chiefdom of Houlouf (Northern Cameroon). International Journal of Archaeology, 8(2), 22-31. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12

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Augustin Ferdinand Charles Holl. Adorning the Body, Asserting Status: Prestige-Goods and Social Distinction at Ancient Chadic Chiefdom of Houlouf (Northern Cameroon). Int. J. Archaeol. 2020, 8(2), 22-31. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12

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Augustin Ferdinand Charles Holl. Adorning the Body, Asserting Status: Prestige-Goods and Social Distinction at Ancient Chadic Chiefdom of Houlouf (Northern Cameroon). Int J Archaeol. 2020;8(2):22-31. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12,
  author = {Augustin Ferdinand Charles Holl},
  title = {Adorning the Body, Asserting Status: Prestige-Goods and Social Distinction at Ancient Chadic Chiefdom of Houlouf (Northern Cameroon)},
  journal = {International Journal of Archaeology},
  volume = {8},
  number = {2},
  pages = {22-31},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ija.20200802.12},
  abstract = {Copper and alloyed copper artefacts, carnelian and glass beads have been recovered in archaeological excavations since the middle of the 20th century in the Chadian plain in northern Cameroon, northeastern Nigeria and southwestern Chad Republic. The initial research projects conducted by Marcel Griaule and Jean-Paul Lebeuf resulted in the “creation” of the Sao Civilization, characterized by a relatively high level of art craftmanship. They made impressive large pottery vessels, terracotta figurines, iron objects, and copper and alloyed copper artefacts, called “Sao Bronzes”. These artefacts were generally analysed from their supposed artistic characteristics; production techniques – the lost wax technique – were addressed but no metal production features were ever recorded in the first decades of research on northernmost Cameroon mounds. The Houlouf archaeological project conducted from 1981 to 1991 allowed for a better understanding of the production and use of the copper/alloyed copper artefacts and other prestige goods recovered from archaeological contexts. They range widely in nature, forms, and shape. There are ordinary personal adornment items – finger-rings, arm-rings, and ankle rings, necklaces, waist-beads – to very specialized cavalry – leg-guards – and archery – arm-bands -, including exceptional figurines. This contribution brings to light the context of use and socio-political implications of these prestige artefacts and outlines their meaning in the developing Central Sudan long-distance trade networks.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Adorning the Body, Asserting Status: Prestige-Goods and Social Distinction at Ancient Chadic Chiefdom of Houlouf (Northern Cameroon)
AU  - Augustin Ferdinand Charles Holl
Y1  - 2020/12/04
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DO  - 10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12
T2  - International Journal of Archaeology
JF  - International Journal of Archaeology
JO  - International Journal of Archaeology
SP  - 22
EP  - 31
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7595
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12
AB  - Copper and alloyed copper artefacts, carnelian and glass beads have been recovered in archaeological excavations since the middle of the 20th century in the Chadian plain in northern Cameroon, northeastern Nigeria and southwestern Chad Republic. The initial research projects conducted by Marcel Griaule and Jean-Paul Lebeuf resulted in the “creation” of the Sao Civilization, characterized by a relatively high level of art craftmanship. They made impressive large pottery vessels, terracotta figurines, iron objects, and copper and alloyed copper artefacts, called “Sao Bronzes”. These artefacts were generally analysed from their supposed artistic characteristics; production techniques – the lost wax technique – were addressed but no metal production features were ever recorded in the first decades of research on northernmost Cameroon mounds. The Houlouf archaeological project conducted from 1981 to 1991 allowed for a better understanding of the production and use of the copper/alloyed copper artefacts and other prestige goods recovered from archaeological contexts. They range widely in nature, forms, and shape. There are ordinary personal adornment items – finger-rings, arm-rings, and ankle rings, necklaces, waist-beads – to very specialized cavalry – leg-guards – and archery – arm-bands -, including exceptional figurines. This contribution brings to light the context of use and socio-political implications of these prestige artefacts and outlines their meaning in the developing Central Sudan long-distance trade networks.
VL  - 8
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Augustin Ferdinand Charles Holl

Department of Anthropology and Ethnology, School of Sociology and Anthropology, Africa Research Center, Belt and Road Research Institute, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, P. R. China

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Augustin Ferdinand Charles Holl. (2020). Adorning the Body, Asserting Status: Prestige-Goods and Social Distinction at Ancient Chadic Chiefdom of Houlouf (Northern Cameroon). International Journal of Archaeology, 8(2), 22-31. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12

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ACS Style

Augustin Ferdinand Charles Holl. Adorning the Body, Asserting Status: Prestige-Goods and Social Distinction at Ancient Chadic Chiefdom of Houlouf (Northern Cameroon). Int. J. Archaeol. 2020, 8(2), 22-31. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12

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AMA Style

Augustin Ferdinand Charles Holl. Adorning the Body, Asserting Status: Prestige-Goods and Social Distinction at Ancient Chadic Chiefdom of Houlouf (Northern Cameroon). Int J Archaeol. 2020;8(2):22-31. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12,
  author = {Augustin Ferdinand Charles Holl},
  title = {Adorning the Body, Asserting Status: Prestige-Goods and Social Distinction at Ancient Chadic Chiefdom of Houlouf (Northern Cameroon)},
  journal = {International Journal of Archaeology},
  volume = {8},
  number = {2},
  pages = {22-31},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ija.20200802.12},
  abstract = {Copper and alloyed copper artefacts, carnelian and glass beads have been recovered in archaeological excavations since the middle of the 20th century in the Chadian plain in northern Cameroon, northeastern Nigeria and southwestern Chad Republic. The initial research projects conducted by Marcel Griaule and Jean-Paul Lebeuf resulted in the “creation” of the Sao Civilization, characterized by a relatively high level of art craftmanship. They made impressive large pottery vessels, terracotta figurines, iron objects, and copper and alloyed copper artefacts, called “Sao Bronzes”. These artefacts were generally analysed from their supposed artistic characteristics; production techniques – the lost wax technique – were addressed but no metal production features were ever recorded in the first decades of research on northernmost Cameroon mounds. The Houlouf archaeological project conducted from 1981 to 1991 allowed for a better understanding of the production and use of the copper/alloyed copper artefacts and other prestige goods recovered from archaeological contexts. They range widely in nature, forms, and shape. There are ordinary personal adornment items – finger-rings, arm-rings, and ankle rings, necklaces, waist-beads – to very specialized cavalry – leg-guards – and archery – arm-bands -, including exceptional figurines. This contribution brings to light the context of use and socio-political implications of these prestige artefacts and outlines their meaning in the developing Central Sudan long-distance trade networks.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Adorning the Body, Asserting Status: Prestige-Goods and Social Distinction at Ancient Chadic Chiefdom of Houlouf (Northern Cameroon)
AU  - Augustin Ferdinand Charles Holl
Y1  - 2020/12/04
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12
T2  - International Journal of Archaeology
JF  - International Journal of Archaeology
JO  - International Journal of Archaeology
SP  - 22
EP  - 31
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7595
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20200802.12
AB  - Copper and alloyed copper artefacts, carnelian and glass beads have been recovered in archaeological excavations since the middle of the 20th century in the Chadian plain in northern Cameroon, northeastern Nigeria and southwestern Chad Republic. The initial research projects conducted by Marcel Griaule and Jean-Paul Lebeuf resulted in the “creation” of the Sao Civilization, characterized by a relatively high level of art craftmanship. They made impressive large pottery vessels, terracotta figurines, iron objects, and copper and alloyed copper artefacts, called “Sao Bronzes”. These artefacts were generally analysed from their supposed artistic characteristics; production techniques – the lost wax technique – were addressed but no metal production features were ever recorded in the first decades of research on northernmost Cameroon mounds. The Houlouf archaeological project conducted from 1981 to 1991 allowed for a better understanding of the production and use of the copper/alloyed copper artefacts and other prestige goods recovered from archaeological contexts. They range widely in nature, forms, and shape. There are ordinary personal adornment items – finger-rings, arm-rings, and ankle rings, necklaces, waist-beads – to very specialized cavalry – leg-guards – and archery – arm-bands -, including exceptional figurines. This contribution brings to light the context of use and socio-political implications of these prestige artefacts and outlines their meaning in the developing Central Sudan long-distance trade networks.
VL  - 8
IS  - 2
ER  -

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