nigerian archaeology

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NIGERIAN ARCHAEOLOGY: THE NIGERIAN ARCHAEOLOGY: THE ETHICAL CHALLENGE. ETHICAL CHALLENGE. By By Zacharys Anger Gundu. PhD. Zacharys Anger Gundu. PhD. & & Abigail Ebenmosi Assa Abigail Ebenmosi Assa Department of Archaeology Department of Archaeology Ahmadu Bello University Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. Zaria. Paper Presented at the Paper Presented at the 12 12 th th Biennial Conference of the West African Biennial Conference of the West African Archaeological Association (WAA), Jos. Nigeria. Archaeological Association (WAA), Jos. Nigeria. 26 26 th th October, 2009. October, 2009. © Zacharys Anger Gundu & Abigail © Zacharys Anger Gundu & Abigail Ebenmosi Assa. 2009. Ebenmosi Assa. 2009.

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Page 1: Nigerian Archaeology

NIGERIAN ARCHAEOLOGY: THE NIGERIAN ARCHAEOLOGY: THE ETHICAL CHALLENGE.ETHICAL CHALLENGE.

ByByZacharys Anger Gundu. PhD.Zacharys Anger Gundu. PhD.

&&Abigail Ebenmosi AssaAbigail Ebenmosi Assa

Department of ArchaeologyDepartment of ArchaeologyAhmadu Bello UniversityAhmadu Bello University

Zaria.Zaria.Paper Presented at the Paper Presented at the

1212thth Biennial Conference of the West African Archaeological Biennial Conference of the West African Archaeological Association (WAA), Jos. Nigeria.Association (WAA), Jos. Nigeria.

2626thth October, 2009. October, 2009.

© Zacharys Anger Gundu & Abigail Ebenmosi © Zacharys Anger Gundu & Abigail Ebenmosi Assa. 2009.Assa. 2009.

Page 2: Nigerian Archaeology

OBJECTIVES.OBJECTIVES.

• Discuss current trends in Nigerian archaeology.• Explore basic ethical questions relevant in the

study of the Nigerian past.• Argue the need for Nigerian archaeologists to

assert their voices in the study of the past and champion the formal integration of ethics in archaeological research.

• Identify good ethical practices that can be used to benchmark archaeological training and practice in Nigeria.

Page 3: Nigerian Archaeology

INTRODUCTION.INTRODUCTION.

• Ethics in archaeology (and elsewhere) are a series of contracts.

• They clarify what should be done, what is right and justified in contrast to what is actually done. (Wylie 2003).

• Archaeological ethics are predicated on three accountabilities:– Responsibility to the archaeological record.– Responsibility to other stakeholders and – Responsibility to other archaeologists.

Page 4: Nigerian Archaeology

INTRODUCTION (Cont) .INTRODUCTION (Cont) .

• The ethical question in archaeology is underscored by other questions and issues including:– The ownership of the past.– The conflicting perspectives about the past,

what it means and why it means different things to different people.

– The scale at which commercial, industrial and agricultural development is threatening archaeological resources.

Page 5: Nigerian Archaeology

INTRODUCTION (Cont) .INTRODUCTION (Cont) .

• Other questions and issues include:– Gender.– Copyright and intellectual property.– Fieldwork and teaching.– Archaeological curation.– Museum collections.– The commodification of culture.– War and conflict.– Politics, identity and ideology.

Page 6: Nigerian Archaeology

INTRODUCTION (Cont) .INTRODUCTION (Cont) .

• Interest in the past is not just for reasons of knowledge and scientific curiosity.

• It is also for reasons of:– Religion and culture.– Politics, identity and ideology.– Money

• Tourism.• Art auctions.• Subsistence digging.• Looting.

Page 7: Nigerian Archaeology

INTRODUCTION (Cont) .INTRODUCTION (Cont) .

– Prestige.– Tax rebates.

• These and other reasons have produced different stakeholders with competing and conflicting claims on the archaeological record.

• This has made archaeological ethics complex, conflicted and confusing.

• Archaeological ethics differ from place to place.• They sometimes pitch archaeologists against

other stakeholders.

Page 8: Nigerian Archaeology

INTRODUCTION (Cont) .INTRODUCTION (Cont) .

• In many countries archaeological ethics are structured and driven by archaeological bodies.

• Each code is limited by its focus (and enabling antiquities laws).

• The American Anthropological Association (AAA) has skewed its code to align with ethnographic encounters.

• It is however silent on archaeological practice (Pallock 2008).

Page 9: Nigerian Archaeology

INTRODUCTION (Cont) .INTRODUCTION (Cont) .

• The World Archaeological Congress (WAC) has an ethical code focusing on the relationship of archaeologists to indigenous peoples.

• It acknowledges the importance of indigenous patrimony to the survival of indigenous people. (Smith and Burke 2003).

• The codes of the Canadian Archaeological Association and the Australian Archaeological Association are similar to that of WAC.

Page 10: Nigerian Archaeology

INTRODUCTION (Cont) .INTRODUCTION (Cont) .

• The Archaeological Institute of America in its code focuses on promoting greater understanding of archaeology through culturally appropriate behavior.

• While the New Zealand Archaeological Association and the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) emphasize stewardship of cultural resources .

• Archaeological ethics must be seen and engaged at the level of the interface between archaeological theory and practice within each nation state.

Page 11: Nigerian Archaeology

NIGERIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND NIGERIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE ETHICAL QUESTION.THE ETHICAL QUESTION.

• Nigerian archaeology goes back to the colonial period.

• It is normally conceived in three phases.i. The period prior to 1939.

ii. 1939 -1960

iii. 1960- present: Highlights of the third phase include-• The development of university archaeology.• Replacement of foreign archaeologists in the

NCMM and universities with Nigerians.• Proliferation of museums.

Page 12: Nigerian Archaeology

NIGERIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND NIGERIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE ETHICAL QUESTION (Cont).THE ETHICAL QUESTION (Cont).

• Prior to 1960 with the exception of Liman Ciroma, all archaeologists working in Nigeria were foreigners.

• Three types of archaeologists work in Nigeria today.– Those employed by the NCMM and state cultural

agencies.– Those employed in Nigerian Universities.– Those based in foreign institutions (especially

European and North American Institutions).

Page 13: Nigerian Archaeology

NIGERIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND NIGERIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE ETHICAL QUESTION (Cont).THE ETHICAL QUESTION (Cont).

• Nigerian archaeology is devoid of ethical standards.• Unlike other countries, the Archaeological Association

of Nigeria (AAN) is yet to evolve an ethical code and hold its members and those who do archaeology in the country accountable.

• Non of the three universities in the country who teach archaeology at the undergraduate and graduate levels, offer archaeological ethics as a distinct course.

Page 14: Nigerian Archaeology

NIGERIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE NIGERIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE ETHICAL QUESTION (Cont).ETHICAL QUESTION (Cont).

• Ethical Questions in Nigerian Archaeology are related to:

i. Ownership and Control of archaeological resources.

ii. The Conservation, Preservation and Protection challenge.

iii. The training Challenge.iv. Foreign based archaeologists.v. The Legal environment.vi. Interfacing with the people.

Page 15: Nigerian Archaeology

OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL OF OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES.ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES.• Much of Nigeria’s prime patrimony is outside the

country illegally.• About 3,173 looted Benin pieces are held

between 14 European and US museums.• 6,500 Nigerian antiquities are held illegally

outside Nigeria with a conservative monetary value of N 313 b.

• Other looted resources:– Nok and Kwatakwashi terracotta.– Stolen items from our museums, shrines, plundered

sites and monuments.

Page 16: Nigerian Archaeology

OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL OF OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES

(Cont) (Cont)

• The multi billion dollar illicit art market has implication for archaeological ethics in Nigeria at four levels.

• It heightens plunder and subsistence digging.• It has led to increased commodification of

archaeological resources.• It has the potential to compromise archaeologists and

other professionals. • It promotes the concept of universal museums at the

expense of third world national patrimonies.

Page 17: Nigerian Archaeology

THE CONSERVATION, THE CONSERVATION, PRESERVATION AND PROTECTION PRESERVATION AND PROTECTION

CHALLENGE.CHALLENGE.• Nigerian archaeology has no capacity to contain

the destruction to archaeological resources in the country.

• No adequate conservation and storage facilities.• No single repository to hold and keep excavated

materials including their supporting documentation.• Where are the materials we have been excavating

over the years? • Can future researchers access them for study?

Page 18: Nigerian Archaeology

THE TRAINING CHALLENGE.THE TRAINING CHALLENGE.

• Three Nigerian universities offer archaeology.• None of them teaches archaeological ethics as a stand

alone course.• None of the Departments has a repository or a functional

conservation laboratory.• Their archaeological practice is largely outside the

regulation of the NCMM.• Not clear where they keep their excavated materials and

supporting documentation.• Their field schools are largely ‘destructive’.• No developed safety ethics. • University archaeology has also not answered the

question of ‘who is an archaeologist?’.

Page 19: Nigerian Archaeology

THE TRAINING CHALLENGE (Cont).THE TRAINING CHALLENGE (Cont).

• How much ethical issues regarding field work, copyright and intellectual property are impacted to students through training?

• How are university lecturers coping with the dearth of teaching/training materials especially books and field equipment?

• Why are lecturers not publishing and disseminating results of their work?

• How are they dealing with issues of plagiarism?

Page 20: Nigerian Archaeology

FOREIGN ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN FOREIGN ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN NIGERIA.NIGERIA.

• ‘Western scholars are very much in control of African archaeology as they control all other fields of African studies’ (Andah 1995:151).

• They set the research agenda without consultation and control major dissemination channels in African archaeology.

• They use the African field for the breeding of PhDs and the production of ‘specialists’ on Africa.

• The most active foreigners on the Nigerian field are Germans led by Prof. Peter Breunig of the University of Frankfurt am Main.

Page 21: Nigerian Archaeology

FOREIGN ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN FOREIGN ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN NIGERIA (Cont).NIGERIA (Cont).

• Prof. Breunig’s work is funded by the German Research Foundation.

• After years of work in NE Nigeria reportedly in collaboration with the NCMM and the University of Maiduguri, they have since moved to the ‘NOK area’ where they are reportedly working in collaboration with the NCMM and the University of Jos and according to Prof Breunig, they are ‘unearthing a magnificent part of the history of sub Saharan Africa’.

Page 22: Nigerian Archaeology

FOREIGN ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN FOREIGN ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN NIGERIA (Cont).NIGERIA (Cont).

• Are the Germans ACTUALLY working in collaboration with anybody in Nigeria?

• Which Nigerian stakeholder (s) did they discuss their research agenda and grant proposals with prior to working in either NE Nigeria or the NOK area?

• What are the details of the MOU with their Nigerian collaborators?

• Why do they keep on carting away tons of excavated materials to Germany including potsherds?

• Where are their recovery records ?• Why do they insist on taking human remains back to Germany

for conservation?

Page 23: Nigerian Archaeology

FOREIGN ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN FOREIGN ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN NIGERIA (Cont).NIGERIA (Cont).

• Why is it impossible for the Germans to analyze and curate locally taking only small amounts of materials essential for destructive analysis?

• If there is room for the return of materials taken out, have they returned the NE materials?

• Does the NCMM have the capacity to monitor what they take out of the country?

• Do the Germans have an ethical responsibility to engage and empower other Nigerian archaeologists?

• What was the ethical basis for the sponsorship of traditional rulers and the Governor of Kaduna state to the last SAFA meeting in Frankfurt when there were Nigerian archaeologists who applied for support and were refused?

Page 24: Nigerian Archaeology

FOREIGN ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN FOREIGN ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN NIGERIA (Cont).NIGERIA (Cont).

• What is the motive for studying Nigerian past by excluding Nigerian archaeologists?

• Can Nigerian (African) archaeologists no matter their training and the funds available to them be given access to study European sites the way Europeans have continued to have unfettered access here?

• How can we have a more equitable partnership with others in the study of Nigerian archaeology?

• What really is the problem?.• Are we clear as to the issues at stake?

Page 25: Nigerian Archaeology

THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT.THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT.

• Archaeological resources/antiquities are on the concurrent list in the Nigerian Constitution.

• Decree No. 77 of 1979 establishing the NCMM is the latest law on antiquities in Nigeria.

• Many states in the country do not have any particular laws relating to archaeological resources.

• Nigeria ratified the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit, Export and Transfer of Cultural Property in 1972.

• Nigeria also became a state party to the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen and Illegally Exported Cultural Objects in 2006.

Page 26: Nigerian Archaeology

THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT (Cont).THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT (Cont).

• Continued looting and sale of Nigerian antiquities on the international market means that these laws are ineffective.

• The laws do not support a robust archaeological practice nor do they cover the interface between mining and looting.

• The 1979 decree is obsolete and at variance with the federal nature of the Nigerian State.

• The law does not provide for the insurance of archaeological resources nor the salvaging of sites threatened during industrial development.

• The legal environment cannot effectively support the growth of archaeological ethics in Nigeria.

Page 27: Nigerian Archaeology

THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT (Cont).(Cont).

• Though the law vests the responsibility of regulating archaeological practice in the country on the NCMM, this institution is ill prepared and in the perception of many, a stumbling block.

• The Nigerian Government has also not demonstrated a good understanding of the issues at stake.

• Frank Willet who left the Nigerian Antiquities Commission in 1963 before his death, accused officials of the NCMM of complicity in the looting of the country’s antiquities.

Page 28: Nigerian Archaeology

THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT (Cont).(Cont).

• Patrick Darling claims he was threatened by a report he submitted in August 1995 to the NCMM on ‘The rape of Nok and Kwatakwashi’.

• Professor Ekpo Eyo in his hand over notes had warned of the fact that the ‘greater risk’ of looting could come inside the NCMM.

Page 29: Nigerian Archaeology

THE GAME KEEPER BECOMES A THE GAME KEEPER BECOMES A POACHER.POACHER.

• ‘The Chief Executive of the Commission will be shocked to find that the records show that officials of the Commission at very senior levels were, or had been indicted as security risks and/or agents of traffickers in antiquities’. Prof. Ade Obayemi’s handover notes.

Page 30: Nigerian Archaeology

THE GAME KEEPER BECOMES A THE GAME KEEPER BECOMES A POACHER (Cont).POACHER (Cont).

• Gert Chesi owner of the ‘House of the people’ a private Museum in Schwaz, Austria, housing the most splendid collection of Nok terracotta in the world maintains that each of his 50 Nok pieces ‘has an export license issued by Omotosho Eluyemi, the Manager of the National Museum’.

Page 31: Nigerian Archaeology

THE GAME KEEPER BECOMES A THE GAME KEEPER BECOMES A POACHER (Cont).POACHER (Cont).

• In 1999,the French purchased 2 Nok pieces from a Belgian dealer for about $400,000 even though the pieces are on ICOM’S red list.

• President Chirac personally requested General Abdulsalami to okay the sale but he refused on advise from NCMM.

• President Olusegun Obasanjo later okayed this transaction and symbolically handed over the terracotta to the French during a state visit.

Page 32: Nigerian Archaeology

INTERFACING WITH THE PEOPLE.INTERFACING WITH THE PEOPLE.

• In many ways, the archaeologist in Nigeria is still the lone specialist working amongst people who do not ‘know’ and ‘care’ about the past.

• Little or no attempts are made to deliberately involve the local people whose past is being studied.

• ‘Knowledge’ and ‘information’ sharing is not deliberate. • Who is the archaeologist actually working for?• Is he (she) producing ‘archaeological knowledge alone or

together with the local people.• What does it mean to acknowledge them and involve them in

his (her) work?

Page 33: Nigerian Archaeology

WAY FORWARD.WAY FORWARD.

• Nigerian archaeologists must reclaim the study of the country’s past by asserting their voices and engaging with others who have interest in their past.

• They must explore ways of formally integrating ethics in archaeological practice.

• The AAN MUST champion this initiative and learn from good practices including:

Page 34: Nigerian Archaeology

WAY FORWARD.WAY FORWARD.

• Wide consultations with stakeholders including local communities.

• Inclusive archaeological inquiry.• Research into grey areas affecting

archaeological ethics like:– The psychology of collection and looting.– Friendly and unfriendly attitudes to archeological

resources.– Researching and inventorying looted antiquities.– Cultural property ownership and repatriation.

Page 35: Nigerian Archaeology

CONCLUSION.CONCLUSION.• Nigerian archaeology must develop a formal code of

ethics focusing on collective stewardship of archaeological resources as well as standards of archaeological conduct.

• The role of foreign scholars must be properly articulated and the code must have a structured way of holding practitioners accountable.

• The AAN must also work for the urgent review of laws at both the Federal and State levels making it mandatory for researchers to deposit excavated materials and their supporting documentation in repositories within the country .

• Nigerian archaeologists must also reconsider their relationship with scholars from other countries who have continued to acquire through illicit means antiquities from the country.

Page 36: Nigerian Archaeology

CONCLUSION.CONCLUSION.

• A full paper and a complete bibliography is being prepared.

Thanks

&

Bless you.