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Article: Economic and cultural prehistory of the Niger Delta.
- Article from:
- African Arts
- Article date:
- March 22, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Regents of the University of California. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Lacking the written records on which the historian relies, the prehistorian seeks to reconstruct the past through means of archaeological evidence.
[O]bjects recovered from archaeological excavations ... bear the evidence
of man's exploitation of his natural resources and utilization of those
materials that serve to fulfill his aspirations. These may be objects of
warfare, tools for hunting, procuring and preparing his food, for
collecting and storing drinking water, ornaments for beautifying his body,
objects to satisfy psychological and philosophical needs, ritual objects,
and currency. These objects and their placement within a geographical ...