Nigeria’s rock art, paintings, engravings, and carved monoliths, represents an enduring visual archive of ancient life and belief. Found across regions such as Jigawa, Bauchi, and Cross River States, these works demonstrate both artistic ingenuity and historical continuity. Archaeological findings confirm that early communities used local minerals, carved stones, and pigments to record human and animal forms, hinting at shifts from nomadic to settled societies.
Birnin Kudu, Jigawa State
Birnin Kudu hosts Nigeria’s most extensively studied rock painting sites—Dutsen Murhu, Dutsen Mesa, Dutsen Habude, and Dutsen Atiye. Excavations at Dutsen Murhu revealed potsherds, lithics, and charcoal, indicating habitation and early food production.
(Abdulrahman & Hussaini, 2021)
The rock paintings depict long-horned cattle, human figures, handprints, and geometric designs, executed in red and black ochres. Rock gongs, naturally resonant stones, are found nearby, possibly used for rhythmic or ritual sounds.
Dating remains uncertain. Most scholars agree that the paintings belong roughly to the Late Stone Age–Early Iron Age transition, but radiocarbon data are limited.
Geji Rock Paintings, Toro, Bauchi State
Geji (Dutsen Zane Geji) features animal and human depictions painted on open rock faces. The site, recognised by ICOMOS Nigeria, reflects similar themes to Birnin Kudu, suggesting either cultural transmission or coincidental stylistic overlap.
However, no direct scientific dating exists. Documentation describes the site as “known for over a century,” yet its precise chronology within the Late Stone Age remains undetermined.
(ICOMOS Nigeria; British Museum African Rock Art Archive)
Ikom Monoliths (Alok Ikom), Cross River State
The Ikom monoliths, locally called Akwanshi or Atal, comprise over 300 carved basalt and limestone stones distributed across 30+ communities.
(British Museum; UNESCO World Heritage Centre)
Each monolith bears stylised human faces, arms, breasts, and geometric motifs, evidence of a symbolic and possibly spiritual system.
Dating the monoliths remains debated. Earlier local traditions placed them around 200 AD, but more recent assessments suggest a later origin: between the 15th and 20th centuries, based on stylistic comparison and oral testimony. No absolute dating method has yet resolved this difference.
Materials, Techniques, and Meanings
The pigments were derived from natural minerals; red and yellow ochre, clay, and charcoal, sometimes mixed with organic binders. Paintings vary in style: silhouette, outline, or filled figures, depicting cattle, hunters, or geometric signs.
(African Rock Art Archive; Bradshaw Foundation)
Some rock formations have acoustic qualities, giving rise to hypotheses that they served ceremonial or communal functions. Such interpretations are plausible, though not definitively proven.
Threats and Preservation
Nigeria’s rock art heritage faces deterioration from weathering, vandalism, unregulated tourism, and theft. Several sites, including Birnin Kudu and Ikom, are declared national monuments, yet protection is inconsistent.
(ICOMOS Nigeria; Smithsonian Institution)
The National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) continues documentation and local engagement programmes, though challenges persist in funding, awareness, and environmental management.
Author’s Note
Nigeria’s rock art heritage stands as tangible evidence of artistic continuity, from hunter-gatherer imagery to stone-carved ritual markers. These sites are factual, documented, and archaeologically substantiated—but much about their exact ages and meanings remains to be discovered. Preserving them requires not only science but also respect for the communities who still guard their memory.
References
Abdulmalik Abdulrahman and Hassan Disa Hussaini (2021). “Ceramic and Aceramic Cultures of North-Western Nigeria: A Preliminary Report of Dutsen Murhu Excavation, Birnin Kudu.” Gombe Journal of General Studies, Vol. 5, No. 1.
British Museum / African Rock Art Archive — Descriptions of Ikom monoliths (Alok Ikom) and stylistic documentation.
ICOMOS Nigeria / National Commission for Museums and Monuments — Inventories of Birnin Kudu and Geji rock painting sites.
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