A Survey of Hilltop Settlement in Northern Jos Plateau, Nigeria: A Preliminary Report

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

A reconnaissance of Dutsen Kura hill was carried out in June 2022. It is claimed that former occupants of the hill had ancestral links with Dutsen Kongba, a sixth millennium BC Later Stone Age hill settlement located in the same region. In addition, the present-day Bace group living in the plains in Dutsen Kura claims an ancestral link with former occupants of Dutsen Kura. The study revealed circular stone structures identified as house foundations observed on the flat surface of the hill, most of which were in clusters of 4–20. Also identified within these clusters were grinding hollows on boulders and ceramics. Rockshelters with evidence of occupation such as ceramics and lithics were identified on the hill. This pilot study confirms that people lived on the hill in the past, making the site viable for excavation. Study of the excavated materials may yield more evidence of occupation and early radiocarbon dates, which may either confirm or refute the claimed cultural links between Dutsen Kura and Dutsen Kongba on the one hand, and the historical peoples living on the plains.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37587.0