Page 27 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 3

Places to visit in NIGERIA

NOK CULTURE SETTLEMENT
The Nok culture is an early Iron Age population whose material remains are named after the Ham village of
Nok in Kaduna State of Nigeria, where their famous terracotta sculptures were first discovered in 1928. The
Nok Culture appeared in northern Nigeria around 1500 BC and vanished under unknown circumstances Kainji Lake National Park (KLNP) was the
around 500 AD, thus having lasted approximately 2,000 years. first National Park to be established among
Iron use, in smelting and forging for tools, appears in Nok culture by at least 550 BC and possibly earlier. the eight that are currently present in Nigeria.
Data from historical linguistics suggest that iron smelting was independently discovered in the region prior
to 1000 BC. Scientific field work began in 2005 to systematically investigate Nok archaeological sites, and The Park covers an area of 5,340.82 km2
to better understand Nok terracotta sculptures within their Iron Age archaeological context. and is comprised of two sectors, Borgu and
Zugurma. This study revealed that KLNP
(Copied from Wikipedia) harbours diverse flora, fauna, hydrological,
cultural and human resources.