Head

Terracotta sculptures and their fragments discovered in abandoned and scattered in the interior of the Niger Delta cities and settlements mostly depict stylised human and animal figures. Among the most popular zoomorphic representations is the snake motif. The discoveries made by archaeologists in the ancient city of Djenne-Jeno (also called old Djenne or Djenne, Djenne-Djenno, Jenne-Jeno, or old Jeno) located in modern Mali, exactly 130 kilometres south-west of the metropolis of Mopti and 3 kilometres from the medieval city of Djenne, seem to be of particular interest.The settlement of Djenne-Jeno was founded in the 3rd century BC by Saharans, who were familiar with iron smelting and engaged in cattle breeding, fishing, hunting and rice cultivation. Between 50 and 400, the settlement reached an area of 10 hectares. Its inhabitants lived in round huts made of clay and silt. Between 400 and 900, Djenne-Jeno expanded by 23 hectares, and its population increased, as evidenced by many graves from that period found by archaeologists. Trade between the Sahara and the lands south of the Niger River boosted the city's development. Local products such as dried fish, rice, iron and ceramics were exchanged for stone, copper, salt, glass beads and gold. The city was abandoned for unexplained reasons in the 14th century. The presented object shows a sculpture of a cylindrical shape with marked facial features. Numerous indentations were made in the form of diagonal incisions on the forehead and the left side of the face. The head may represent a hairstyle or a characteristic headdress. The origin and purpose of the terracotta figurines from Djenne-Jeno are still the subjects of scientific research.

Katarzyna Findlik-Gawron