NEW RADIOCARBON DATES FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN PARTS OF IGBOLAND, SOUTHEASTERN NIGERIA

This paper presents new results of radiocarbon (C-14) ages from archaeological sites in northern Igboland. The study was designed to shed more light on early human occupation and activities in the study area based on sediments from cave and iron-smelting sites. The approach consisted of ethnographic, archaeological, palynological, and slag analyses; these were complemented with C-14 dates. The technology adopted as well as the paleoenvironmental conditions that prevailed during the period of human settlement in both sites was revealed. These data, complemented by C-14 dates, highlight the human behavioral and subsistence patterns within the region and are comparable to those from similar sites in southeastern Nigeria.