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Nok Art

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Nok Sculpture, 6th century BC–6th century AD, Nigeria, Louvre Museum

Nok Sculpture, 6th century BC–6th century AD, Nigeria, Louvre Museum

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Definition:

Nok art describes the sculpted ceramic art of northern Nigeria of west Africa between 500 BC and AD 200. The distinctive coil-built terracotta sculptures are of human beings and animals, sometimes life-sized. The Nok people who created the sculptures were agriculturalists who smelted iron and lived in villages on the Jos plateau between the Benue and Niger rivers.

Sources

This glossary entry is a part of the About.com Guide to the African Iron Age, and part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.

Examples:
Taruga, Samun Dukiya

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