Ugwuele | |
|---|---|
Archaeological site | |
  Ugwuele | |
| Coordinates:5°51′21″N7°30′43″E / 5.85583°N 7.51194°E /5.85583; 7.51194 | |
| Country | Nigeria |
| State | Abia |
| Local Government Area | Isuikwuato |
| Town | Uturu |
Ugwuele is an Igbo community inUturu,Isuikwuato Local Government Area,Abia State inNigeria which houses aStone Age site that provides evidence that humans inhabited the region as far back as 250,000 years ago. It was the largesthand axe factory in Nigeria, and possibly in the world.[1][2]
Thearchaeological site at Ugwuele-Uturu, which lies on adolerite ridge, was excavated between 1977 and 1981.[3] Archaeologists were led to the site by local people who were aware of the unusualartifacts to be found there.[4]
The site features three layers of artifacts, suggesting three phases of occupation. The oldest and lowest holdsquartzflakes, smallstone tools andpoints. Above that is a layer withhoe-like tools, polished stone axes,red ochre, bored stone and redpottery. The top level, with dates between 2935 BC and 15 AD, held grey pottery wares.[5]
The site has been described as a workshop. Its northern end was a virtualscree, containing a huge accumulation of Stone Age artifacts up to 6 metres (20 ft) deep.[3] There was no pottery and no polished stone tools, but there were triangular preforms forbifacial tools as well as many flakes and somecores. It is possible that these tools were rough or unsuccessful attempts, and the successful tools were carried elsewhere to be refined further.[3]
Hand axes, mostly broken, accounted for 80% of the tools found, and there were alsocleavers, picks andsidescrapers. Based on this mix, the site has been classified asAcheulean. The Ugwuele hand ax is also particularly notable for archaeologists since it resembles the same tool found in theAcheulean sites, which emerged inFrance,England,India, andNorth Africa.[6]
Sources[who?] claimed that the Ugwuele settlement was populated by the ancestors of the lower Niger and West African peoples and they achieved a distinctStone Age level civilization based on agriculture.[7] The occupants werehominids associated withHomo erectus and the earliestHomo sapiens, who are believed to have beenhunter-gatherers.[8] Ugwuele underwent cultural developments, demonstrating advances in thearts andreligion, which featured the worship of acreator god and intermediaryspirits.[7]