CultureSub-Saharan Africa
The Nok culture
Terracotta heads and iron smelting in West Africa
See it on the timeline →In depth
Nok iron poses an open question: did the technology come south across the Sahara, or was it invented independently in West Africa? The datings are early enough that either is possible, and the matter is unsettled. The sculptures were long looted and sold on the art market, which destroyed the context archaeologists needed to answer it.
For children
In today's Nigeria the Nok people made sculptures of fired clay with striking facial expressions, and smelted iron in furnaces of their own. They are among Africa's oldest known artists.
Connects to
Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org