NYAME AKUMA No. 41 June 1994 This Will Be My Final Issue of Nyame

NYAME AKUMA No. 41 June 1994 In terminating my five-year editorial responsibility for Nyame Akuma, I also want to extend heartfelt thanks to the many contributors without whose assiduous-and often recurrent-efforts the bulletin would This will be my final issue of Nyame not exist. Generally during my tenure, but Akuma. Having served as editor for five particularly the past couple of years, there years, I feel the time has come for an has been a very gratifying (and even infusion of "new blood" in shepherding this reasonably steady!) flow of articles. Please bulletin. Dr. Pamela Willoughby continue the good work. (Department of Archaeology, University of closing, should mention it has lately of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G In I 2H4), has graciously agreed to assume the been confirmed that the forthcoming editorship of Nyame Akuma, and all Panafrican Congress, originally scheduled correspondence regarding publication in the for autumn, 1995, is now going to be held bulletin should be addressed to her, effective June 18-23, 1995, at the University of immediately. For my part, I would like to Zimbabwe, Harare. For details, please express a vote of thanks and my very best contact the organizing secretary, Professor wishes fur success to Dr. Willoughby. Gilbert Pwiti, History Department, University of Zimbabwe, P.O. Box MP167, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe. Good luck, Pam. NYAME AKUMA No. 41 June 1994 and conducting excavations to recover indications of architectural or other structural remains. Artifacts recovered from the excavations were analyzed in order to gain a better understanding of the local BENIN material culture in this archamlogically little known region of West Africa. Once a database of local material traditions was Recent Excavations at Savi: established, it was contrasted with imported trade items to determine the extent to which An Eighteenth-Century the indigenous culture had embraced non- West African Trade Town African goods. A further avenue of investigation has attempted an archae- Kenneth G. Kelly ological understanding of the social and Department of Anthropology, UCLA demographic effects of the slave trade upon 405 Hilgard Avenue trading societies (Fig. 1). Los Angeles, CA 90024 The results of the survey program at U.S.A. Savi showed the ancient town site to have been much larger than was anticipated. Archaeological materials recovered in This paper reports on archaeological controlled surface collections and shovel research conducted during 1992 and 1993 at tests indicated that the habitation area the site of Savi, in the Republic of B6nin, extended over an area about 5 km in West Africa (Fig. 1).Savi was the capital of diameter (Fig. 2). This large size demands the Hueda kingdom, a small coastal state reinterpretation of past town life, suggesting located in the vicinity of the modern town of the conclusion that the town may have had a Ouidah, about 40 km from Cotonou, the larger population than contemporary principal city of Benin. The Hueda state was observers implied, or that the town was actively trading with Europeans for slaves considerably more dispersed than modern and other commodities from about 1660 and historic towns in the area. This change until its conquest and destruction by in settlement density may indicate Dahomey in 1727. However, prior to its fall, signhcant transformative impacts resulting the capital of Savi was host to a considerable from the slave trade. European trading presence. Indeed, the Next, excavations at seven hypothesized Hueda kingdom was the port of primary house areas and two features were begun importance on the historic Slave Coast for (Fig. 31, with excavations ranging from a European traders seeking to obtain slaves to single 1 x 4 m trench to four 1 x 4 m and transport to the Western Hemisphere. I x 3 m trenches. Five of the seven house When Savi was destroyed completely by areas, although yielding substantial Dahomey in 1727, the historic site was not numbers of artifacts, contained inconclusive reoccupied. This provides an excellent evidence of structures, and the remaining opportunity to investigate town life in one two yielded clearly defined features that region of West Africa at a time before the were pWyexcavated. The two features, a European industrial revolution began trash pit apparently dating to the late significantly impacting African material seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, culture. Research goals at Savi have and a 2 m deep pit resembling a well, included an archaeological survey although of insufficient depth, were also delimiting the boundary of the ancient town, excavated. attempting to identify the commercial and administrative center of the capital town, NYAME AKUMA No. 41 June 1994 (BIGHT OF BENIN) L i 0 1 00 200 km Fig. 1. Map of project area with project location, Savi, in bold. Hueda Kingdom shown in open letters, and modern nation names depicted in open capital letters. NYAME AKUMA No. 41 June 1994 Fig. 2. Area of ancient Savi as determined by transect survey. 4 NYAME AKUMA No. 41 June 1994 MAP OF CENTRAL SITE AREA OF SAVl House Areas: HA Feature: Fea Depressions: Q Footpaths: - , -300 meters Fig. 3. Central area of excavations at Savi. 5 NYAME AKUMA No. 41 June 1994 Artifacts Recovered from cylinder. Both stone beads were biconically Survey and Excavations perforated. Artifacts of local, African-trade, and European origin were recovered during the Imported Materials course of investigations. Locally produced European imports make up the other materials were most common, and included main category of artifact finds from Savi. Of local ceramics, locally manufactured the range of imported materials found, smoking pipes, and a variety of less beads and tobacco pipes of European common local products such as terra cotta manufacture are by far the most numerous. figurines and copper ornaments. African Beads number in excess of 800 and reflect a products of more distant origin included wide range of types, including large (3 an) items as utilitarian as milling stones, and as clear-modeled faceted examples, "chevron" rare as several carnelian beads similar to the beads, and various drawn and wire-wound products of workshops in northern Mali beads. The largest assemblage of beads was (Gaussen n.d.) Local ceramics numbered in excavated from among the burned material excess of 100,000 sherds, and were found in a feature identified as a trash pit. Large over the entire ancient town, although the numbers of clear, faceted beads in this vast majority were broken into relatively deposit may have originated from a store or small sherds. The ceramics were minimally other stockpile of beads, perhaps belonging decorated; roughly 90% were plain wares, to a trader. Beads recovered from other and the decorated sherds were minimally locations at Savi were more generally intact, elaborated with impressed or painted possibly reflecting their accidental loss designs. Rims suggest the majority of during daily activities, as opposed to their ceramics fell into one of several categories of entering the archaeological record as a result slightly restricted cooking pots, storage jars, of a building's destruction. and small, rather flat bowls or plates. The other commonly recovered items of Locally manufactured artifacts of particular European trade are pipe stem and bowl importance and interest include tobacco fragments. Intact pipe bowls and marked pipes and terra cotta figurines. The pipes are heels were found at many locations among the most interesting artifacts throughout ancient Savi, both in excavated recovered from the site, firstly for the wealth house areas and during the boundary of decoration present, but more importantly survey. Stem bores were measured for all for their ability to complement and pieces collected, and all marked pieces were contribute to the refinement and illustrated. Significantly, the marked pieces improvement of the local pipe chronologies were almost exclusively of Dutch origin and typologies already well established in (Duco 19821, indicating that despite the Ghana (Afeku 1976, Ozanne 1976). Pipe permanent presence of English and French fragments number in excess of 250 and traders at Savi, the French and British pipe largely complete pipes are fairly common. industries were not getting their product Several baked clay figurines were excavated exported to all trading spheres. at Savi. These anthropomorphic figures, no more than 10 cm tall, were excavated from Imported ceramics and glass were the refuse pit that yielded such a diversity of recovered in considerably smaller quantities. artifacts. Similar figurines have not been The limited numbers of ceramics can be reported in reference to Southern Bknin. contrasted with the wide variety and great Other local materials include beads, of numbers of imported ceramics recovered by which only four locally manufactured beads DeCorse at Elmina, Ghana (DeCorse 19921, were recovered from excavations, two of which implies a very different intercultural which were made of fired clay, the other two dynamic at Savi than that prevailing on the of carnelian. Of the stone beads, one was a Gold Coast. Those recovered were all very flaked and ground carnelian disc, and the fragmentary, but despite their condition, a other was a ground and polished carnelian number of wares and forms were recognizable. Most numerous were tin- NYAME AKUMA No. 41 June 1994 glazed earthenwares and coarse yellow- states where before there had been none. By green lead-glazed storage vessels. Tin investigating the archaeological record of glazed wares of indeterminate origin this early trade period, we learn more about exhibited blue floral motifs, although the social, economic, and political processes occasionally purple or other colors were also that caused, and were resistant to, change. present. Forms represented included coffee Additionally, the role of trade in cups, plates, bowls, and other larger vessels, precipitating social and political change can possibly chamber or storage pots. Coarse be evaluated.

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