The Nok terracotta tradition chronology
- Date of account
- Broadly first millennium BCE to early first millennium CE; chronology revised repeatedly
- Location
- Central Nigeria, especially Kaduna and Plateau regions
- Source
- model_recalled_reference
- Record updated
- 2026-10-10
Record summary
Nok sites are known for distinctive terracotta heads and figures, iron-working evidence and settlement remains distributed across central Nigeria. Earlier scholarship proposed an early and unusually advanced iron-using culture, while later work has refined the chronology and emphasized regional diversity, looting problems and the need for controlled excavation. This lead matters for comparing sculpture, metallurgy, social organization and the consequences of illicit antiquities markets. Major uncertainties concern site formation, the relationship between terracotta production and iron technology, and the chronological meaning of poorly provenienced museum pieces.
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