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{{Short description|Archaeological site in Mauritania}}
'''Ma'adin Ijafen''' is an archaeological site in an area of [[Dune|dunes]] in the [[Sahara Desert]] in eastern [[Mauritania]]. It was first discovered in the early 1960s by the [[French people|French]] explorer [[Théodore Monod]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=CU4lAnmnUhUC&pg=PA114&lpg=PA114&dq=%22Ma'den+Ijafen%22+monod&source=bl&ots=LO2BR-s2Eu&sig=aJBH41xSatpZ4qq56kmyuElSQWc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi0hfqTp5neAhXGooMKHXaJCIkQ6AEwBHoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Ma'den%20Ijafen%22%20monod&f=false|title=Red Gold of Africa: Copper in Precolonial History and Culture|last=Herbert|first=Eugenia W.|date=2003|publisher=Univ of Wisconsin Press|isbn=9780299096045|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Christie|first=A. C.|last2=Haour|first2=A.|date=2018-08-01|title=The ‘Lost Caravan’ of Ma’den Ijafen Revisited: Re-appraising Its Cargo of Cowries, a Medieval Global Commodity|url=http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/21915784-20180008|language=en|doi=10.1163/21915784-20180008}}</ref> Monod followed up on information provided by local hunters, searching for evidence to confirm the magnitude of the historical trans-Saharan [[copper]] trade.<ref name=":0" /> {{Cvt|450|mi|km}} into the desert, he located bundles of [[cowrie shells]] and [[Ingot|ingots]] of brass wrapped in ropes and matting and hidden in the sand.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
'''Ma'adin Ijafen''' is an archaeological site in an area of [[Dune|dunes]] in the [[Sahara]] in eastern [[Mauritania]]. It was first discovered in the early 1960s by the [[French people|French]] explorer [[Théodore Monod]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CU4lAnmnUhUC&pg=PA114|title=Red Gold of Africa: Copper in Precolonial History and Culture|last=Herbert|first=Eugenia W.|date=2003|publisher=Univ of Wisconsin Press|isbn=9780299096045|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Christie|first1=A. C.|last2=Haour|first2=A.|date=2018-08-01|title=The 'Lost Caravan' of Ma'den Ijafen Revisited: Re-appraising Its Cargo of Cowries, a Medieval Global Commodity|journal=[[Journal of African Archaeology]]|volume=16|issue=2|pages=125–144|language=en|doi=10.1163/21915784-20180008|s2cid=165759202|url=https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/67121/1/Accepted_manuscript.pdf}}</ref> Monod followed up on information provided by local hunters, searching for evidence to confirm the magnitude of the historical [[Trans-Saharan trade|trans-Saharan]] [[copper]] trade.<ref name=":0" /> {{Cvt|450|mi|km}} into the desert, he located bundles of [[cowrie shells]] and [[Ingot|ingots]] of brass wrapped in ropes and matting and hidden in the sand.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />


The site was originally thought to be the site of a [[Camel train|caravan]] wreck, but Monod believed that the valuables had been hidden intentionally, either by the travellers seeking to prevent a bandit attack, or by bandits hoping to retrieve the items later. It is unclear where the caravan originated from, or what prevented the treasure from being retrieved.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=wYM9HGe2PD0C&pg=PA74&lpg=PA74&dq=%22Ma'den+Ijafen%22+monod&source=bl&ots=rC981ypSWd&sig=uvkZBfr6QBVDKLH93EYOwSUFEWk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi0hfqTp5neAhXGooMKHXaJCIkQ6AEwAXoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Ma'den%20Ijafen%22&f=false|title=On Trans-Saharan Trails: Islamic Law, Trade Networks, and Cross-Cultural Exchange in Nineteenth-Century Western Africa|last=Lydon|first=Ghislaine|date=2009-03-02|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521887243|language=en}}</ref>
The site was originally thought to be the site of a [[Camel train|caravan]] wreck, but Monod believed that the valuables had been hidden intentionally, either by the travelers seeking to prevent a bandit attack or by bandits hoping to retrieve the items later. It is unclear where the caravan originated from, or what prevented the treasure from being retrieved.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wYM9HGe2PD0C&pg=PA74|title=On Trans-Saharan Trails: Islamic Law, Trade Networks, and Cross-Cultural Exchange in Nineteenth-Century Western Africa|last=Lydon|first=Ghislaine|date=2009-03-02|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521887243|language=en}}</ref>


== Analysis ==
== Analysis ==
[[File:Monetaria annulus 0009.JPG|thumb|Milled cowrie shells of the type used for currency]]
All told, Monod recovered 2,085 brass ingots of approximately {{Cvt|29.5|in|cm}} in length, weighing up to {{Cvt|1|lb|kg}} each.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=TFRyAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Ma'den+Ijafen%22&dq=%22Ma'den+Ijafen%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjr8aTmppneAhUizoMKHYhhDZsQ6AEITTAH|title=The kingdoms of Africa|last=Garlake|first=Peter S.|date=1978|publisher=Elsevier-Phaidon|language=en}}</ref> They were tied up in bundles of 100 ingots each.<ref name=":2" /> He believed that each camel in a caravan could carry four bundles, or {{Cvt|400|lbs|kg}} all together.<ref name=":0" /> The entire hoard weighed approximately two tons.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Childs|first=S. Terry|last2=Killick|first2=David|date=1993|title=Indigenous African Metallurgy: Nature and Culture|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/2155851|journal=Annual Review of Anthropology|volume=22|pages=323|via=}}</ref>
All told, Monod recovered 2,085 brass ingots of approximately {{Cvt|29.5|in|cm}} in length, weighing up to {{Cvt|1|lb|kg}} each.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TFRyAAAAMAAJ&q=Ma'den+Ijafen|title=The Kingdoms of Africa|last=Garlake|first=Peter S.|date=1978|publisher=Elsevier-Phaidon|isbn=9780729000499|language=en}}</ref> They were tied up in bundles of 100 ingots each.<ref name=":2" /> He believed that each camel in a caravan could carry four bundles, or {{Cvt|400|lbs|kg}} all together.<ref name=":0" /> The entire hoard weighed approximately two tons.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Childs|first1=S. Terry|last2=Killick|first2=David|date=1993|title=Indigenous African Metallurgy: Nature and Culture|journal=Annual Review of Anthropology|volume=22|pages=323|doi=10.1146/annurev.an.22.100193.001533|jstor=2155851}}</ref>


Analysis of the ingots indicates that they are a brass alloy of approximately 80% copper with 20% zinc.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=DhiPUvi1ylYC&pg=PA405&dq=%22Ma'den+Ijafen%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi7vO6BpZneAhWWnoMKHSEfB44Q6AEILTAB#v=onepage&q=%22Ma'den%20Ijafen%22%2020%25%20zinc&f=false|title=Excavations at Jenné-Jeno, Hambarketolo, and Kaniana (Inland Niger Delta, Mali), the 1981 Season|last=McIntosh|first=Susan Keech|date=1995|publisher=University of California Press|year=|isbn=9780520097858|location=|pages=389|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=12K5JmVC8tYC&pg=PA55&dq=%22Ma'den+Ijafen%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi7vO6BpZneAhWWnoMKHSEfB44Q6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q=%22Ma'den%20Ijafen%22&f=false|title=Society, Culture, and Technology in Africa|last=Childs|first=S. Terry|date=1994|publisher=UPenn Museum of Archaeology|isbn=9781931707053|language=en}}</ref> They have been dated to approximately the 11th–12th centuries [[Common Era|CE]].<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Flight|first=Colin|date=1973|title=A Survey of Recent Results in the Radiocarbon Chronology of Northern and Western Africa|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/180899|journal=The Journal of African History|volume=14|issue=4|pages=544|via=}}</ref>{{Sfn|McIntosh|1995|p=388}} Analysis of the [[Isotope geochemistry|lead isotopes]] in two of the ingots found that the metal in the ingots was consistent with ore from [[Northwestern Europe|northwest Europe]], indicating that the metal had possibly come to Africa from Europe.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Willett|first=Frank|last2=Sayre|first2=Edward V.|date=2006|title=Lead Isotopes in West African Copper Alloys|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/43135392|journal=Journal of African Archaeology|volume=4|issue=1|page=67|via=}}</ref>
Analysis of the ingots indicates that they are a brass alloy of approximately 80% copper with 20% zinc.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DhiPUvi1ylYC&pg=PA405|title=Excavations at Jenné-Jeno, Hambarketolo, and Kaniana (Inland Niger Delta, Mali), the 1981 Season|last=McIntosh|first=Susan Keech|date=1995|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520097858|pages=389|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=12K5JmVC8tYC&pg=PA55|title=Society, Culture, and Technology in Africa|last=Childs|first=S. Terry|date=1994|publisher=UPenn Museum of Archaeology|isbn=9781931707053|language=en}}</ref> They have been dated to approximately the 11th–12th centuries [[Common Era|CE]].<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Flight|first=Colin|date=1973|title=A Survey of Recent Results in the Radiocarbon Chronology of Northern and Western Africa|journal=The Journal of African History|volume=14|issue=4|pages=544|doi=10.1017/S0021853700013037|jstor=180899}}</ref>{{Sfn|McIntosh|1995|p=388}} Analysis of the [[Isotope geochemistry|lead isotopes]] in two of the ingots found that the metal in the ingots was consistent with ore from [[Northwestern Europe|northwest Europe]], indicating that the metal had possibly come to Africa from Europe.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Willett|first1=Frank|last2=Sayre|first2=Edward V.|date=2006|title=Lead Isotopes in West African Copper Alloys|journal=Journal of African Archaeology|volume=4|issue=1|page=67|doi=10.3213/1612-1651-10063|jstor=43135392}}</ref>


The cowrie shells have been subject to much less inspection than the ingots, but are presumed to have originated in the [[Maldives]].<ref name=":1" />
The cowrie shells have been subject to much less inspection than the ingots, but are presumed to have originated in the [[Maldives]].<ref name=":1" />


== Further reading ==
== Further reading ==

* Monod, Theodore. "Le Ma'den Ijafen: une épave caravanière ancienne dans la Majabat al-Koubra." ''Actes, 1er Colloque Internationale d'Archéologie Africaine (Fort-Lamy, 1966)''. 1969.
* Monod, Theodore. "Le Ma'den Ijafen: une épave caravanière ancienne dans la Majabat al-Koubra." ''Actes, 1er Colloque Internationale d'Archéologie Africaine (Fort-Lamy, 1966)''. 1969.


== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{coord missing|Mauritania}}
{{coord missing|Mauritania}}


[[Category:Landforms of Mauritania]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Mauritania]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Mauritania]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites of Western Africa]]

Latest revision as of 03:07, 15 May 2024

Ma'adin Ijafen is an archaeological site in an area of dunes in the Sahara in eastern Mauritania. It was first discovered in the early 1960s by the French explorer Théodore Monod.[1][2] Monod followed up on information provided by local hunters, searching for evidence to confirm the magnitude of the historical trans-Saharan copper trade.[1] 450 mi (720 km) into the desert, he located bundles of cowrie shells and ingots of brass wrapped in ropes and matting and hidden in the sand.[1][2]

The site was originally thought to be the site of a caravan wreck, but Monod believed that the valuables had been hidden intentionally, either by the travelers seeking to prevent a bandit attack or by bandits hoping to retrieve the items later. It is unclear where the caravan originated from, or what prevented the treasure from being retrieved.[3]

Analysis

[edit]
Milled cowrie shells of the type used for currency

All told, Monod recovered 2,085 brass ingots of approximately 29.5 in (75 cm) in length, weighing up to 1 lb (0.45 kg) each.[4] They were tied up in bundles of 100 ingots each.[4] He believed that each camel in a caravan could carry four bundles, or 400 lb (180 kg) all together.[1] The entire hoard weighed approximately two tons.[5]

Analysis of the ingots indicates that they are a brass alloy of approximately 80% copper with 20% zinc.[6][7] They have been dated to approximately the 11th–12th centuries CE.[5][8][9] Analysis of the lead isotopes in two of the ingots found that the metal in the ingots was consistent with ore from northwest Europe, indicating that the metal had possibly come to Africa from Europe.[10]

The cowrie shells have been subject to much less inspection than the ingots, but are presumed to have originated in the Maldives.[2]

Further reading

[edit]
  • Monod, Theodore. "Le Ma'den Ijafen: une épave caravanière ancienne dans la Majabat al-Koubra." Actes, 1er Colloque Internationale d'Archéologie Africaine (Fort-Lamy, 1966). 1969.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Herbert, Eugenia W. (2003). Red Gold of Africa: Copper in Precolonial History and Culture. Univ of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 9780299096045.
  2. ^ a b c Christie, A. C.; Haour, A. (2018-08-01). "The 'Lost Caravan' of Ma'den Ijafen Revisited: Re-appraising Its Cargo of Cowries, a Medieval Global Commodity" (PDF). Journal of African Archaeology. 16 (2): 125–144. doi:10.1163/21915784-20180008. S2CID 165759202.
  3. ^ Lydon, Ghislaine (2009-03-02). On Trans-Saharan Trails: Islamic Law, Trade Networks, and Cross-Cultural Exchange in Nineteenth-Century Western Africa. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521887243.
  4. ^ a b Garlake, Peter S. (1978). The Kingdoms of Africa. Elsevier-Phaidon. ISBN 9780729000499.
  5. ^ a b Childs, S. Terry; Killick, David (1993). "Indigenous African Metallurgy: Nature and Culture". Annual Review of Anthropology. 22: 323. doi:10.1146/annurev.an.22.100193.001533. JSTOR 2155851.
  6. ^ McIntosh, Susan Keech (1995). Excavations at Jenné-Jeno, Hambarketolo, and Kaniana (Inland Niger Delta, Mali), the 1981 Season. University of California Press. p. 389. ISBN 9780520097858.
  7. ^ Childs, S. Terry (1994). Society, Culture, and Technology in Africa. UPenn Museum of Archaeology. ISBN 9781931707053.
  8. ^ Flight, Colin (1973). "A Survey of Recent Results in the Radiocarbon Chronology of Northern and Western Africa". The Journal of African History. 14 (4): 544. doi:10.1017/S0021853700013037. JSTOR 180899.
  9. ^ McIntosh 1995, p. 388.
  10. ^ Willett, Frank; Sayre, Edward V. (2006). "Lead Isotopes in West African Copper Alloys". Journal of African Archaeology. 4 (1): 67. doi:10.3213/1612-1651-10063. JSTOR 43135392.