A CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF SELECTED ARTIFACTS IN THE MUSEUM

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

Right from the creation of humans they have been able to use their creative ability to solve their challenges. Ahmad (1989) stated that the paleohthic period has been used to articulate the early history of humans, where they evolved from being wanderers to settlers. Within that period also, history has revealed that human started producing tools, which enabled them to cope with their challenges of the environment. Consequently, they eventually found shelter, started hunting and what today is referred to as culture. Culture therefore, evolved through the varied tradition that followed human evolution, with all of its characteristics features. He further stressed, in Africa for instance, the Egyptian civilization is reputed to be one of the oldest in the world and its culture of life after death has been widely documented, just as its pyramids and mummies. Also in Nigeria, the Nok terracotta’s, Ife bronzes and the Benin court arts, have all been documented and the communities credited with rich cultures. The Nok, Ife and Benin cultures are some of the art cultures that are highly priced around the world. Indeed, Nigeria has a large variety of cultures, which are mostly complemented by unique, diverse and sophisticated artistic traditions. Perhaps, it is as a result of all these, that the Nigeria museum was first established. Primarily, to collect and document, the increasingly evolving traditional arts of the various cultures in Nigeria