Katsina-Ala is a
Local Government Area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
(LGA) of
Benue State
Benue State is one of the North Central states in Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in 2006 census. The state was created in 1976 among the 7 states created at that time.The state derives its name from the Benue River which is th ...
, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Katsina-Ala where the
A344 highway starts. It is also the location of an important archeological site where artifacts of the
Nok culture
The Nok culture (or Nok civilization) is a population whose material remains are named after the Ham village of Nok in Kaduna State of Nigeria, where their terracotta sculptures were first discovered in 1928. The Nok culture appeared in Nigeria ...
have been found.
Community
The LGA of Katsina-Ala has an area of and a population of 224,718 at the 2006 census. The town center is the location of one of the oldest schools in Nigeria, Government College Katsina-Ala, founded in 1914, and has produced many prominent members in Nigerian society.
The
postal code
A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...
of the area is 980.
The community, which lies on the banks of the
Katsina Ala River
The Katsina Ala (or Katsina-Ala) is a river in central Nigeria, located within its Middle Belt. It serves as a major tributary of the Benue River in Nigeria. The source of the river is found in the Bamenda highlands in northwestern Cameroon. It f ...
, a major tributary of the
Benue River
The Benue River (french: la Bénoué), previously known as the Chadda River or Tchadda, is the major tributary of the Niger River. The river is approximately long and is almost entirely navigable during the summer months. The size of its bas ...
, is mainly occupied by
Tiv, Hausas and fulanis. The major language of communication in Katsina Ala is Tiv
Archeological site
Terracotta statues were found at Katsina Ala in the middle of the twentieth century.
They include realistic representations of human heads, with some animals, and parts of larger statues.
The statues are similar to others found at
Nok
Nok is a village in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The village is an archeological site.
Archaeology
The discovery of terracotta figurines at this location caused its name to be used for the Nok culture, of which these ...
, about 209 km to the north, and are thought to have been made by people of the same culture.
The human figures most likely represented ancestors or spirits.
According to
Bernard Fagg
Bernard Evelyn Buller Fagg MBE, (8 December 1915 – 14 August 1987) was a British archaeologist and museum curator who undertook extensive work in Nigeria before and after the Second World War.
Biography
Fagg was born in Upper Norwood to an ...
, an archeologist who undertook extensive studies into the Nok culture, the works at Katsina Ala constitutes a distinctive sub-style.
Statues from
Taruga
Taruga is an archeological site in Nigeria famous for the artifacts of the Nok culture that have been discovered there, some dating to 600 BC, and for evidence of very early iron working. The site is 60 km southeast of Abuja, in the Mid ...
and from
Samun Dukiya Samun Dukiya is an archeological site in Nigeria in the Nok valley where artifacts from the Nok culture have been found, dating to between 300 BC and 100 BC.
Radiocarbon dating indicates that the site was occupied between 2500 and 2000 ...
are similar, but have typical stylistic differences.
Iron working began at the site in the fourth century BC, somewhat later than iron working at Taruga.
Smelted tin beads have also been found on the site, some of which could be imitations of cowrie shells.
References
Archaeological sites in Nigeria
Local Government Areas in Benue State
Archaeological sites of Western Africa
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