The West African Heritage
Jamaica had an estimated population of 2,758,124 in July 2006.
The population is broken down as:
West Africa and West Central Africa are the origin of over 90% of the Jamaican population.
The Nigerian Region of West Africa
The Nigerian region of West Africa has witnessed a number of civilizations from antiquity to the present. There is evidence of human occupation from around 4580 BC. The Nok civilization was the first significant civilization recorded in the region. Around four hundred pieces of Nok art have been excavated; the earliest dated to 3000 BC. The artefacts are mostly terracotta human statues of a high standard, some four or more feet in height.
Following the Nok Civilization was the Igbo-Ukwu civilization. Finely crafted bronze vessels from this civilization are dated to around the ninth and tenth centuries AD. The Igbos traded with Saharan states to the north in ivory, pepper, kola nuts and spices. Well-preserved fabrics found indicated an Igbo textile industry.
The Yoruba civilization, ruling from the walled and paved city of Ile-Ife, was noted for its many scholars. Archaeological excavations dated the inhabitation of Ife to around 600 AD. Yorubas cultivated yams and oil palms and had important industries manufacturing iron products and glass. They imported horses, salt, copper and brass and exported kola nuts and cloth. Yoruba art, much of it in metal, was of a very great distinction. The Yoruba civilization became a main target for European slave traders in the 1600s. From the fifteenth century onwards, West Africa became gripped by the slave trade.
Benin, the next civilization, benefited from good leadership and flourished. There were the guilds of weavers, carvers and potters. Like the other great civizilations before it, Benin traded with the Saharan states to the north. Later, links were made with Portugal and other European countries and Benin exported dyed cotton cloth, wool, jasper, leopard skin, soap, palm oil, pepper, and the most exquisitely carved ivory condiment sets and tableware. Benin History continued until 1897, when the British army invaded and plundered the country. They took thousands of priceless artefacts that are held by British institutions and private collections.
