Ancient Kingdom of Takrur: Pottery & Stoneware

Following up on Ancient Kingdom of Takrur: Metallurgy for Everyday Life, this week we’ll explore west African pottery and stoneware.

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The Takrur Empire emerged during the decline of the Wagadu Empire and reached its height in the 10th and 11th centuries, roughly parallel to the Wagadu empire (Ghana Empire).

In West Africa, pottery is still used for utilitarian, and religious purposes. Pots were used for a variety of domestic chores, including the storage and cooling of water and the preparation of meals, storage of food. To this day, in some societies, local beer or palm wine is brewed in large pots. ?

Among the Igbo, Ibibio, and the Kalabari, pots are also used for musical instruments.

Built for an entirely functional use, the vessels were readily made as long as clay was locally available.?

With few exceptions, pottery was made by women in traditional African societies.

As farming economies expanded over the entire region, specialization and artistic traditions developed within societies for the production of iron, pottery, textiles, terracotta figurines, glass and copper-based objects.?

Some societies actively participated in interregional economies and cultivated the growth of trans-Saharan trade routes, resulting in the development of large-scale medieval states and empires (e.g. Ghana and Mali) and initial conversions to Islam in northern locations.?

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About the Author: Lawrence Jean-Louis is the founder of eBrand Me, a digital marketing agency offering marketing & consultative services to CPAs and tax professionals. She aspires to start a money management firm by 2030.