Archaeological Discovery of Early Settlements in the Kabi Valley, Northwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Kabi River Valley just like other riverine settlements is an area that attracted human inhabitants from the second half of the fourteenth century. The area became attractive because of the opportunity created by the environment which is conducive for human habitation. Starting from the upper to the lower sections, the valley was dotted by evidence of human settlements. By the beginning of the fifteenth century, the region grew to a sophisticated political entity of great significance. This made it paramount
for the use of archaeological method to uncover aspect of the people’s history that cannot be discernible through sources other than archaeology. The aim of the paper is to provide an overview on the emergence of human settlements along upper and lower sections of Kabi River valley in the light of archaeological evidence. It goes ahead to account for the importance of the discoveries to the history of Kabawa people. A section was also created that dealt with some of the problems faced by archaeological research in the area. At the end, the paper concludes that the knowledge of archaeology is very instrumental to the study of the
early history of the people in the valley.