A pottery corpus for Daima

Abstract

A complete set of drawings of the pottery excavated from the Daima mound in 1966 is presented here for the first time. Previously only a small selection of these has been available in a published form. The drawings provide a visual guide to the ceramic sequence at this site from the first millennium BC to the early part of the second millennium AD. In general it can be seen that flat-based pots, three-legged pots, carved roulettes and nodular roulettes characterized the third phase of the site; the first appearance of twisted cord roulettes occurred in the second phase; and comb-stamping and comb-drawing were most common in the first and second phases. In addition there was a gradual change throughout the sequence from smaller vessels of fine ware to larger ones of coarser fabric. Overall, it is hoped that these illustrations will contribute to the growth of comparative ceramic studies of the last three millennia in the West African Sahel.