AFRICA
BY SUSAN COOKSEY
Most of what we know about African adornment in the
ancient period is from archaeological evidence. Although
a few objects such as beads have been found, the major
sources of information are depictions of figures wearing
various types of decoration. Even though few actual ob-
jects have been unearthed and many of the early repre-
sentations of adornment items are difficult to decipher, we
can hypothesize that most were made of natural materials.
These probably included plant fibers, grasses, bark, wood,
seeds, seed pods, roots, and leaves and animal hides, fur,
feathers, bone, sinew, claws, horns, eggs, shells, and teeth.
The earliest known forms of personal adornment—drilled
ostrich shells—were found at the Kenyan site of Enkapune
Ya Muto and date to 40,000 years ago. Shell beads have
been used throughout many regions of Africa for both
decoration and exchange.
Petroglyphs on cave walls in north-central Africa include
images of male and female fi gures wearing various items of
adornment. A cave painting in the region of Tassili n’Ajjer,
done with white, red, and black pigments, depicts a large fe-
male fi gure with horns who appears to be running or danc-
ing. In this painting that dates to 8000–6000 b.c.e., the fi gure
has rows of dots on the torso and legs that may represent body
painting, scarifi cation, or tattooing. Th e horned fi gure also is
wearing armbands and a rear apron made of long strands that
appear to be fi ber or hair. She has cuff s at her ankles, knees,
elbows, a nd w rists w it h sma l l ra ndom dots t hat may be mu lt i-
ple strands of beads, knotted fi bers, or painted designs. Other
fi gures in the painting have helmets and belts that seem to be
made of shells.
In the Tsaisab Gorge in the Brandberg Mountains of
Namibia in southern Africa, archaeologists have found rock
paintings showing fi gures with body adornment. In one of
these paintings, all of which date from 2000 to 1000 b.c.e.,
fi gures are depicted in a long procession. Rows of dots are
painted on their heads, ankles, and knees that may represent
beaded jewelry made of ostrich shell. Ostrich-shell beads are
made from small sections of shell that are rounded to form
fl at white beads through which a hole is drilled so they can be
sewn to a leather strip or strung on a thread.
Approximately 600 terra-cotta sculptures, many of
which are adorned fi gures, have been found at Asinda Sika
near Niamey, Niger. Dating from 200 to 1000 c.e., they in-
clude an elaborately ornamented male equestrian fi gure who
has marks on his cheeks and forehead that may be scarifi ca-
tion marks. Such facial marks may have signifi ed his status or
his ethnic identity. Large spiked bangles on his forearm are
similar to armlets made of iron found on skeletons in Asinda
Sika tombs. Th e equestrian fi gure also has crossed bando-
liers on his chest and several choker necklaces. Th e pattern
on these adornments suggests that they were made of either
beads or braided fi bers.
A great number of terra-cotta fi gures with various kinds
of adornments were found in north-central Nigeria in the
Jos Plateau region. Th ey are a product of the Nok culture,
named for the Nok Valley where many of the sculptures were
found, an area between the Niger and Benue rivers. Th rough
thermoluminescence testing, these fi gures have been dated
to 500 b.c.e. to 500 c.e. Nok fi gures vary in style according
to where they were found, but they all have elaborate head-
dresses, hairdos, jewelry, and garments. Male fi gures have
various types of hairdos and hats as well as distinctive and
diverse forms of facial hair, including beards and mustaches.
Among the hairstyles are long strands of hair hanging down
their cheeks, upswept hairdos bound by bands, lobed hairdos
with holes that may have been adorned with feathers, various
types of buns, and ringlets.
Nok fi gures are also depicted wearing necklaces, collars,
girdles, armbands, and anklets that may be multiple strands
of beads. One small Nok fi gure of a kneeling man wearing
many beaded strands is perforated with holes on the head and
waist and may have been a pendant. A terra-cotta head has
a trilobed hairdo with a band on the forehead that may rep-
resent a beaded headband, braided fi ber, or iron chain. Th e
beads depicted on the terra-cotta sculptures were probably
made of quartz, as hundreds of quartz beads were found at
Nok sites. Th e beads were made by placing the quartz pieces
in a stone groove and grinding them into cylinders. Holes
were then drilled in the cylinders with an iron tool.
Beginning in the fi rst millennium b.c.e. and up to 300
b.c.e. there were thriving communities in the region of Asma-
ra in Eritrea. Th ese communities are referred to as Ona, aft er
the site Ona Gudo. Archaeologists have excavated numerous
artifacts of glass, stone, and ceramic, including beads, earlobe
plugs, and lip plugs. Th e stone beads, made from chlorite,
come in a variety of shapes. Th e lip plugs and earlobe plugs
are ceramic and stone. One type of plug was made from soft
black stone and has an incised surface. One lip plug resembles
a type found in the eastern Sudan in the Atabi region, dat-
ing to the fourth millennium b.c.e. Similarly shaped glass ear
and lip plugs were found in excavations of Axum, a powerful
k ingdom in nearby Et hiopia t hat arose in t he latter par t of t he
fi rst millennium b.c.e.EGYPT
BY EMILY JANE O’DELL
Th e ancient Egyptians adorned their bodies with jewels,
perfumes, lotions, makeup, and a variety of hairstyles for
aesthetic, health, and symbolic reasons both in life and in
preparation for the aft erlife. Both men and women in ancient
Egypt took great care to moisturize and perfume their bod-
ies, and they had various tools and palettes to help them cre-
ate certain hairstyles and apply makeup.
Th ere is no one hairstyle particular to ancient Egypt.
Hairstyles changed with time, and diff erent people in the
same period were known to wear diff erent hairstyles, based4 adornment: Africa