The Chronology and the Finds

The pottery of all the sites can be devided into five, or rather six successive phases:

- Later Stone Age / Neolithic
(1000 cal BC to 500 cal BC)

During these centuries the sites were inhabited with interruptions, leaving layers with little or no cultural material interlocked by rich and abundant remains. Animal bones are more frequent than above, suggesting that people lived amidst their butchering refuse. Material culture is notably different from layers above. Harpoons are characteristic and demonstrate that fishing must have been of considerable importance. Fragments of grinding stones are surprisingly more frequent than in times when, according to the botanical remains, crops were grown on a larger scale.

Furthermore, small anthropomorphic figurines with pronounced female characteristics occur in great numbers.

- Early Iron Age
(500 cal BC to 800 cal AD)

Although quite an extensive period, we know very little from the Early Iron Age. The first appearance of iron was detected in Kursakata with a small ring, dating to the latter half of the first century cal BC. Yet traces of iron smelting was found by Scott MacEachern on the foothills of the nearby Mandara mountains, which date to at least 500 cal BC. Around this time gradual changes in pottery decoration came about and botanical remains indicate increasing aridity.

- Later Iron Age
(800 cal AD to 1600 cal AD)

This is the time of developing kingdoms and the so called "So-civilization". Throughout the Chad Basin complex political institutions began to form. In the case of the Kanem-Borno Empire Islam began to dominate political and religious life from the 11th century AD onwards. These new ideas did not spread south of Lake Chad until the 17th century AD and Arabic sources remain quiet about the land - a fact already stressed by Heinrich Barth. Considering the rich archaeological remains from that period which have been made known to the public by Jean-Paul Lebeuf, little is known from written texts until during the 16th century, finally d'Anania published a detailed report and Ibn Furtu wrote about the conquests of Mai Idris Alaoma when he broke local resistance by marauding the town of Amsaka.

- Early Historic
(1600 cal AD to 1800 AD)

During this time the area came under continuous pressure of Borno and the empire began to infiltrate the area with pioneer settlements.Dikwa is believed to be one such settlement. Gradually many of the once independent kingdoms became subjects of Borno.

- Historic / Pre-Colonial
(1800 AD to 1900 AD)

With the beginning of the 19th century European travellers give first-hand accounts of the area in question. The first group was the British expedition under Dixon Denham and Hugh Clapperton. They visited Ngala and Denham proceeded further to Logon in present-day Cameroon. Later the area was described by Heinrich Barth and Gustav Nachtigal. Gerhard Rohlfs crossed the lands at the western border, through Dikwa. At the beginning of the 19th century Borno the religious leader al-Kanemi resided in Ngala. When the Fulani threatened the ancient regime of Borno, he was called to assist the Mai against the jihad. Later he managed to put himself into power and govern the empire. From then on Borno increasingly dominated the ancient indigenous political structures and with the onset of the 20th century people began to change their ethnic identity from Kotoko to Kanuri.

- The Aftermath: Colonial Times and the Federal Republic of Nigeria
(1900 AD to present)

In 1900 French troops conquered the territory when defeating the usurper Rabeh, who had put himself up in Dikwa and in 1902 the region was taken over by the Germans who again left in 1915 in course of World War I. Afterwards this part of Cameroon became a mandatory region by the United Nations. It was governed from Borno Province of Nigeria and later, after 1962, became a part of Borno State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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