Jenne-Jeno is an important site because it provides our only insight into the changes that occurred before the trans-Saharan trade (Jenne 1).
| © Roderick J. McIntosh |
We now know that groups from the Serer, Soninke of Mali, and others moved southward due to diseases that spread in the wet conditions of that area. They settled in Jenne, which is in the upper inland Niger Delta of the middle Niger (between modern Mopti and Segou). Some of these people moved 3 km away and settled in what we call Jenne-Jeno. The flood plain in Jenne-Jeno was well suited for growing rice, sorghum, and millet, along with other swamp grasses (Jenne 2).
Jenne-Jeno was an extremely important and vital site in terms of trade. From the south, goods were transported by land to Jenne-Jeno, then shipped on broad bottom canoes to Timbuktu, thence by camel to markets in North Africa and Europe (Jenne 1). As time went on, Jenne-Jeno grew to over 60 acres (Jenne 3).
Its peak was reached between 450-1100 C. E. There were organized cemeteries, copper and bronze ornaments, and constructed houses. The two most noticeable changes during its peak were cylindrical brick houses replacing mud houses and impressive stamp decorations replacing painted pottery. A brick wall that ran almost 2 km around the town (3.7 m wide) was also built. Jenne-Jeno reached its maximum area of 100 acres in 850 C.E. (Jenne 3).
As the climate grew dryer, Islamic influences appeared. Rectangular houses were built and the Islamic religion was introduced. 1200-1400 C.E. was the beginning of the decline of this site. The weather changed and crops began to fail. Divisions occurred as some people moved and some converted religions. By 1400 C.E. Jenne-Jeno strangely had become a ghost town (Jenne 4).
Today, the land of Jenne-Jeno is dry and desert like. It is under constant threat of pillaging. Artifacts from the site are being stolen and sold for millions on the black market (Rice 3). Articles are being published and TV specials are being broadcast to try to persuade thieves not to steal, or at least make it harder (Rice 5). As artifacts continue to disappear, so do the answers to the mysteries of Jenne-Jeno.
Sources
Jenne-Jeno, an African City.
http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~anth/arch/niger/broch-eng.html
Rice News: The Pillaging of Ancient Africa
http://ric…/02-01-1996_The _Pillaging_of_Ancient_ Africa.htm
Jenny Fields