Provenance studies of Esie sculptural soapstone from southwestern Nigeria

A group of soapstone statues found near the village of Esie in southwestern Nigeria is one of the largest collections of prehistoric sculpture found in sub-Saharan Africa. The statues were found at Esie by people of the Igbomina sub-grouping of the Yoruba ethnic group when they settled in the Esie area some 300 years ago. The origin of the statues remains unknown. Several areas of soapstone in the Nigerian Schist Belt are considered as potential source areas for the Esie statues. Mineral assemblages, textures, and compositions of talc, cummingtonite, and chlorite from some of the statues suggest a source for the statue soapstone from the Agbonda area, the closest proposed source area to Esie. However, mineralogic data from one of the statues are unlike any of the proposed source areas. The result of our study, together with earlier studies of Stevens, Hambolu and Onabajo provides strong evidence that the soapstone statues were carved from local ultramafic rocks from Esie area.     

Chemical and lead isotope analysis of some lead-barium glass wares from the Warring States Period,unearthed from Chu tombs in Changde City,Hunan Province,China

In the context of the present study, we have conducted chemical and lead isotope analyses on twelve ancient glass samples unearthed from Chu tombs in Changde City, Hunan Province. The results of the chemical analysis of these samples show that all samples are PbO–BaO–SiO₂ glasses, thus indicating that they are all traditional ancient Chinese glasses. The chemical results also suggest that all Bi wares may either share a common source or were produced according to similar recipes. In turn, the eye beads are different from the Bi wares for their distinct chemical composition. The chemical results indicate that silica, lead-bearing material, barium-bearing material, and sodium/lime-bearing material are the main independent components of the raw materials employed in the production of these glass wares.