Jenne-jeno III

  General Description   The archaeological site of Jenne-jeno (or Djenné-djenno) is a mound located in the Niger Inland Delta, a region of West Africa just south of the Sahara and part of modern-day Mali, characterized by lakes and floodplains. It was continuously inhabited between 250 BCE and 1400 CE. ’Jenne-jeno III’ refers to the period from 400 to 900 CE. This roughly corresponds to the region’s ’urban prosperity’ phase. ^[1] Though subsistence strategies remained largely unchanged, a number of important transformations occurred: the inhabitants of Jenne-jeno grew in number, established long-distance trade networks, and developed more sophisticated metalworking techniques. ^{[2] [1]}
Population and political organization
Between 400 and 800 CE, Jenne-jeno grew from 25 to 33 hectares. Population density was likely high, and a conservative estimate puts the population of Jenne-jeno and its satellites within a one-kilometre radius at 10,000-26,000 people around 800 CE. ^[3]
The political organization of Jenne-jeno may have been quite different from that of other ancient cities. In several decades of excavation, clear evidence for hierarchies of any kind has yet to be unearthed: it seems that Jenne-jeno had no palaces, rich tombs, temples, public buildings, or monumental architecture. Indeed, the city’s very layout ‒ an assemblage of dispersed clusters ‒ suggests a resistance to centralization. ^[4] It is possible that, at this time, Niger Inland Delta society was organized ’heterarchically’ rather than hierarchically: that is, it was divided into multiple components, each deriving authority from separate or overlapping sources, with mechanisms in place to prevent any one group from monopolizing power. ^[5]

[1]: (McIntosh 2006, 175-76) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. Ancient Middle Niger. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[2]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 1) Roderick J. McIntosh and Susan K. McIntosh. 1981. ’The Inland Niger Delta before the Empire of Mali: Evidence from Jenne-jeno’. Journal of African History 22 (1): 1-22.

[3]: (McIntosh 2006, 174-75) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. Ancient Middle Niger. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[4]: (McIntosh 2006, 189) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. Ancient Middle Niger. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[5]: (McIntosh 2006, 228-29) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. Ancient Middle Niger. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.