M. Yakam Yola A Juma a soutenu une thèse de Doctorat au Département d'Histoire de l'Université de Dschang le 08 juin 2016. A l'issue des échanges, le jury présidé par le Prof. Victor Julius Ngoh lui a décerné la mention très honorable à l'unanimité de ses membres. Voici la présentation powerpoint qu'il a effectuée à cet effet.

1. PhD defence
Theme: « Archaeology of Nde: The Foundations
of a culture »
Members of Jury:
President: Victor Julius NGOH, Professor, UB
Supervisors:
 Richard TANTO TALLA, Associate Professor, UBa
 Zacharie SAHA, Lecturer, UDs
Members:
 Bienvenu-Denis NIZESETE, Associate Professor, UNdéré
 Canute AMBE NGWA, Associate Professor, UBa
 Gilbert Lamblin TAGUEM FAH, Associate Professor, UBa
Candidate: YAKAM YOLA A JUMA

2. Plan of Presentation
Rationale for the choice of topic
Objectives
Statement of the problem
Significance of the Study
Methodology
Difficulties Encountered
Outcome of research
 The Nde First Settlers
Cultural knowledge

3. Rationale for the choice of topic
The choice of this topic was motivated by the following facts:
 The scanty nature of the analysis of material remains collected during the
preparation of Maitrise dissertation. The focus of this dissertation was
only, to highlight the archaeological potentialities of Nde.
 The second reason for the choice of subject was linked to the presence of
the material remains that we noticed during a survey, which we conducted
after the Maitrise degree programme. We collected new types of material
remains and located new sites.

4. Objectives
Our Thesis has two objectives, cultural and scientific:
 The cultural objective is to establish the behaviours that led to the
dispersal of material remains on a site and understand how they were
produced, used and discarded.
 The second objective which is scientific has to do with an appeal made in
Garoua in 1979 by archaeologists working in Cameroon that a
comprehensive coverage of the territory be made by archaeological
research in order to understand the ancient cultures of different people
who lived in Cameroon.

5. Statement of the problem
 The various efforts of archaeological research already conducted in West
region of Cameroon revealed significant material traces of ancient
settlements in this region (among such works, we can mention the
dissertations of G. Lapa (1979), B. Fosso Dongmo (1986), B.D. Nizesete
(1986),C. C. Fouellefak Kana (1987), R. B. Tueche (1993), Ambe Tambu
(1996), C. Noundou Tchamo (2003), and our previous dissertations).
 However, most of those early works lacked two main data: laboratory
dating and knowledge on the cultures which produced the archaeological
materials.
 These are the two main gaps we tried to fill with this current work. We
tried to determine the period and examine the origins and organisation of
the first cultures of Nde.

6. Significance of the Study
The collection of material remains from stratigraphies deep in the ground is
evidence that another civilisations existed there during prehistoric times,
before the coming of the Bamileke. The interest of this study was
therefore situated at two levels:
 The knowledge of the unknown People that lived in Nde before the
coming of Bamileke.
 The contribution to the discipline in term of type of material remains, the
morphology and the technology that they revealed and above all, the
dating of early cultures

7. Methodology
The methodology we followed involved collection of oral traditions, consultation
of related documents, survey and archaeological excavations of the area of
research, analyses and interpretation of the material remains.
 The first step was the reading of literature which could contribute to the
location of sites and identification of archaeological remains. This was done
before fieldwork so as to know the natural and human factors which existed in
the region, and especially, how they might have influenced it.
 Oral tradition also helped in locating sites, surveying and collection of material
remains.
 After excavation and collection of material remains from some sites, we
studied them morphologically, technologically and typologically. These
analyses were necessary to interpret what were collected.
 At the level of interpretation, we followed the following methods: archaeology
of process, archaeology of context, ethnoarchaeology and interdisciplinary
approach.

8. Difficulties Encountered
We have faced a lot of difficulties in the process of our research. Among
them, we can mention:
 The thick vegetation that made archaeological survey difficult during the
rainy season. Delineating a surface and carrying out an excavation were
difficult because of soil inclination and the presence of hard rocks in some
areas.
 Regarding human data, difficulties in archaeological research were
particularly associated with the practice of agriculture. We were often
suspected that our activities might destroy the fertility of the soils on the
farms. There were also sacred places such as falls, groves and caves which
were traditionally, prohibited from survey and excavation.

9. Outcome of research
In spite the difficulties, we succeeded to conduct archaeological research in
Nde. After survey, certain spots on the sites judged by us to contain buried
material remains were mapped out and excavated. The archaeological
survey led to the location of the following archaeological sites: Ngakoun,
Dougchi, Massoh, Ndou-ke-nse and Yala. Archaeological remains
consisted of stone tools and potsherds.
 Stone tools were made from the following rocks: quartz, basalt, diorite
and trachyte. They were shaped and provided the following tools:
choppers, bifaces, pickaxes, adzes, axes, Hatchets, Grinding Stone,
Scrapers, and hoes.
 Potsherds were made from granite clay. They included pots, jars and vases
with variable percentages from one site to another.

10. Location of the Nde Division
.

11. Sites of Nde
Key
Sites, Nde boundaries, Sub-divisions
Villages Village boundaries

12. Surface Site:
Ngakoun

13. Stratigraphical Site
Yala

14. Table 1: Lithic Artefacts of Dougchi, Massoh,
Ndou-ke-nse and Yala
Sites Dougchi Massoh Ndou
-ke-
nse
Yala Total
Tools 35 78 27
A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2
07 04 12 17 01 00 181
Choppers 03 07 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 10
Axes 02 13 00 02 02 05 07 01 00 32
Pickaxes 03 06 03 00 00 00 00 00 00 12
Adzes 02 11 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 13
Bifaces 17 20 09 03 02 04 06 00 00 61
Hatchets 03 09 07 00 00 00 00 00 00 19
Hoes 05 12 00 02 00 03 04 00 00 26
Grinding
Stone
00 00 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 04
Scrapers 00 00 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 04
,

15. Sample of Stone tools
The site of Ndou-ke-nse: 1(biface), 2 (scraper)

16. Sample of Lithic Artefacts
The site of Massoh: 1 (axe), 2 (chopper), 3 (Adze), 4
(hatchet), 5 (biface), 6 (pickaxe), 7 (hoe)

17. Lithic Artefacts of Dougchi

18. Sample of Stone Artefacts of Ndou-ke-nse
.

19. Table 2: Potsherds of Ngakoun, Dougchi, Massoh
and Yala
Sites Ngakoun Dou
gchi
Masso
h
Yala Total
Parts of
Potsherds 378 353 405
A
1
A2 B1 B2 C1 C2
25 36 51 184 20 12 1464
Rim 120 153 139 07 15 11 59 04 01 509
Body 137 201 201 09 28 30 66 15 11 698
Base 14 52 65 09 13 10 59 04 00 226
Decorated 151 313 315 10 31 47 175 19 12 1073
Damaged 51 302 302 00 00 00 180 18 00 853
.

20. Sample of potsherds
The site of Massoh

21. Vessel Forms of Yala
.

22. Dating
The charcoal collected and analysed provided the following radio
carbon dating for three sites:
 Dougchi (ECS 404: 3766±120; Cal BC 2341-2031, Cal BP 4300-
3970),
 Massoh (ECS 402:6241±145, Cal BC 5430-5231, Cal BP 7343-6433),
 Yala (ECS 403: 5712±4638, Cal BC 4917- 4638, Cal BP 6911- 6731).
For the sites of Ngakoun and Ndou-ke-nse, which did not provide any
charcoal for radio carbon dating, we opted for relative dating on the
basis of historical studies and oral traditions for the site of Ngakoun,
typological comparison with archaeological works of other regions
of Cameroon and Africa for the site of Ndou-ke-nse.
 Ngakoun was dated to the XIXth century
 Ndou-ke-nse to the Late Stone Age, from 8000 BC.

23. The Nde First Settlers
Sites Material
Remains
Dating Settlers Interpretations
Ngakoun Potsherds 19th century - Tikar
- Bamileke
- Informants
-Historians
- Archaeologists
Dougchi Lithic
Artiffact
ECS 404:
3766±120;
Cal BC 2341-
2031, Cal BP
4300-3970
Late Stone
Age People
- Tools
- Dating
- Archaeologists
Potsherd
Bantu
- Tools
- Dating
- Linguists
- Archaeologists
Massoh - Lithic
Artiffact
- Potsherd
ECS
402:6241±145
, Cal BC
5430-5231,
Cal BP 7343-
6433
Late Stone
Age People
- Tools
- Dating
- Archaeologists
Ndou-ke-nse Polished
Lithic Artifact
8000 BC Late Stone
Age People
- Tools
- Archaeologists
Yala - Lithic
Artiffact
- Potsherd
ECS 403:
5712±4638,
Cal BC 4917-
4638, Cal BP
6911- 6731
Late Stone
Age People
- Tools
- Dating
- Archaeologists
.

24. Cultural knowledge
 Social Organization
A decrease of the mobility of housing and the increase of settlement. In Ngakoun,
populations were organized into chiefdoms. This was the religious and social unity.
Society was hierarchical and secured at all levels to enable the well-being of every
member of the community (Ghomsi, 1972).
 Social activities
The livelihood of the people was based on hunting, gathering of plants, fruits and
tubers. Agricultural activities were also confirmed by hoes. Based on the historical data
and the different sites we studied, we know that the Nde region was sparsely
populated. Social activities revealed an intense dynamism and constant production of
tools for the well-being of the population. The environment had undergone
transformations leading to a slight change of the forest to the forest-savannah, typical
vegetation of the current Nde (Perrois and J. P. Notué, 1997, Warnier, 1992)
 Religion
According to anthropological and historical works (Notue 1988, Saha 2005), Religious
beliefs were suggested by the presence of pottery in significant number. The religion
the people practiced was animism. It consisted of attributing souls to environment and
human being. Some places like waterfalls, groves, woods and caves had a sacred
character (Deschamps, 1977).

25. Conclusion
In spite the difficulties, we tried to fulfil our objectives. The collection
of archaeological remains, the identification of sites of ancient
occupations and the proposal of different cultures that lived in Nde
were crucial. However, gaps and uncertainties remain on the nature
and archaeological potentials of other sites in the region of Nde.
This requires that in the future, we conduct more research by
organizing more excavations to recover more material traces of the
past of this region.

26. PhD defence
Theme: « Archaeology of Nde: The Foundations
of a culture »
Members of Jury:
President: Victor Julius NGOH, Professor, UB
Supervisors:
 Richard TANTO TALLA, Associate Professor, UBa
 Zacharie SAHA, Lecturer, UDs
Members:
 Bienvenu-Denis NIZESETE, Associate Professor, UNdéré
 Canute AMBE NGWA, Associate Professor, UBa
 Gilbert Lamblin TAGUEM FAH, Associate Professor, UBa
Candidate: YAKAM YOLA A JUMA