ABSTRACT
Origins involve questions of a difficult nature. Where and when does an artifact originate in terms of concept, production, and use? Each aspect can be an independent factor. Complex trade networks, the fission and fusion of ethnic groupings, as well as the ebb and flow of production techniques and traveling metal casters all contribute their own dynamics to this research. Before turning to Benin and its complex development, it must be observed that most of the ethnic groups in southern Nigeria developed from small village groups that expanded by incorporating both autochthonous and incoming populations. There are many traditions of migrations from Idah southwards down the Niger as far as Abo, a Western Igbo trading center at the head of the Delta.
