The Human Occupation of Raou Gormoaya's Rock Shelter in the Adamawa Region: Contribution to Local History

Abstract

A rock shelter is defined as a habitat site installed at the foot of a cliff and simply protected by a rocky overhang; it is shallow and widely open to the open air (Leroi-Gourhan, 1988, p 41). There are two types: shelters under natural rocks (ecofacts)and those which are artificial, resulting from an anthropic action. The Ngan-Ha borough has several natural shelters like that of Raoul Gormoaya, which is the subject of this study. The demographic growth punctuated by the search for new spaces is damaging not only the archaeological sites, but especially the material culture which is deteriorating at an accelerated rate. The urgency is to save the maximum of sites and the vestiges which they contain from destruction, then to consider strategies of preservation and valorization. This research is part of the research undertaken in RaouGormoaya's rock shelter, which aims to assess the importance of the site, by making a preliminary study of the archaeological documentation collected in situ, including results are structured in three points: the first is devoted to the data collection methodology. The second part deals with the description of the site. The last point will revolve around the description of the remains collected on the site.