World Atlas Core Records · Religion

Ilé-Ifẹ̀

c. 1000-1600 CE · Nigeria

Ilé-Ifẹ̀ became a major Yoruba urban and sacred center renowned for copper-alloy, terracotta and stone works of striking technical control.

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AI-generated evidence-guided visualization related to Ilé-Ifẹ̀, c. 1000-1600 CE. — AI-generated visualization based on the cited record and period context. It is not documentary evidence or an authenticated reconstruction of a single event.

How the setting appeared

Compounds, walls, shrines, markets, pavements and craft areas formed an inhabited city within a forest-zone farming landscape.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-ILE-IFECIT-CORE103-IFE-MET Setting and material context · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

How people lived

Lineages, title holders, farmers, traders and specialists sustained a city whose importance continues in Yoruba history and identity.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-ILE-IFECIT-CORE103-IFE-MET Lifeways and community · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

How people worked

Artists used lost-wax casting, clay modeling, beadwork and stone carving; regional trade moved glass, metals and food.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-ILE-IFECIT-CORE103-IFE-MET Work, tools and exchange · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

Belief, ritual and worship

Living Yoruba accounts connect Ifẹ̀ with creation, ancestors, oriṣa and sacred kingship; public interpretation should respect community authority and historical change.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-ILE-IFECIT-CORE103-IFE-MET Belief, ritual and evidence limits · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

World-atlas stage: Connected medieval worlds
Region: Africa · Nigeria
Languages and scripts: Yoruba
Important people: No individual is centered in this record
Events and changes: Ile-Ife expanded as a major Yoruba urban center during the 11th to 15th centuries CE.; Artists produced naturalistic terracotta and copper-alloy heads and figures during the city's major artistic florescence, c. 12th-15th centuries CE.; Stone and potsherd pavements, shrines, compounds and craft areas developed across the urban landscape.; Ile-Ife remains a living sacred and royal center in Yoruba communities.
Evidence confidence: Strong objects and archaeology; the visual is a broader West African casting scene and does not reproduce a restricted rite.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-ILE-IFECIT-CORE103-IFE-MET Dates, place, language, people, events and confidence · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

Historical geography

A dated anchor, not an exact border

The local map uses modern coastlines only for orientation. The marker identifies this record's geographic anchor, not the full reach of a community or polity.

Map geometry loads only when requested. Modern outlines are orientation only; historical geography and identities changed through time.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-ILE-IFECIT-CORE103-IFE-MET Historical-geography anchor and stated limits · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

Evidence register

Guides used for this record

Each registered source ID is paired with its institutional URL for independent checking. Source count is transparent, and duplicate URLs count only once.

CIT-CORE-ILE-IFE

Ilé-Ifẹ̀: record evidence guide

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/galleries/africa

britishmuseum.org

CIT-CORE103-IFE-MET

Ife Terracottas (1000-1400 A.D.)

https://www.metmuseum.org/fr/essays/ife-terracottas-1000-1400-a-d

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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