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People lived in what is now Nigeria thousands of years ago. In parts of Nigeria, archaeologists have found stone tools that are 40,000 years old. Human skeletons, rock paintings, and other remains of prehistoric settlements have also been found. Nok was a West African civilization that flourished from about 700 B.C. Until at least A.D. 200.

It was centered in the valley where the Niger and Benue rivers meet. Today, Nok is the name of a village in Nigeria, about 160 kilometres Northeast of Baro.

The people of ancient Nok produced the oldest sculptures found so far in black Africa. These sculptures of animal and human figures were identified by the British archaeologist Bernard Fagg, who named them after the village of Nok. Similar sculptures have been discovered at many other sites in the river valley

For more information about ancient cultures in Nigeria and African Art in general check these references:
d'Azevedo, Warren L. The Traditional Artist in African Societies, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1975
Davidson, Basil. African Kingdoms, Time-Life Books, NY, 1966
Elisofon, Eliot. The Sculpture of Africa, Hacker Art Books, NY, 1978
Eyo, Ekpo & Frank Willett. Treasures of Ancient Nigeria, Detroit Institute of Arts, Chicago, 1980

Fagg, William &Margaret Plass. African Sculpture, Dutton Pictureback, Studio Vista, NY, 1973
Shaw, Thurstan. Nigeria: Its Archaeology and Early History, Thames and Hudson Ltd., London, 1978
Edited by Patrick Eddington, Highland High School from materials in The Docent Sourcebook UMFA.