Igùn ⇒ A Mathematica...

Igùn ⇒ A Mathematical Model

P_t = \beta \times \ln \left( \sum_{i=0}^t B_{i,t} \right) + \alpha

where: * P_t = bronze artifacts output at time t (1897-1914) * t = time period (0 = 1897, 1 = 1898, ..., 17 = 1914) * ( B_{i,t} ) = number of Benin bronze artisans at time t in Benin kingdom at location i * i = location (0 = Benin City, 1 = Igarra, ..., 11 = Warri) * \beta, \alpha = regression coefficients (\beta, \alpha ≈ 0.74, -1.395)

The above equation engages in spatial and historical processes of market development to account for the decline of Benin bronze production. Specifically, it attempts to explain the displacement, relocation, and de-professionalization of Benin artists during the rise of colonialism in Benin in 1897, and amidst a complex set of market and political transformations.

By taking the natural logarithm of the sum of the number of Benin bronze artisans at each of the kingdom's locations at time t, it captures the total number of artisans who participated in bronze production of Benin over time. This indicates that as the total number of artisans decreases, the production of Benin bronzes also decreases accordingly (because there have been fewer artisans to produce Benin bronzes, a decline in the production of Benin bronzes would be expected on average).

Limitation Although this model applies concepts of market integration and artistic decline, this work is not without its criticism. The logistics of the model are a significant topic of debate due to an incomplete understanding of how different factors within the model were calculated.

Note Co-written with GPT-3