Cultural Resource Management and the Identity of the Nyankpa in Central Nigeria

There is a direct relationship between the way cultural resources are managed and the need to preserve the cultural identity of the society. In Nigeria, cultural resource management (preservation and conservation) of archaeological monuments has tended to ignore die identity of the people whose culture they are preserving. This paper argues strongly that the Nyankpa cultural identity has attracted very little ( if any) attention from archaeologists, and proceeds to examine the process involved in the management of cultural resources, for successful and purposeful preservation of cultural identity of the Nyankpa society. For the purpose of objectivity, a careful execution of oral interview based on equally prepared questionnaire, administered selectively was undertaken. The findings show that in several instances, cultural artifacts (either stored electronically or print) hardly reflect the identities of practitioners of that culture. This paper intends to challenge scholars to undertake further investigation of the phenomenon.