Jenne-Dennis statue from Mali west Africa.
Djenne-Djenno had a population of around 20,000 in the 6th-9th century CE and covered some 300,000 square metres. The city may have been the centre of a wider state or kingdom, and there is evidence of perhaps 15 smaller surrounding settlements, some separated from each other only by a few hundred metres. However, any political apparatus has not and perhaps cannot be revealed by archaeology alone in the absence of a writing system. Certainly, the size of the city was exceptional, even by today's standard in the region and some sort of centralisation is indicated by the presence of specialised workshops for potters and metalworkers in some of the city's surrounding mini-settlements