The vernacular names of the
mammal faunain the Niger Delta appear to
confirm the idea that the Ịjọ originated inland, probably in
the savanna
and came down the Niger to find it already sparsely populated.
However, the peoples in
residence were probably not specialised fishing groups, but rather practised early farming,
perhaps oil-palms and yams
The Ịjọ would have colonised the swamp forest and all the brackish
water zones with mobile fishing camps, ending up by encapsulating the first
settlers
Vegetation clearance would
then have attracted
other groups such as the Igbo, Edo and Isekiri