Early agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa to <span class='italic'>c.</span> 500 <span class='sc'>ce</span>

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511978807.019

18 - Early agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa to c. 500 ce

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 May 2015

Paul J. Lane

Edited by

Graeme Barker and

Candice Goucher

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Graeme Barker: Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Candice Goucher: Affiliation:
Washington State University

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Summary

This chapter reviews the current state of knowledge of early agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa from its inception in different regions to c. 500 CE. Pastoralism was the earliest form of food production in sub-Saharan Africa, developing first in North Africa c. 8,000 years ago, and gradually spreading southwards during the early to mid-Holocene while rainfall across the Sahara was significantly higher than it is today. The West African Sahel has also long been known as a locus of the domestication of pearl millet. Regarding crop cultivation, the Ethiopian highlands are known to have been a centre of local plant domestication, including the African cereal tef, and enset, but also coffee, noog, probably finger millet and possibly sorghum. Regionally, the particular crop and livestock repertoires varied considerably, depending on local ecological conditions and the distribution of the wild ancestors of the key domesticates.

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Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge World History , pp. 472 - 498

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511978807.019 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2015

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