Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Precolonial Sub-Saharan African Farming and Herding Communities
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Precolonial Sub-Saharan African Farming and Herding Communities
- Paul LanePaul LaneDepartment of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University
- and Anna ShoemakerAnna ShoemakerDepartment of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University
Summary
Agricultural practices on the African continent are exceptionally diverse and have deep histories spanning at least eight millennia. Over time, farmers and herders have independently domesticated different food crops and a more limited range of animals, and have effectively modified numerous ecological niches to better suit their needs. They have also adopted “exotic” species from other parts of the globe, nurturing these to produce new cross-breeds and varieties better adapted to African conditions. Evidence for the origins of these different approaches to food production and their subsequent entanglement is attested by diverse sources. These include archaeological remains, bio- and geo-archaeological signatures, genetic data, historical linguistics, and processes of landscape domestication.
Keywords
Subjects
- Archaeology
- Historiography and Methods
