Book contents
- The Cambridge World HistoryVolume II
- The Cambridge World History
- A World with Agriculture, 12,000 bce–500 ce
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Archaeogenetics
- 3 Agricultural origins
- 4 What did agriculture do for us?
- 5 Communities
- 6 Pastoralism
- 7 Agriculture and urbanism
- 8 Early agriculture in Southwest Asia
- 9 ’Ain Ghazal, Jordan
- 10 Early agriculture in South Asia
- 11 Mehrgarh, Pakistan
- 12 Early agriculture in China
- 13 Xinglonggou, China
- 14 Early agriculture in Japan
- 15 The Nara basin paddies, Japan
- 16 Early agriculture in Southeast Asia and the Pacific
- 17 Swamp cultivators at Kuk, New Guinea
- 18 Early agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa to c. 500 ce
- 19 The Tichitt tradition in the West African Sahel
- 20 Early agriculture in the Americas
- 21 Nanchoc valley, Peru
- 22 Early agricultural society in Europe
- 23 Pioneer farmers at Brześć Kujawski, Poland
- Index
- References
18 - Early agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa to c. 500 ce
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 May 2015
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Book contents
- The Cambridge World HistoryVolume II
- The Cambridge World History
- A World with Agriculture, 12,000 bce–500 ce
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Archaeogenetics
- 3 Agricultural origins
- 4 What did agriculture do for us?
- 5 Communities
- 6 Pastoralism
- 7 Agriculture and urbanism
- 8 Early agriculture in Southwest Asia
- 9 ’Ain Ghazal, Jordan
- 10 Early agriculture in South Asia
- 11 Mehrgarh, Pakistan
- 12 Early agriculture in China
- 13 Xinglonggou, China
- 14 Early agriculture in Japan
- 15 The Nara basin paddies, Japan
- 16 Early agriculture in Southeast Asia and the Pacific
- 17 Swamp cultivators at Kuk, New Guinea
- 18 Early agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa to c. 500 ce
- 19 The Tichitt tradition in the West African Sahel
- 20 Early agriculture in the Americas
- 21 Nanchoc valley, Peru
- 22 Early agricultural society in Europe
- 23 Pioneer farmers at Brześć Kujawski, Poland
- Index
- References
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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- Information
- The Cambridge World History , pp. 472 - 498Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2015
References
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