Agricultural diversification in West Africa: an archaeobotanical study of the site of Sadia (Dogon Country, Mali)

• DOI: 10.1007/s12520-021-01293-5
• Publication Date: 2021-03-08T03:02:33Z
• Authors: Louis Champion; Dorian Q. Fuller; Sylvain Ozainne; Éric Huysecom; Anne Mayor
• Keywords: info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/570; 2. Zero hunger; Original Paper; info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/590; Agriculture; 06 humanities and the arts; 15. Life on land; ddc:590; West Africa; Food diversification; 0601 history and archaeology; Archaeobotany; Rice; Fonio

While narratives of the spread agriculture are central to interpretation African history, hard evidence past crops and cultivation practices still few. This research aims at filling this gap better understanding evolution foodways in West Africa. It reports from systematic flotation samples taken settlement mounds Sadia (Mali), dating 4 phases (phase 0=before first-third century AD; phase 1=mid eighth-tenth c. 2=tenth-eleventh 3=twelfth-late thirteenth AD). Flotation 2200 l soil provided plant macro-remains 146 archaeological samples. As on most sites, dominant is pearl millet (