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Archaeobotanical evidence for pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) in sub-Saharan West Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

A. C. D'Andrea ,
M. Klee  and
J. Casey
A. C. D'Andrea
Affiliation:
D'Andrea, Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, V5A 1S6.
M. Klee
Affiliation:
Universität Basel, Botanisches Institut, Schönbeinstrasse 6, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
J. Casey
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia SC 29208, USA.
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Extract

The remains of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) dating to 3460±200 and 2960±370 BP have been recovered at the archaeological site of Birimi, northern Ghana, associated with the Kintampo cultural complex. This finding represents the earliest known occurrence of pearl millet in sub-Saharan Africa. Results indicate that Kintampo peoples developed effective subsistence adaptations to savannas as well as tropical forest habitats.

Keywords

West AfricaKintampoarchaeobotanypearl millet
Type
Papers
Information
Antiquity , Volume 75 , Issue 288 , June 2001 , pp. 341 - 348
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2001

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