essay
Identifying early farming traditions of west Africa
archaeology of africa: food, metals, and towns • London • Published In 1993 • Pages: 240-254
By: Andah, Bassey W..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This study looks to the ethnographic record to understand the social aspects and environmental requirements of food production in West Africa, formulating questions to address archaeologically. The types of crops that formed the basis of Neolithic subsistence—root crops like yams, grains (rice, sorghum, millet), and tree crops—produced distinct artifact complexes for cultivating each in its best-suited environment. The implications for the archaeological record are discussed.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Theoretical orientation in research and its results
- Flora
- Historical reconstruction
- Cultural participation
- Agriculture
- traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- West African Neolithic
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Western Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Sarah Berry; 2021
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- not applicable
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 4000-2000 BP
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- West Africa
- NotesAdditional notes
- Bassey W. Andah
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 92013921
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- West African Neolithic