Food Security in Western and Central Africa During The Late Holocene: The Role of Domestic Stock Keeping, Hunting and Fishing

Abstract

The first critical review of early cattle finds in northern and western Africa was made by Gautier (1987), who demonstrated that the number of sites with well preserved, securely identified, and well dated remains is low. An update of the North African data has been given by Garcea (1993), Chenal-Velarde (1997) and Hassan (2000, this volume). West African data on early cattle are also dealt with in an overview by MacDonald and MacDonald (2000), whereas the Central African early finds for domestic cattle and ovicaprines have been reviewed by Van Neer (2000). The dispersal in the Sahara still needs to be refined, but there is a trend showing that the dates for cattle become gradually younger as one moves from the Eastern Sahara westward. In addition, a north-south diachronic trend can be observed. Despite the low number of data points, several models of the early spread of cattle have been published (e.g., Shaw, 1981; Roche, 1991; Krzyzaniak, 1992; Breunig and Neumann, 1996; Hassan, 2000, this volume). The poor number of finds and the lack of sufficient chronological resolution hamper the establishment of a precise relation between the colonization of new areas by pastoralists and short term climatic events. It is likely, however, that the introduction of cattle into the Central Sahara (Tibesti, Acacus and Air) during the seventh and sixth millennia bp results from possible population movements and long-range transhumance following pressure that arid spells exerted on food security (Hassan, 1996). New data from Uan Muhuggiag and Uan Telocat indicate also that small livestock were already present in the Acacus region by the beginning of the seventh millennium bp (Corridi, 1997). The southward migration of pastoralists from the Sahara into the West African Sahel is linked to the late Holocene arid phase which apparently started in the north, at latitude 21°20’, at ca. 5000 bp and shifted southward thereafter (Hassan, 1996, p. 85). The spread of pastoralism in the southern part of the Sahel and the northern savannas from the fourth millennium bp onwards has been poorly documented thus far, but new data