Archaeological Evidence for Population Rise and Collapse between ~2500 and ~500 cal. yr BP in Western Central Africa

Palaeocological studies show that major vegetation and environmental changes occurred in Central Africa from the mid-Holocene (e.g. Maley & Brenac 1998). Several suggest a human origin and assume that large population migration, technical innovations (e.g. iron-smelting technology) and/or ch...

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Autores principales:	Geoffroy de Saulieu, Yannick Garcin, David Sebag, Pascal R. Nlend Nlend, David Zeitlyn, Pierre Deschamps, Guillemette Ménot, Pierpaolo Di Carlo, Richard Oslisly
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN FR
Publicado:	OpenEdition 2021
Materias:	Late Holocene Archaeology prehistoric demography spatial analysis radiocarbon dating CC1-960 History of the arts NX440-632
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/5771cb1408444282acf26953b09442c3
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:5771cb1408444282acf26953b09442c32021-12-02T10:47:43ZArchaeological Evidence for Population Rise and Collapse between ~2500 and ~500 cal. yr BP in Western Central Africa2431-204510.4000/aaa.3029https://doaj.org/article/5771cb1408444282acf26953b09442c32021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttp://journals.openedition.org/aaa/3029https://doaj.org/toc/2431-2045Palaeocological studies show that major vegetation and environmental changes occurred in Central Africa from the mid-Holocene (e.g. Maley & Brenac 1998). Several suggest a human origin and assume that large population migration, technical innovations (e.g. iron-smelting technology) and/or change in agricultural practice, leading to deforestation and land clearance, are the drivers of these changes. However, at this stage, the lack of demographic reconstruction does not fully support these hypotheses. Here, a georeferenced archaeological database is used to infer population dynamics and the evolution of cultural practices in Western Central Africa over the last 5000 years. This database includes 1139 14C calibrated dates from 425 sites throughout southern Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and the western part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, dating back a maximum of 5000 cal. yr BP. Data modelling indicate possible population growth from 2500 to 1500 cal. yr BP, coinciding with the occurrence at a regional scale of specific techniques and practices. The concomitant increase of refuse pits, palm oil Elaeis guineesis and iron metallurgy (plus rare remains of millet Pennisetum glaucum) took place during the second half of the Neolithic, beginning around 2800 cal. yr BP. In the coastal regions, the population growth concerns the Neolithic and the Early Iron Age (2500–2000 cal. yr BP and 2000–1500 cal. yr BP), while in the Hinterland population growth seems slightly later (2400 and 1300 cal. yr BP). It is not possible to identify a common diffusion phenomenon from a single homeland. Rather, technical innovations and new practices appear to have spread through a wide network of cultural interactions, which fostered the formation of Western Central African societies during the third millennium.Geoffroy de SaulieuYannick GarcinDavid SebagPascal R. Nlend NlendDavid ZeitlynPierre DeschampsGuillemette MénotPierpaolo Di CarloRichard OslislyOpenEditionarticleLate HoloceneArchaeologyprehistoric demographyspatial analysisradiocarbon datingArchaeologyCC1-960History of the artsNX440-632ENFRAfrique Archéologie Arts, Vol 17, Pp 11-32 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN FR
topic	Late Holocene Archaeology prehistoric demography spatial analysis radiocarbon dating Archaeology CC1-960 History of the arts NX440-632
spellingShingle	Late Holocene Archaeology prehistoric demography spatial analysis radiocarbon dating Archaeology CC1-960 History of the arts NX440-632 Geoffroy de Saulieu Yannick Garcin David Sebag Pascal R. Nlend Nlend David Zeitlyn Pierre Deschamps Guillemette Ménot Pierpaolo Di Carlo Richard Oslisly Archaeological Evidence for Population Rise and Collapse between ~2500 and ~500 cal. yr BP in Western Central Africa
description	Palaeocological studies show that major vegetation and environmental changes occurred in Central Africa from the mid-Holocene (e.g. Maley & Brenac 1998). Several suggest a human origin and assume that large population migration, technical innovations (e.g. iron-smelting technology) and/or change in agricultural practice, leading to deforestation and land clearance, are the drivers of these changes. However, at this stage, the lack of demographic reconstruction does not fully support these hypotheses. Here, a georeferenced archaeological database is used to infer population dynamics and the evolution of cultural practices in Western Central Africa over the last 5000 years. This database includes 1139 14C calibrated dates from 425 sites throughout southern Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and the western part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, dating back a maximum of 5000 cal. yr BP. Data modelling indicate possible population growth from 2500 to 1500 cal. yr BP, coinciding with the occurrence at a regional scale of specific techniques and practices. The concomitant increase of refuse pits, palm oil Elaeis guineesis and iron metallurgy (plus rare remains of millet Pennisetum glaucum) took place during the second half of the Neolithic, beginning around 2800 cal. yr BP. In the coastal regions, the population growth concerns the Neolithic and the Early Iron Age (2500–2000 cal. yr BP and 2000–1500 cal. yr BP), while in the Hinterland population growth seems slightly later (2400 and 1300 cal. yr BP). It is not possible to identify a common diffusion phenomenon from a single homeland. Rather, technical innovations and new practices appear to have spread through a wide network of cultural interactions, which fostered the formation of Western Central African societies during the third millennium.
format	article
author	Geoffroy de Saulieu Yannick Garcin David Sebag Pascal R. Nlend Nlend David Zeitlyn Pierre Deschamps Guillemette Ménot Pierpaolo Di Carlo Richard Oslisly
author_facet	Geoffroy de Saulieu Yannick Garcin David Sebag Pascal R. Nlend Nlend David Zeitlyn Pierre Deschamps Guillemette Ménot Pierpaolo Di Carlo Richard Oslisly
author_sort	Geoffroy de Saulieu
title	Archaeological Evidence for Population Rise and Collapse between ~2500 and ~500 cal. yr BP in Western Central Africa
title_short	Archaeological Evidence for Population Rise and Collapse between ~2500 and ~500 cal. yr BP in Western Central Africa
title_full	Archaeological Evidence for Population Rise and Collapse between ~2500 and ~500 cal. yr BP in Western Central Africa
title_fullStr	Archaeological Evidence for Population Rise and Collapse between ~2500 and ~500 cal. yr BP in Western Central Africa
title_full_unstemmed	Archaeological Evidence for Population Rise and Collapse between ~2500 and ~500 cal. yr BP in Western Central Africa
title_sort	archaeological evidence for population rise and collapse between ~2500 and ~500 cal. yr bp in western central africa
publisher	OpenEdition
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/5771cb1408444282acf26953b09442c3
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Archaeological Evidence for Population Rise and Collapse between ~2500 and ~500 cal. yr BP in Western Central Africa

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