Domestication, Desiccation, and Technology in Sub-Saharan Africa (6500 BC – 500 AD)

During the time period between 6500 BC and 500 AD there were significant developments taking place in sub-Saharan Africa which brought about changes in African life. These developments included domestication of animals, development in agriculture and iron smelting.

Domesticating animals during this time seemed to give the people of the Saharan community a sense of food security. It has been suggested by anthropologists that keeping livestock made it possible to maintain and increase populations because domesticated animals provided stored sources of food. Cattle provided meat, milk and blood which helped reduce famine.  Due to the desiccation of the Sahara hunters and gatherers became pastorals and their cattle contributed to the increased dryness of the Sahara. Eventually the increasing desiccation of the desert forced people to find new areas of settlement.

Displaced people who fled from the desert generally moved southward and the movement by pastoralist communities from desert to savanna caused the domestication of sorghum. Saharan pastoralists introduced herding to the savanna’s hunters and gatherers which prompted a population growth. Due to the increase in population, wild food supplies decreased and natives to the land began sowing and harvesting native wild grasses which led to the process of cereal domestication. However it should be noted that the indigenous crops that were grown in sub-Saharan Africa were limited to sorghum and millet. Therefore, technological advances in iron smelting played a crucial role in agricultural development.

The nomadic pastoralist of the Sahara who moved southward to the Sahel tried to make technological improvements to increase the amount of plant foods available. However, it was only after developments in the usage of iron that domestication of sorghum beyond the wild became possible. This was primarily because iron tools were strong enough to turn tough soil so that crops could be harvested well.

Developments in iron technology and the domestication of plants and animals not only helped Africans advance, it also changed their lifestyles. Domestication of plants and animals as well as new technological developments was in large part due to the desiccation of Sub-Saharan Africa between 6500 BC and 500 AD.