A geo-referenced radiocarbon database for Early Iron Age sites in sub-Saharan Africa: initial analysis.

We report on the compilation of a new geo-referenced database of Early Iron Age dates for the regions associated with the expansion of Bantu-language speaking peoples in sub-Saharan Africa. We explore the database as a source of coarse-grained evidence of ecological constraints on site location, and...

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Publicado en:Southern African Humanities Vol. 21; pp. 327 - 345
Autores principales: Russell, Thembi, Steele, James
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Natal Museum Dec2009
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: A geo-referenced radiocarbon database for Early Iron Age sites in sub-Saharan Africa: initial analysis.
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        au:
          Russell, Thembi
          Steele, James
        affil:
          Corresponding author: School of Geography, Archaeology & Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, 2050 South Africa
          AHRC Centre for the Evolution of Cultural Diversity, Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 3134 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, UK
      su:
        Anthropological research
        GRIN (Information retrieval system)
        Iron Age
        Bantu languages
        Geographical positions
        Archaeological geology
        Rites & ceremonies
        Sub-Saharan Africa
      sug:
        subj:
          Sub-Saharan Africa
          Anthropological research
          GRIN (Information retrieval system)
          Iron Age
          Bantu languages
          Geographical positions
          Archaeological geology
          Rites & ceremonies
      keyword:
        14C
        African Early Iron Age
        demic expansion
        radiocarbon
        rainfall
        sorghum
      ab: We report on the compilation of a new geo-referenced database of Early Iron Age dates for the regions associated with the expansion of Bantu-language speaking peoples in sub-Saharan Africa. We explore the database as a source of coarse-grained evidence of ecological constraints on site location, and as a source of evidence for large-scale spatial trends in dates for first arrival and subsequent in-filling. It is evident even at this very coarse spatial scale that Early Iron Age sites are not typically found in areas with very low or very high annual rainfall. Four hundred millimetres of annual rainfall seems to be an effective minimum for Early Iron Age sites, although the database contains a few outliers located in areas where present-day rainfall is slightly below that threshold level. It is also evident that Early Iron Age sites are preferentially found in locations that provide suitable habitat for growing seed crops of tropical origin such as sorghum. It is not clear that there is any temporal delay differentiating the arrival of the Early Iron Age in the 10°S-20°S band from its arrival in latitudes further to the south, with visibility increasing markedly in both latitudinal bands at about AD 200.
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    language: English
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