Africa’s biogeographical disadvantages
When I talk here about Africa I mean Sub-Saharan Africa. Historically the Sahara has consisted a greater barrier than the Mediterranean. Most from Africa’s north coast are more similar to Europeans than people south of the Sahara. The exception is Egypt which has a rather mixed population. However, this is something which arose after the Arabic conquest. We are talking about long-lasting slave import here.
Sub-Saharan Africa is humanity’s original home. The entire evolution from common apes to the current human species took place in this part of the world. The bad thing is its indigenous organisms have evolved together with us. As such they have evolved defence mechanisms specifically against humanity. This has made it harder to develop a state society there.
Still today Africa has more genetic diversity than the rest of world combined. Blacks are as such not a genetic group but contain loads of such. Particularly if one mix in people of only partially African descent. Anyway, humanity shows clinal genetic variation. There are no sharp borders as some take for granted.
Agriculture arose twice in different places in Africa. Once in the Ethiopian Highlands and once in West Africa. Crops which evolved on the Highlands are Ethiopian banana, finger millet and teff. Those which evolved in West Africa can be divided in wetter and drier climates. In the wetter areas rice and yam begun to be cultivated. Please note that African rice is the same genus as Asian. In the drier areas people got themselves pearl millet and sorghum. At least one legume has its origin in Africa. Then this is about cowpea. Barley, taro and wheat have arisen in Eurasia and later introduced in Africa. Same applies to lentil, pea and pigeon pea.
The only large mammal domesticated in Africa is the donkey. It descends from the Horn of Africa and the historical Nubia. Donkeys are moreover misunderstood animals. They are not stubborn because they are stupid but because they are smart. The donkey makes its own judgment and refuses to accept the human’s. Moreover, the psychology of the donkey is such that it can’t be motivated by punishment. Using rewards instead they can be taught as much as herd and helper dogs.
Towards the end of the last ice age Sahara started shrinking. 11,700 – 8,200 years ago North Africa was as moistest. The Sahara was then reduced to five small areas in the north. Aurochs could go around them to regions further south. There they partially adapted to local climate and diseases. When cattle were later introduced they were crossed with such. At the same time dog, goat and sheep were introduced. Horse was introduced trough Egypt after it reached West Asia. I think pig was introduced at an even later date by ship from Southeast Asia. It is not adapted to live in dry climates. When other food animals were introduced the Sahara was already too dry.
At least 4,500 years ago copper extraction was invented in the Aïr Mountains. Although it was less dry then the environment was likely similar to Sahel. Further south iron smelting was invented about 4,000 years ago. Such inventions could only spread slowly. Africa is the continent having the shortest stretch of coast compared to its area. There are a great defiance in sailable rivers too. Bronze was introduced to the Horn of Africa by people from North Africa and West Asia. When it reached the rest of Africa its population already had iron tools. Most of Africa for this reason never had a Bronze Age.
The relationships between Africa’s languages are poorly documented. What is called Nilo-Saharan languages are too poorly examined to determine if they are related. The Atlantic-Congo languages definitely are. The Mande languages are uncertain if they belong to this group. I suspect this is because too little research has been done. If I understand it correctly Malinese has been written since the 13th century. In that case it is documented how it has changed over time.
The Atlantic-Congo languages are now thought to have been spread with agriculture from West Africa. My best explanation for the Chad languages is them being spread with domesticated mammals. The Cushitic languages on the Horn of Africa have a traceable common origin with them. So it is entirely possible that both were spread together with tame animals. If so the Afroasiatic languages have their common origin among West Asia’s first farmers. But opinions are divided about this.
It is hard to get to Madagascar from the African mainland. No population managed to establish itself until Antiquity. Then it was Austronesian speakers which sailed from Southeast Asia. With them they had Asian rice, coconut palm, taro and a new type of banana. I also think it was them which took with them pigs. Cattle were introduced by Africans no earlier than around 1000. This explains why the island’s population is of more than half African origin. It descends from a mix of people from southeastern Africa and Island Southeast Asia. This despite the indigenous languages most closely resembles those on Borneo.
On the Horn of Africa city-states arose about 3,000 years ago. No later than during Antiquity state society arose in West Africa. During the Middle Ages states spread over large parts of Africa. However, the indigenous population’s agriculture never reached the southern tip of the continent. The area around it has Mediterranean climate. Africa’s indigenous cereals can’t cope with this climate. In contrast the locals took over cattle, goat and sheep. Agriculture did not reach the area until the middle of the 17th century. Then Dutch settled there and founded South Africa.
Uploaded on the 27th of Mars 2025.