Agriculture: Why wasn’t Africa first?

Africa is the cradle of the human species. We evolved there over the course of 3.5 million years. Homo erectus, Homo habilis, and Australopithecus are just three of our human ancestors. They existed long before we Homo sapiens arose—about 250,000 to 300,000 years ago.

That humans started their journey in Africa is clear. From there, we migrated to populate much of the world. But it also raises a question: Why did the first farming societies begin elsewhere? Our ancestors had roamed Africa for hundreds of thousands of years, after all.

The Fertile Crescent in the Middle East was where farming began, in about 9000 BCE. China and New Guinea followed in 7000 BCE. For thousands of years, the only part of Africa to farm was Egypt. (It was part of the Fertile Crescent.) All of Africa south of the Sahara Desert, though, continued hunting and gathering until about 3000 BCE.

African “fine tuning”

Most scientists believe Africans turned to farming later precisely because that was where humans first arose. For millions of years, pre-human species evolved alongside native African animals. Animals need generations to adapt their instincts. African animals had a lot of time to adapt to humans. They therefore were more difficult to catch and turn into farm animals. Domesticating animals is one of the first steps in the development of a farming society. It also explains why there is so much megafauna (large mammals) still in Africa. We can see the contrast with what happened in Australia and the Americas. There, many of these larger species were wiped out when people suddenly arrived. Unlike animals in Africa, they didn’t have time to adapt to the threat of humans.

Humans also needed time to adapt to their environment. They evolved in Africa as foragers (hunters and gatherers) over millions of years. They became a part of Africa’s ecosystem. But in other areas of the world, humans turned up suddenly. This abrupt appearance meant that they were not as good at foraging in those regions. Their arrival caused rapid change, including the extinction of native animals. In time, the people in those new lands had to develop farming practices to survive.

“Gardens of Eden” and the “trap of sedentism”

Life as an early farmer was hard. Humans only stopped foraging when they became stuck in one place, sometimes called the “trap of sedentism.”

Farming required a lot of work. One estimate is that a farmer needed to work 9.5 hours a day. In contrast a forager only needed to work 6. Early farming led to more disease, worse food, and worse health. Farm communities were more vulnerable to weather and natural disasters. People naturally lived in ways that improved their chances of survival. For instance, we know for a fact that foraging communities in the Kalahari Desert in Southwest Africa knew about agriculture. However, they did not adopt it. In practice, foraging was easier and healthier than farming.

Africa lacked another feature that contributes to farming. It had few or no so-called “Gardens of Eden.” These areas are lush and filled with food resources. Foragers would settle in them where they could survive for a generation or so. Once settled, their populations would grow. Eventually, though, they would use up the area’s wild food supplies. They then would have to learn to farm. Being forced to give up nomadic ways in order to farm is known as falling into the “trap of sedentism.” In Africa, there weren’t many, if any, “Gardens of Eden.” So humans roamed from region to region as foragers for hundreds of thousands of years. They entered one area, used its resources, then moved on. Meanwhile, the old area naturally replenished itself over time.

Finally, Africa is a beautiful and diverse continent, containing many challenging environments. It has many dense forests that would be very difficult for foragers to clear, settle, and farm. The north has the Sahara, a vast desert, which makes farming almost impossible. It also cut off networks of communication with earlier farming societies. In fact, sub-Saharan Africans had to come up with farming independently. Agriculture there probably began in West Africa about 3000 BCE. It started in the savannah on the border between present-day Nigeria and Cameroon. Is it possible there actually was a “Garden of Eden” there to “trap” people into early farming? It’s not certain.

The independent origin of African agriculture

From 3000 BCE to 1000 BCE, the practice of farming spread across West Africa. The region’s people began by domesticating cattle. However, their efforts to domesticate plants were slow. Eventually, West Africans began to settle and grow their food full-time. These early farmers grew millet and sorghum (plants used for grain and fodder). Later, they began planting a type of rice native to Africa. They cultivated tubers (root vegetables), yams, and oil palms. They also tended all sorts of fruits and melons.

Early West African farmers relied on crops native to Africa. It indicates they did not learn these farming practices from elsewhere. It seems to be one of the few regions of the world where farming started independently.

The Spread of Agriculture in Sub- Saharan Africa, 1000 BCE to 500 CE

Farming was slow to spread from West Africa to other parts of the continent. It wasn’t until 1000 BCE to 500 CE that people in most of sub-Saharan Africa started farming. This is much later than most other regions of the world.

Nor is it clear that Africa’s journey into the agrarian era was entirely one of progress. In human history, agriculture seems to be necessary for the building of large societies. It also provides resources to make new technologies possible, including weapons. Because they developed agriculture later, some African societies suffered when they met outside cultures. European and Islamic traders and colonists took advantage of these differences. On the other hand, communities of sub- Saharan foragers were successful for thousands of years. They enjoyed healthier, more peaceful lives than members of agricultural societies elsewhere. Large areas of Africa escaped the problems farming culture creates. In short, it took longer for cruel kings and empires to take over.