Evidence for banana cultivation and animal husbandry during the first millennium BC in the forest of southern Cameroon

The faunal and botanical data from the first millennium BC site of Nkang, S outhern Cameroon, are presented in this paper. The analysed material, retri eved from refuse pits, comprises charcoal, phytoliths, molluscs and animal bones, which allow a reconstruction of the former environment. In addition, the site provides new insights into the emergence of food-producing commun ities in the African rainforest. Food procurement strategies at the site in volved gathering, hunting, fishing, as well as small livestock keeping and banana cultivation. This is the earliest evidence for such practices in Cen tral Africa.