The advent of herding in Southern Africa: Early AMS dates on domestic livestock from the Kalahari Desert

• Published in: Current anthropology 2005-08, Vol.46 (4), p.671-677
• Main Authors: ROBBINS, Lawrence H, CAMPBELL, Alec C, MURPHY, Michael L, BROOK, George A, SRIVASTAVA, Pradeep, BADENHORST, Shaw
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal Husbandry; Anthropology; Archaeology; Botswana; Cultural Change; Dating; Desert; Excavation and methods; Herding; Human ecology; Laboratory methods; Livestock; Methodology and general studies; Prehistory; Prehistory and protohistory; Southern Africa; Sub Saharan Africa
• ISSN: 0011-3204; 1537-5382
• DOI: 10.1086/432748

The results of the first accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dates obtained directly on domestic livestock bones from Toteng sites in northern Botswana shed light on the debate about when & where livestock first entered southern Africa. Documenting the spread of domesticated livestock is important because it played a major role in the socioeconomic & ecological adaptations of African peoples. The finding of similar ages of the oldest cow & sheep bones at Toteng suggests that cattle & sheep both arrived approximately 2,000 years ago. This is consistent with studies indicating northern Botswana was a gateway for the dissemination of domesticated livestock in southern Africa. The findings also indicate that the arrival of livestock predates that of iron technology; the herding of sheep spread through the area before cattle; & cattle appeared about 300 years later in South Africa than at Toteng. The spread of livestock between eastern & southern Africa was inhibited by fatal cattle diseases that were less likely to occur in sheep or goats. Tables, Figures, References. J. Lindroth