Nkang is an archaeological site located in the Centre region of central Cameroon, near the town of Monatélé.
Archaeological investigations at Nkang provided evidence of agricultural cultivation in the form of phytoliths. In particular, the presence of bananas at Nkang indicate these agricultural practices are older than expected and may even predate the Bantu expansion.
Excavation
Archaeologists conducted a study to analyze pits at the site to discover what was inside. Wet samples of soil from the excavated pits were sieved to extract phytolith plant material. They found soil, broken ceramics, tools, iron slags, charcoal, and remains of other fauna. Samples of ceramic, lithic, and faunal materials were sorted in marked bags and boxes, and other charcoal fragments were picked and taken for carbon dating.
Pottery from Nkang was found and distinguished by spherical, ellipsoid, and ovaloid shaped pots with collars and necks. The pottery from Nkang is also thicker on average than pottery from other sites in the region. Along with the stone tools found, iron slag was recovered from the pits, meaning iron working was practiced in the area at the time.
Botanical findings
Botanical remains of plants exploited for their edible fruits were found. Some of what was found in the pits include charred samples of Elaeis guineensis and Canarium schweinfurthii, and phytoliths such as Musa sp., one of the most important discoveries of the archaeobotany at Nkang. In particular, the remains of phytoliths were found attached to pieces of pottery.
The phytolith evidence of Musa sp. is also unusual because there are no wild ancestors of it to naturally occur on the African continent, so it must have been introduced at some point. Additionally, the first evidence of Musa itself on the African continent is from analysis of samples found at Nkang. Carbon dating of phytolith remains in one of the pits at Nkang reveals they were used somewhere between 2400 and 2480 years ago. It is believed now thanks to this evidence that banana cultivation in Africa, which was poorly documented before, happened on the Atlantic coast of Africa at least 2500 years ago. These findings lead to the theory that the presence of early banana cultivation in the area could explain a higher density of villages and the early stages of the Bantu expansion as a whole.
