Iron Age landscape changes in the Benoué River Valley, Cameroon
Abstract
Copyright © 2019 University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press.
The introduction of agriculture is known to have profoundly affected the ecological
complexion of landscapes. In this study, a rapid transition from C3 to C4 vegetation
is inferred from a shift to higher stable carbon (13C/12C) isotope ratios of soils
and sediments in the Benoué River Valley and upland Fali Mountains in northern Cameroon.
Landscape change is viewed from the perspective of two settlement mounds and adjacent
floodplains, as well as a rock terrace agricultural field dating from 1100 cal yr
BP to the recent past (<400 cal yr BP). Nitrogen (15N/14N) isotope ratios and soil
micromorphology demonstrate variable uses of land adjacent to the mound sites. These
results indicate that Early Iron Age settlement practices involved exploitation of
C3 plants on soils with low δ15N values, indicating wetter soils. Conversely, from
the Late Iron Age (>700 cal yr BP) until recent times, high soil and sediment δ13C
and δ15N values reflect more C4 biomass and anthropogenic organic matter in open,
dry environments. The results suggest that Iron Age settlement practices profoundly
changed landscapes in this part of West Africa through land clearance and/or utilization
of C4 plants.
Type
Journal articleSubject
Science & TechnologyPhysical Sciences
Geography, Physical
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Physical Geography
Geology
Holocene
Savanna
West Africa
Agriculture
Anthropogenic soils
Niche construction
Soil carbon
Nitrogen isotopes
DOSE-RATES
LAND-USE
HOLOCENE
FORESTS
AFRICA
SINGLE
N-15
LUMINESCENCE
ABUNDANCES
ISOTOPES
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/19447Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1017/qua.2019.25Publication Info
Wright, DK; MacEachern, S; Ambrose, SH; Choi, J; Choi, JH; Lang, C; & Wang, H (2019). Iron Age landscape changes in the Benoué River Valley, Cameroon. Quaternary Research (United States), 92(2). pp. 323-339. 10.1017/qua.2019.25. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/19447.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Scott MacEachern
Professor of Archeology and Anthropology at Duke Kunshan University
Africanist archaeologist, with research interests in Central/West African archaeology,
state formation and archaeogenetics.

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