Holocene archaeobotany in Africa: not only ‘food and fuel’

This contribution deals with some recent archaeobotanical studies carried
out in African contexts. Basic methodological approaches are different depending on
the type of record (microscopical or macroscopical plant remains), and the interdisciplinary
interpretative framework. The largest set of remains is studied, the main details
on environmental and cultural reconstructions from one context can be acknowledged.
Examples of case studies from integrated archaeological and botanical researches
are reported. They represent a reconstruction of environments influencing subsistence
strategies in the Sai Island (North Sudan), the evidence that cultural uses of plants for
offerings in the Gobero necropolis was based on the regional environments (Niger)
and the intermingled climate, hydrological and cultural variables which influenced human
economy and movements in the Tadrart Acacus (Libya). All the sites are in Sahara,
next to rivers or lakes and crossed climate oscillations of the early, middle and late
Holocene.