Eps 6: Subsaharian food
Overall, the western half appears to have been more active, accounting for African rice (Oryza glaberrima) , fonio (Digitaria exilis) , guinea millet (Brachiaria deflexa) , watermelon (Colocynthis citrullus) , and Bambara ground-nuts (Voandzeia subterranea) .
Various African communities appear to have been experimenting with yam cultivation (primarily Dioscorea rotundata and Dioscorea bulbifera ) along a wide front following the s avanna-rain forest ecotone in western Afric a.
Because of the workings of humid climates and acidic soils on a plant that is inherently perishable to begin with, archaeology is unlikely ever to shed much light on the origins of yam cultivation, and further insights will have to continue to be based primarily on advances in botanical and linguistic research.
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Later, these activities developed into a specialised breed of sorghum, which was to serve as a main source of food for African domesticates transplanted to South Asia. Maize gained a lot of ground because it was cheap and created a beautiful white end product that was very much in demand.
The oldest is Dhar Tichitt, which is located in what is now southern central Mauritania, where P.J. Munson documented the first village where pearl millet was grown in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. So far, the vast zone south of the desert has not provided solid evidence, but migration suggests a spread in the Sahara, indicating the spread of the Sahara as a likely source of millet.
In the vast savannahs - covered plateaus - an abundance of wildlife allowed meat to be eaten, but meat was hard to come by in more densely forested habitats. Freshwater fish were widely available in coastal areas as a supplement to plant foods, while large numbers of mosquitoes were found in coastal areas to prove the nutritional importance of shellfish. The first evidence of food sources in sub-Saharan Africa began at least 2,000 years ago, when sub-Saharan Africans searched, hunted, and fished for food in a particular food mix determined by the local environment.
These people lived in small, mobile groups that exploited a variety of food sources, some of which required enough food to support an adult for a year or more.
In many parts of Africa, climate change poses a major threat to the ability to grow sufficient food, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
Like many other households in rural Kenya devastated by overstretched household budgets and food, Koech could only afford three meals a day. A 2019 report shows that more than half of Kenya's 1.3 million households do not have enough to eat. Moreover, almost one-third of households in Sub-Saharan Africa lack access to staple foods such as rice, maize, and wheat.
For most Africans, especially the poor, there are no alternatives that can provide anywhere near the same levels of protein and micronutrients. In regions with nutrition problems, such as sub-Saharan Africa, the ability to feed is much more important than in wealthier countries. In Kenya, for example, you can eat 17 bananas for a cup of coffee, but you can only get that if you eat them all in one day.
Today, many black South Africans like to drink sour milk products sold in supermarkets. At weekends, as in South Africa, there is braai, and the food is usually pap vleis, i.e. corn porridge and grilled meat.
Bantu speakers eat fermented grain and fermented dairy products, while the Khoi eat meat and milk themselves, while the San hunt wild animals and collect wild tubers and vegetables. Basic ingredients include meat products such as game, as well as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, cereals and nuts.
The influence of this diet is reflected in the grilling, as it is commonly called in South Africa, and the use of canned dried meat. In many ways, the origins of the indigenous food we eat in sub-Saharan Africa can be traced back to the ancient cultures of Africa and South Asia.
South African diet, traditional beer is ubiquitous, and fermentation adds nutrients to the diet through the addition of vitamins and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, calcium and zinc.
Namibian cuisine has strong German and South African influences, with sausages such as beef, pork, lamb, chicken and pork ribs rubbed on the shoulder. You can try some of the best game dishes in the whole of southern Africa, but the Namibians will insist that you try to find a restaurant or game lodge in their country.
This traditional German-Namibian favourite is tucked away in a popular Windhoek institution, where you can try everything in one of the country's most popular restaurants.