The southern half of the African continent is populated by speakers of about 550 closely related languages that are referred to as the Bantu languages.
I think there is still a lot of digging to be done in the west-central African region to answer that question. The emerging consensus is that it was sheer luck; non-anthropogenic factors like a drying climate probably played a bigger role than ironworking and farming, but the theory of backward-and-forward migrations means we can't rule out those human factors.
Very well written article
thank you
You absolutely slam dunked this one, wow! what a read I really appreciate your work.
Thank you. I mustered all the sources I could find.
thanks for your consistently amazing archives. I learn so much. will be supporting now I actually can
Thank you too for the support.
Also please add if the Information is Pre or Post Colonialism which would be awesome.
all of it is pre-colonial.
Amazing lesson, thank you
Grateful 🙏🏾
Incredible work, thank you!
But I must ask, are there then any clear causes of the Bantu languages' rise to predominance across much of the continent?
I think there is still a lot of digging to be done in the west-central African region to answer that question. The emerging consensus is that it was sheer luck; non-anthropogenic factors like a drying climate probably played a bigger role than ironworking and farming, but the theory of backward-and-forward migrations means we can't rule out those human factors.
Fortune's role in human affairs is vast and inscrutable, particularly in the absence of written records.