Archaeofaunal remains from the past 4000 years in Sahelian West Africa: Domestic livestock subsistence strategies and environmental changes

The faunal assemblages that are the subject of this study were excavated in northern Burkina Faso and the southern Lake Chad area, within the framework of a multidisciplinary project. They cover almost the entire four millennia between 2000 BC and the present. The analysed faunas are placed in a wider context by comparing them with data from other archaeological sites in sub-Saharan West Africa and beyond. Iconography, textual evidence, genetics, animal production, ethnography and linguistics are confronted with the faunal data. Besides gathering information on the history of the different domestic animals in the research area, a major aim of this study is the reconstruction of the palaeoeconomy and palaeoecology of the investigated sites. The data Appendices include radiocarbon dates and details of faunal remains.