Historical and Social Anthroplogical Study of African Rice(Oryza glaberrima)

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The aim of this research is to make clear the socio-economic foundations of the medieval West African Kingdoms, such as Ghana, Mali and Gao, to get a total and comprehensive understanding of the West African History. In this perspective, we realized the extensive field works in northern and eastern parts of Mali. We realized especially the archeological survey in this area. In so doing, we could find a quantity of fonio, one of the cereals cultivated in West Africa, from several archaeological sites of 10 centuries BC in the Mema region, northern Mali. This is one of the oldest among the cereals found in Africa. We could find a few spindle wholes, which would advance the beginning of the weaving in West Africa for several centuries. We affirmed also a quantity of sites of the iron production between 5 and 15 centuries AD. The richness of these material cultures can attest the very existence of economic growth in this region between 5 centuries BC and 15 centuries AD. If the kingdoms mentioned above existed in Mali between 5 and 15 centuries AD, the economic growth affirmed by our research would explain why these Kingdoms could exist in these regions of Africa. The findings of this research have been published or in printing in several scientific journals and books. The total analysis was published in French and sent to many scientific institutions in Japan and foreign countries. Its name is L'Archeologie et les Empires : Recherche archeologique et historique au Mali.