Africa’s earliest bananas?

Abstract

The recent discovery of banana phytoliths dating to the first millennium BC in Cameroon has ignited debate about the timing ofthe introduction of this important food crop to Africa. This paper presents new phytolith evidence obtained from one of threesediment cores from a swamp at Munsa, Uganda, that appears to indicate the presence of bananas (Musa) at this site during thefourth millennium BC. This discovery is evaluated in the light of existing knowledge of phytolith taphonomy, the history ofMusa,ancient Indian Ocean trade and African prehistory.