Yam (Dioscorea spp) cultivation and archaeological inference in some parts of Igboland: a study of Nsukka area

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Periodical article

Title:	Yam (Dioscorea spp) cultivation and archaeological inference in some parts of Igboland: a study of Nsukka area
Author:	Itanyi, E.I.
Year:	2001
Periodical:	West African Journal of Archaeology
Volume:	31
Issue:	2
Pages:	60-73
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Nigeria
Subjects:	archaeology agricultural history yams
Abstract:	Yam cultivation was very important in the development of indigenous African agriculture, but due to the fact that tubers, unlike cereals, leave no direct archaeological evidence, its antiquity cannot be clearly established. This paper reconstructs the history of yam cultivation and preservation in the Nsukka area of northern Igboland, Nigeria, to assess if this can give archaeologists clues as to the presence of yam cultivation in the area. Additionally, the paper throws more light on African indigenous agricultural technology and the processes of harvesting, storage and preservation of yam. It also presents information derived from oral tradition and ethnography as indirect evidence for inferring the presence of yam in the area. Bibliogr., sum. [ASC Leiden abstract]