Prompt: How did ecology and available technology in Africa affect the indigenous agricultural systems that developed?

Iron made major contributions to the agricultural systems that had taken root on the African continent. “From its origin in the Near East via North Africa and the Sahara, courtesy of Phoenician sailors and Berber traders,” iron spread across the continent very quickly (Reader 187). Because iron flourished in trade circles, many different cultures, languages and techniques were shared across the continent. As a ​major​ ​advancement​ ​in​ ​the​ ​technology​ ​that​ ​was​ ​used​ ​to​ ​farm​ ​in​ ​Africa, it led to the production of higher quality agricultural tools. The tools “​enabled​ ​people​ ​to​ ​produce​ ​food​ ​more​ ​easily​ ​than​ ​had​ ​been​ ​the​ ​case​ ​with​ ​stone​ ​tools” but they also “​demanded​ ​the​ ​destruction​ ​of​ ​forests​ ​and​ ​the​ ​organization​ ​of​ ​a specialized​ ​labor​ ​force​ ​which​ ​in​ ​turn​ ​had​ ​to​ ​be​ ​fed”​ ​(Reader​ ​188).​ ​Similarly to​ ​the destruction​ ​of​ ​dense​ ​forests​ ​to​ ​make​ ​way​ ​for​ ​palm​ ​oil​ ​plantations​ ​in​ ​Indonesia​ ​today,​ ​the introduction of iron extraction to African agriculture​ ​was​ ​destroying​ ​the​ ​very​ ​ecology​ ​that​ ​made​ ​the​ ​place​ ​thrive. Because iron is derived from the ground, large landscapes were destroyed in order to reach the ore deep within the earth. Trees were cut down and used as fuel in the process of iron smelting and when the forests were cleared, grasslands and croplands began to take their place, producing an agricultural system that is more recognizable today. The farmers were said to have reached “biological equilibrium,” as they took advantage of the crops that were available, and began to solve problems relating to altering climates, inadequate soils, and overall were able to better provide for the nutritional needs of the people (Reader 252). As time continued, the ox drawn plow allowed for a quicker way to till the land, but for many it was inefficient to care and provide food and water for the amount of cattle necessary for this system. So in many places, iron became used as a tool to cultivate higher yields of better quality food crops. Overall, because of the diverse ways it was used, iron has been one of the biggest contributors to agriculture in Africa and had an influential impact on the surrounding ecology.

The poster is a representation of the impact of iron and its relationship with the native people of the African continent. Together, they were able to cultivate the land in new, more efficient ways, using iron smelting technologies.

Reader, John. Africa: A Biography of the Continent. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1998. Print.

McCann, J. People of the plow: an agricultural history of Ethiopia, 1800-1990. Madison, WI:    University of Wisconsin Press, 1995. Print.

- Adam Funck, Ben Butero, Grace Kinner, Natalie Hall, Bethany Sheppard -