The emergence of pottery in Africa during the 10th millennium calBC: new evidence from Ounjougou (Mali).

International audienceNew excavations in ravines at Ounjougou in Mali have brought to light a lithic and ceramic assemblage that dates from before 9400 cal BC. The authors show that this first use of pottery coincides with a warm wet period in the Sahara. As in East Asia, where very early ceramics are also known, the pottery and small bifacial arrowheads were the components of a new subsistence strategy exploiting an ecology associated with abundant wild grasses. In Africa however the seeds were probably boiled (then as now) rather than made into bread