@article{fdi:010093922,
  title = {{T}he {S}angha {R}iver interval, its earliest village settlements, and the {B}antu-{S}peakers' expansion during the {L}ate {H}olocene ({C}ameroon, {C}entral {A}frican {R}epublic, {C}ongo {R}epublic)},
  author = {{C}list, {B}. and {D}oucet, {J}.{L}. and {G}iresse, {P}ierre and {M}aley, {J}ean},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{A} broad agreement exists that towards the end of the {H}olocene in {C}entral {A}frica there was a drier climatic episode called the "{L}ate {H}olocene {F}orest {C}risis" ({LHFC}) that impacted the {C}entral {A}frican rainforest, its peak lying between c. 2500 and 2000 cal yr {BP}. {T}he {S}angha {R}iver {I}nterval or {SRI} is such a hypothesized rainforest biome where savannas were understood to have developed. {T}his climate-driven {LHFC} has been thought to have benefited the first village communities, migrating from {C}ameroon towards the south before 3000 cal yr {BP}. {W}e review for the first time all the pertinent and extant data relating to the paleoenvironment and archaeology of this region from the last 3000 years. {W}e conclude the {SRI} was more limited in extension than previously thought, that tropical forests were maintained within it throughout the period, and lastly, that the earliest pottery-using settlements are dated from c. 2200 cal yr {BP}. {T}hus, the {SRI} probably did not play a role in the expansion of the first village communities because when the {I}nterval was initially settled, villagers had already reached the {C}ongo {R}iver near the border to {A}ngola some 800 km away to the south passing through coastal forests and savannas and the inland forests, bypassing the {SRI}.},
  keywords = {{CAMEROUN} ; {REPUBLIQUE} {DEMOCRATIQUE} {DU} {CONGO} ; {REPUBLIQUE} {CENTRAFRICAINE} ; {SANGHA} {RIVIERE} ; {CONGO} {FLEUVE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{A}frican {A}rchaeological {R}eview},
  volume = {42},
  numero = {},
  pages = {173--209},
  ISSN = {0263-0338},
  year = {2025},
  DOI = {10.1007/s10437-025-09626-8},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010093922},
}