Climate-induced vegetation dynamics and the Bantu Expansion: Evidence from Bantu names for pioneer trees (Elaeis guineensis, Canarium schweinfurthii, and Musanga cecropioides)

The present article examines whether Late Holocene climate-induced vegetation changes in the Central African forest block may have facilitated the Bantu Expansion. This is done through a body of evidence that is not commonly used for the reconstruction of vegetation dynamics, i.e. language data. The article focuses on common Bantu vocabulary for three pioneer species abundantly present in the Central African pollen record between ca. 2500 and 2000 BP: Musanga cecropioides, Elaeis guineensis, and Canarium schweinfurthii. The geographical distribution patterns of the vernacular names for these pioneer trees add weight to the hypothesis according to which the rainforest contraction that emerged in the first millennium BC had an impact on the way Bantu languages dispersed.