"Windows on the African Past nicely captures the diversity of approaches used in this growing field [African Archaeobotany] and is a must-read for anyone seriously interested the role of plants in African history." Amanda L. Logan, University of Michigan, USA (Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, vol. 47 (3), 2012).

Christine SieversSedges from Sibudu, South Africa: Evidence for their Use

Gerlinde Bigga & Stefanie Kahlheber
From Gathering to Agricultural Intensification: Archaeobotanical Remains from Mege, Chad Basin, NE Nigeria

Jacob Morales, Juan Francisco Navarro-Mederos & Amelia Rodríguez-Rodríguez
Plant Offerings to the Gods: Seed Remains from a Pre-Hispanic Sacrificial Altar in La Gomera Island (Canary Islands, Spain)

Ursula Thanheiser
Island of the Blessed: 8000 Years of Plant Exploitation in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt

Ahmed G. Fahmy, Renée Friedman & Mohamed A. Fadl
Economy and Ecology of Predynastic Hierakonpolis, Egypt: Archaeobotanical Evidence from a Trash Mound at HK11C

Elena Marinova, Gertrud J.M. van Loon, Marleen De Meyer & Harco Willems
Plant Economy and Land Use in Middle Egypt during the Late Antique/Early Islamic Period: Archaeobotanical Analysis of Mud Bricks and Mud Plasters from the Area of Dayr al-Barsha

Rim Hamdy & Nesrin M.N. El Hadidi
Identification of Plant Materials used in the Coiled Basketry Collection at the Agricultural Museum (Giza, Egypt)

Kai Uwe Radomski & Katharina Neumann
Grasses and Grinding Stones: Inflorescence Phytoliths from Modern West African Poaceae and Archaeological Stone Artefacts

Hugo R. Oliveira, Diane L. Lister & Martin K. Jones
Phylogeography of Cereal Landraces and the Spread of Agriculture in Northwest Africa: Review and Prospects

Linda Olmi, Anna Maria Mercuri, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Stefano Biagetti, Sarah Fordyce, Enrico Cappellini, Isabella Massamba N'siala & Savino di Lernia
Morphological and Genetic Analyses of Early and Mid Holocene Wild Cereals from the Takarkori Rockshelter (Central Sahara, Libya): First Results and Prospects

Christopher Ehret
A Linguistic History of Cultivation and Herding in Northeastern Africa

Birgit Ricquier & Koen Bostoen
Stirring up the Porridge: How Early Bantu Speakers Prepared their Cereals

A. Catherine D'Andrea & Pamela Wadge
T'ef (Eragrostis tef): A Legacy of Pastoralism?

Archaeobotany has significantly increased our knowledge of the relationships between humans and plants throughout the ages. As is amply illustrated in this volume, botanical remains preserved in archaeological contexts have great potential to inform us about past environments and the various methods used by ancient peoples to exploit and cultivate plants. This volume presents the proceedings of the 6th International Workshop on African Archaeobotany (IWAA) held at Helwan University in Cairo, Egypt, on 13-15 June 2009. Studies presented herein clearly illustrate that African archaeobotany is a dynamic field, with many advances in techniques and important case studies presented since the first meeting of IWAA held in 1994. Authors have employed classical and new archaeobotanical techniques, in addition to linguistics and ethnoarchaeology to increase our knowledge about the role of plants in ancient African societies. This book covers a wide range of African countries including Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, Nigeria, South Africa, and the Canary Islands. It is of interest to archaeobotanists, archaeologists, historians, linguists, agronomists, and plant ecologists.