Résumé
Much of West African remains are terra incognita in terms of archaeobotany, despite that fact that modern botanical evidence indicates several crops were domesticated there, including pearl millet in the dry north, African rice in the riverine wetlands, and cowpea on the forest margins. The present research looks at flotation samples of several sites in northern Benin being investigated as part of Anne Haour's ERC-funded Crossroad of Empire project, investigating the early urban centre of Birni Lafiya and other broadly contemporary sites.