Lessons from the Past: How ancient Africans adapted to climate change
Think climate change is new? Think again. Ancient Africans were climate-smart long before it was a buzzword. See how they adapted—and what we can learn from them.
We are counting the year 2025 but as you know, the earth has existed for billions of years. And human beings have existed for about 200,000 years. Surprisingly, the biggest challenges we face today–climate change has existed for thousands of years.
Long before modern technology, African communities were already responding to the climate change problem.
From deserts to forests, rivers to mountains, people found smart and flexible ways to survive in harsh and changing environments. Now, new scientific research shows how they did it and how their experiences can guide us today.
A new study published in One Earth looks at how ancient Africans adapted their ways of life over the past 11,000 years. The researchers studied bones from humans and animals found at archaeological sites across the continent.
By examining the chemical makeup of these bones, they could tell what kinds of food people ate and how their diets changed over time. The key finding? Communities that mixed different ways of getting food–herding, farming, fishing, and foraging–were the most resilient to environmental shocks.
Africa has one of the longest and richest histories of human life on Earth. It is also a continent where climate has always played a big role in shaping how people live.
Between about 14,700 and 5,500 years ago, much of Africa was wetter than it is today. This time, called the African Humid Period, saw lakes grow, green vegetation spread, and animals thrive. But as the climate began to dry up again, people had to adjust quickly to survive.
Researchers used data from bones, teeth, and archaeological records from over 500 locations across Africa. By measuring carbon and nitrogen isotopes in the bones, they could tell what kinds of plants and animals people were eating–whether they came from wetter forests or dry savannas, from land or from rivers and lakes.
What they found was that African communities didn't rely on just one way of living. Instead, they used a patchwork of strategies, depending on their environment. In drier areas like the Sahara and Sahel, people raised animals–especially cattle and goats–and moved with the seasons. In wetter regions like the Nile Valley or coastal areas, people farmed crops like wheat and barley or fished in rivers and lakes.
Some communities combined several strategies. For example, in East and Southern Africa, people practiced “agro-pastoralism”–growing crops and keeping animals at the same time. Others mixed fishing with hunting or gathering wild fruits and roots. These mixed strategies helped them survive when one source of food became scarce.
One of the most surprising findings was the important role of herding–raising animals like cattle, sheep, and goats. Pastoralist communities were spread widely across the continent and showed the highest flexibility in their diets. This helped them adapt to changing landscapes, especially as the Sahara became drier and people moved southwards.
Pastoralism also spread earlier than farming in many parts of Africa, which is different from other continents. In most places around the world, farming came first, then herding. But in Africa, raising animals was often the first step toward a more settled life.
Why does this ancient history matter now? Because Africa, once again, is facing the frontlines of climate change. Rising temperatures, unpredictable rains, and extreme weather are threatening food security and livelihoods for millions of people. But this study offers hope–and practical lessons.
By looking at the past, we see that flexibility, diversity, and local knowledge helped people survive tough times. Encouraging diverse forms of food production today–especially those that combine old and new methods–can strengthen resilience in rural communities.
Policymakers and development planners often focus on modern technologies or one-size-fits-all solutions. But as this research shows, the real strength lies in variety and adaptability.
This research also highlights the value of traditional knowledge. Across Africa, many communities still practice forms of mixed livelihoods. Herders in Kenya, farmers in Ethiopia, fishers in Malawi–they are all part of a living tradition that has roots stretching back thousands of years. Supporting these ways of life–not replacing them–could be key to a more sustainable future.
As Africa–and the world–grapples with a climate crisis, maybe it’s time we looked back, to move forward.
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A new study has revealed that between 2012 and 2023, 12.43% of births in Sub-Saharan Africa were assisted by traditional birth attendants, with prevalence varying significantly by country and being strongly associated with factors like rural residence, low literacy, poverty, and distance to health facilities.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Trust, Truth, and the Jab: Lessons from Malawi: This study in Malawi explored how people’s exposure to COVID-19 vaccine information or misinformation influenced their decision to get vaccinated. It found that people who received more factual, positive information—especially from trusted sources like health workers and the radio—were more likely to be vaccinated. In contrast, believing conspiracy theories (like vaccines causing infertility or altering DNA) reduced the chances of getting the shot. Social media and traditional healers were often sources of negative or misleading information. Women, rural residents, and those with less education had less access to accurate vaccine information. The study recommends using multiple trusted communication channels to promote vaccine awareness and fight misinformation to improve vaccine uptake. [Reference, Nature Communications]
Tracking South Africa’s Flowers with AI and Citizen Science: This study shows how scientists used artificial intelligence (AI) and citizen science to track when plants flower in South Africa. By training a computer model (a convolutional neural network) to analyze over 1.8 million photos from the iNaturalist app, they could tell which plants were blooming and when. The AI model was over 90% accurate and revealed detailed flowering patterns across the country’s diverse regions and plant species. The research fills a big gap in global climate change data, especially for the southern hemisphere. It also proves that citizen-contributed photos, when combined with machine learning, are a powerful tool for understanding nature and monitoring how ecosystems respond to changing weather and climate. [Reference, New Phytologist Foundation]
Climate Extremes Linked to Poor Child Growth in Africa: A study which looked at data from 30 Sub-Saharan African countries found that 34.5% of children under five suffered from stunted growth—a sign of chronic malnutrition. The study found that unusual climate conditions, like higher-than-normal temperatures and changes in rainfall during pregnancy and early childhood, were linked to a higher risk of stunting. Children exposed to extreme heat were more likely to be affected, while those in wetter climates, like the Tropical Monsoon zone, had better growth outcomes. These findings show that climate change is already harming child health in Africa. The researchers call for urgent, climate-aware nutrition and health programs to protect children’s growth during their most vulnerable early years. [Reference, Science Direct]
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