Stevens, C; Fuller, D; (2018) Sorghum and Pearl Millet. In: López Varela, SL, (ed.) The Encyclopedia of Archaeological Sciences. Wiley: Hoboken, NJ, USA.

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Abstract

The two most important cereals of African origin are sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.) and pearl millet, sometimes referred to as bulrush millet or cattail millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.), being the fifth and sixth most‐produced cereals in the modern world, respectively (after wheat, rice, maize, and barley). While both are widespread and important cereals in Africa, they are also widely cultivated in India, mostly in the hot dry plains of southern and western India. Sorghum extends further north and east, with historical cultivation documented in China, parts of Southeast Asia, and Mediterranean Europe, with production more recently in the central states of the United States. Current archaeological evidence and modern distributions of wild progenitors indicate that pearl millet was domesticated in western sub‐Saharan Africa and sorghum was domesticated in eastern Sudan, both before 2000 bce.

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