Editing Central African Republic (section)

=== Early history ===
[[File:Bouar Megaliths stamp.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The [[Bouar]] Megaliths, pictured here on a 1967 Central African stamp, date back to the very late Neolithic Era ({{Circa|3500–2700 BCE}}).]]
Approximately 10,000 years ago, [[desertification]] forced [[hunter-gatherer]] societies south into the Sahel regions of northern Central Africa, where some groups settled.<ref name="Eastern Africa 2011, pg. 4">[[#McKenna|McKenna]], p. 4</ref> Farming began as part of the [[Neolithic Revolution]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Brierley|first1=Chris|last2=Manning|first2=Katie|last3=Maslin|first3=Mark|date=1 October 2018|title=Pastoralism may have delayed the end of the green Sahara|journal=Nature Communications|volume=9|issue=1|page=4018|doi=10.1038/s41467-018-06321-y|issn=2041-1723|pmc=6167352|pmid=30275473|bibcode=2018NatCo...9.4018B}}</ref> Initial farming of [[Dioscorea rotundata|white yam]] progressed into [[millet]] and [[sorghum]], and before 3000{{Nbsp}}BCE<ref>Fran Osseo-Asare (2005) ''Food Culture in Sub Saharan Africa''. Greenwood. {{ISBN|0313324883}}. p. xxi</ref> the domestication of [[Elaeis guineensis|African oil palm]] improved the groups' nutrition and allowed for expansion of the local populations.<ref>[[#McKenna|McKenna]], p. 5</ref> This agricultural revolution, combined with a "Fish-stew Revolution", in which fishing began to take place and the use of boats, allowed for the transportation of goods. Products were often moved in [[ceramic]] pots.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

The [[Bouar|Bouar Megaliths]] in the western region of the country indicate an advanced level of habitation dating back to the very late [[Neolithic|Neolithic Era]] ({{Circa|3500–2700 BCE}}).<ref>Methodology and African Prehistory by, [[UNESCO]]. International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa, p. 548</ref><ref>UNESCO World Heritage Centre. [https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/4003/ "Les mégalithes de Bouar"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803004514/https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/4003/ |date=3 August 2014 }}. UNESCO.</ref> [[Ferrous metallurgy|Ironwork]] developed in the region around 1000{{Nbsp}}BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ehret |first=Christopher |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/59451060 |title=The civilizations of Africa : a history to 1800 |date=2002 |publisher=James Currey |isbn=0-85255-476-1 |location=Oxford |pages=161 |oclc=59451060}}</ref>

The [[Ubangian languages|Ubangian people]] settled along the [[Ubangi River]] in what is today the Central and East Central African Republic while some [[Bantu peoples|Bantu people]] migrated from the southwest of [[Cameroon]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Mozaffari|first=Mehdi|chapter=Globalization, civilizations and world order: A world-constructivist approach |title=Globalization and Civilizations|pages=24–50|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-203-29460-4|doi=10.4324/9780203217979_chapter_2|year=2002}}</ref>

[[Banana]]s arrived in the region during the first millennium BCE<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mbida|first1=Christophe M.|last2=Van Neer|first2=Wim|last3=Doutrelepont|first3=Hugues|last4=Vrydaghs|first4=Luc|date=15 March 1999|title=Evidence for banana cultivation and animal husbandry during the first millennium BCE in the forest of southern Cameroon|journal=[[Journal of Archaeological Science]]|volume=27|issue=2|pages=151–162|doi=10.1006/jasc.1999.0447}}</ref> and added an important source of carbohydrates to the diet; they were also used in the production of [[alcoholic beverages]]. Production of [[copper]], [[salt]], [[dried fish]], and [[textiles]] dominated the economic trade in the Central African region.<ref>[[#McKenna|McKenna]], p. 10</ref>