Makeup of rain forest may have been altered by farmers
Deforestation and climate change may sound like familiar concerns to the modern ear. But a team of French scientists is arguing that even 3,000 years ago, humans may have played a role in transforming the Central African rain forest into the savannas we see today. As Bantu farmers expanded south and east into the rain forest in search of fertile agricultural land, they may have created savanna 'corridors' that cut into the forest and helped turn that lush landscape into drier grassland, according to a study published online this week in the journal Science.
