American plants in Sub-Saharan Africa: a review of the archaeological evidence

American plants play significant roles in Sub-Saharan African societies as foods, raw materials, medicines and ornamentals. Adopted over the past 500 years in the context of the Atlantic slave trade and European colonisation, the pathways by which these plants were culturally integrated are poorly understood. This paper reviews the current archaeological evidence for American plants in Sub-Saharan Africa and draws on botanical, material culture, spatial, historical and linguistic data to explore the social processes associated with the adoption of these new resources.