West African savannas are anthropogenic landscapes. They can be viewed as a reflection of the relationship between people, with their culture, perceptions and beliefs, their experience, knowledge, practices and technologies on the one hand, and the forms, potentialities and constraints of their environment on the other (Ballouche 2002; Taïbi 2019). Visible outcomes of this relationship are the various forms of West African cultivated landscapes, dominated by different useful tree species that, in traditional agriculture, are regularly spared when preparing the fields. On account of their resemblance to English parks, these West African savanna agroforestry systems are termed parklands (Pullan 1974). They are a resource that was created based on people’s conceptions about which trees are useful to them. Physiognomy, floristic composition and dominant taxa of parklands thus reflect various anthropogenic factors, such as subsistence strategy, land-use intensity and social settings (Boffa 1999; Conklin 1961; Devineau 1999; Pelissier 1980). As these factors are subject to change, so are the parklands. Changes are most striking when groups migrate into an existing system, encouraging the growth of different useful species, or actively moving tree species into areas they have not occupied before (Lentz – Sturm 2001; Maranz – Wiesman 2003). The temporal and spatial dimensions of formation and distribution of West African parklands are therefore a suitable subject for investigating intra-African relations, mobilities and practices of people. But exploring the past of West African parklands is significant beyond these academic interests. Understanding the history of the various parklands draws attention to the cultural heritage aspect of these agricultural systems and the wealth of traditional knowledge upon which they are built (Höhn et al. 2024, 2023b; Höhn – Lovett 2024).

The presence of Faidherbia albida trees in the parklands of West Africa is often linked to the arrival of nomadic pastoralists (Aubréville 1950: 282), or at least to the local translocation of cattle (Seignobos 1996), but also to the intensified land-use (Barnes – Fagg 2003: 43). Investigating the presence and abundance of F. albida wood charcoal in archaeological sites thus allows us to trace timing and localities of such parkland formation and to critically assess whether the narrative of the close connection between nomadic pastoralists and the increase of this tree species in the landscape is mirrored in anthracological evidence. However, it is difficult to trace the quantitative changes of charcoal assigned to F. albida, because, if present, it often comprises single-digit percentages. In small samples, variations in these values could just be coincidental. Accordingly, the practical reason for undertaking the case study on material from Tyi is that the samples were relatively large (more than 200 ml bulk volume), promising chances for a fair representation of the material originally deposited in the anthracological assemblage. Another reason for choosing Tyi is the long-standing multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach to archaeological research in the Dogon country (Huysecom 2002), which makes it possible to embed the anthracological evidence within a historical ecology framework. And finally, Faidherbia albida is widespread in current parklands of the Dogon Country.