Researchers have uncovered the origins and genetic diversity of the Fulani, one of Africa’s largest pastoral populations. According to a new study The Fulani have a history going back to the ‘Green Sahara’ period (12,000–5,000 years before the present).
- The study has also found that the Fulani have been shaped by historical migrations and have a complex genetic history with influences from both North and West African groups.
- Fulani populations speak languages from the Niger-Congo family and live in scattered locations across the Sahel/Savannah belt. Besides their large distribution from the Atlantic Ocean to Lake Chad, the ancestral origins of the Fulani people are unclear. This
- The findings are significant as the Fulani number 40 million people and are spread from the Atlantic coast of West Africa to Lake Chad in Central Africa.
(Source: The Phy)
