% pubman genre = article @article{item_3489166, title = {{The linguistic and genetic landscape of southern Africa}}, author = {Fehn, Anne-Maria and Amorim, Beatriz and Rocha, Jorge}, language = {eng}, issn = {2037-0644; 1827-4765}, doi = {10.4436/jass.10008}, publisher = {Istituto Italiano di Antropologia (ISItA)}, address = {Rom}, year = {2022}, date = {2022}, abstract = {{The present-day diversity of southern African populations was shaped by the confluence of{\textless}br{\textgreater}three major pre-historic settlement layers associated with distinct linguistic strata: i) an early occupation{\textless}br{\textgreater}by foragers speaking languages of the Kx{\textquoteright}a and Tuu families; ii) a Late Stone Age migration of pre-Bantu{\textless}br{\textgreater}pastoralists from eastern Africa associated with Khoe-Kwadi languages; iii) the Iron Age expansion of Bantu-{\textless}br{\textgreater}speaking farmers from West-Central Africa who reached southern Africa from the western and eastern part{\textless}br{\textgreater}of the continent. Uniting data and methodologies from linguistics and genetics, we review evidence for the{\textless}br{\textgreater}origins, migration routes and internal diversification patterns of all three layers. By examining the impact of{\textless}br{\textgreater}admixture and sex-biased forms of interaction, we show that southern Africa can be characterized as a zone{\textless}br{\textgreater}of high contact between foraging and food-producing communities, involving both egalitarian interactions{\textless}br{\textgreater}and socially stratified relationships. A special focus on modern groups speaking languages of the Khoe-Kwadi{\textless}br{\textgreater}family further reveals how contact and admixture led to the generation of new ethnic identities whose diverse{\textless}br{\textgreater}subsistence patterns and cultural practices have long puzzled scholars from various disciplines.}}, journal = {{Journal of Anthropological Sciences}}, volume = {100}, pages = {243--265}, }