ABSTRACT
The first evidence of domesticated animals west of Lake Chad has long been those associated with the so-called "Teneri an neolithic" in the vicinity of the AIr Massif of modem Niger. These remains, including the well known Adrar Bous cow, were recovered in 1970 by Desmond Clark and Andrew Smith. A direct date of 5760±500 bp was run on bone collagen from the cow itself, with further "Tenerian" dates, associated with cattle bones, ranging from 5400 bp to 4910 bp (Clark et al. 1973, Carter & Clark 1976, Smith 1980, Gautier 1987). However, recent research from Saharan Niger Republic adds almost a thousand years to the known age of domesticated cattle in West Africa, with cattle inhumations from the vicinity of Adrar n'Kiffi being dated to 6325±300 bp and 6200±250 bp, respectively (Paris, Ch. 7 in this volume).
