Can less than a hundred years of past settlement activities in former European settlements substantially increase the concentration of elements and result in the formation of African Dark Earth soil is a question not addressed. We performed multi–element analysis of Africa Dark Earth soil from a late 19th to mid–20th century CE former German–Togoland settlement, Ziavi–Galenkuito in the Volta Region, Ghana. Relatively neutral reaction and black color of soil mainly from charcoal inclusion in the settlement site contrasted highly with moderately acidic brown Ferric Acrisol in the control located on the same metasedimentary/Voltaian bedrock. Organic C and total N, P, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Sr and Rb concentrations were substantially increased and vice–versa for the C/N ratio in the 0–40 cm layer of the settlement soil compared to the control without settlement activities. The concentrations of plant–available P, K, Ca, S, Fe, Cu and Zn were higher in the settlement soil in comparison to the control. The increased concentrations of the elements mentioned above resulted in the disposition of organic waste and biomass ash. Significantly higher concentrations of total and plant–available elements in 0–10, 10–20 and 20–40 cm layers of settlement site compared to their respective control suggested that chemical signatures from past settlement activities can be determined even in the upper soil layer. Positive correlations between the concentration of P and K, Mn, Sr, Fe, Ca, Zn, Rb, Cu implied that these elements were indicators of past settlement activities. The concentrations of total and plant–available P, K, Ca, Fe, Cu and Zn were well correlated; however, total elements concentrations are much suitable for geoarchaeological purposes as it is easy to calculate enrichment factors. We concluded that intensive human settlement activities in even <100 years resulted in the development of Africa Dark Earth soil with a substantial accumulation of elements.

前欧洲定居点过去不到一百年的定居活动能否大大增加元素的集中度并导致非洲暗土的形成，这是一个尚未解决的问题。我们对19世纪末至20世纪中叶以前的德国-多哥兰定居点，加纳伏尔塔地区的Ziavi-Galenkuito的非洲暗土进行了多元素分析。相对中性的反应和主要来自定居点木炭包埋的土壤的黑色与位于同沉积物/沃尔特基岩中的中度酸性棕色铁酸丙烯腈形成鲜明对比。有机碳和总氮，磷，钾，钙，锰，铁，铜，锌，与没有沉降活动的对照相比，在沉降土壤的0–40 cm层中，Sr和Rb浓度显着增加，而C / N比则相反。与对照相比，定居土壤中植物体内可利用的磷，钾，钙，硫，铁，铜和锌的浓度更高。上述元素浓度的增加导致有机废物和生物质灰分的处置。与定居点相比，在定居点的0-10、10-20和20-40 cm层中，总元素和植物有效元素的浓度明显较高，这表明即使在上层土壤层中，也可以确定来自过去定居活动的化学特征。P与K，Mn，Sr，Fe，Ca，Zn，Rb，铜暗示这些要素是过去定居活动的指标。总磷和植物有效磷，钾，钙，铁，铜和锌的浓度具有很好的相关性；但是，总元素浓度非常适合于地质考古，因为它很容易计算出富集因子。我们得出的结论是，即使在不到100年的时间内，人类密集的定居活动也导致了非洲大量元素的积累。