This paper empirically examines Jared Diamond’s axis-orientation technology transmission hypothesis in the context of Sub-Saharan African agriculture. Consistent with Diamond (Guns, germs and steel: a short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years. Vintage, 1998), societies in southern Africa whose ancestors migrated directly south from west-central Africa—through the rainforest—engage in different types of agricultural activities than societies whose ancestors migrated east—around the rainforest. In particular, those whose ancestors could consistently keep livestock and produce traditional dry-crops throughout their multigenerational migration journey are more likely to engage in these activities today. The differential preference for wet-crop production by those with a rainforest ancestry led to settlements being established in different types of locations. The data suggests that these initial atypical settlement location preferences led to more geographically and culturally isolated societies. This may have disadvantaged these groups with respect to the adoption of any new agricultural goods or processes.

本文以撒哈拉以南非洲农业为背景，实证检验了贾里德·戴蒙德（Jared Diamond）的轴定向技术传播假说。与《钻石》（枪炮、病菌和钢铁：过去 13,000 年每个人的简史。Vintage，1998）一致，南部非洲的社会的祖先从非洲中西部穿过雨林直接向南迁移，从事不同类型的活动。农业活动比祖先向东（在雨林周围）迁移的社会更重要。特别是，那些祖先在多代迁徙过程中始终能够饲养牲畜并生产传统旱作物的人，今天更有可能从事这些活动。雨林血统的人们对湿作物生产的不同偏好导致在不同类型的地点建立定居点。数据表明，这些最初的非典型定居点偏好导致了地理和文化上更加孤立的社会。这可能使这些群体在采用任何新的农产品或新工艺方面处于不利地位。