Physical proof of yam farming in West Africa has been traced back to the 11th century, settling a long-standing debate about the crop's history.

Yams are a staple food for millions of people today, but the exact timeline of their domestication was mostly guesswork due to a lack of physical evidence. Archeologists in Nigeria have now found the first direct, dated botanical remains of managed yam crops from 1000 years ago. This evidence shows that West African societies were already using sophisticated agricultural techniques to domesticate these tubers by the Middle Ages. The discovery confirms that yams were a foundational part of the region's food security long before colonial influence. It provides a missing link in the history of African agriculture and the development of early civilizations in the Middle Benue Valley.