BEGINNING about 1400, England experienced a remarkable increase in the amount of practical material available to readers of the vernacular. Everything from hawking to astrology found its way into English, and even Latin grammar books could explain their mysteries in the common tongue. But nowhere was this growth more striking than in the field of medicine.' It has been estimated that the number...

Abstract Kola nut ( Cola cf. nitida ) and Safou fruit Dacryodes edulis remains have been discovered in eleventh- to fourteenth-century archaeological contexts at Togu Missiri near Ségou Mali. These are evidence of early trade perishable foodstuffs from the West African forest zone into Middle Niger region. On basis these finds, this paper argues that long-distance links were well established by...