How did forest communities in the Congo Basin traditionally make a living?

Traditionally, forest communities in the Congo Basin were characterized by two primary, interdependent groups: nomadic hunter-gatherers (often referred to as Pygmies) and village-dwelling agriculturalists (primarily Bantu-speaking peoples).12

• Hunter-Gatherers: These groups relied on foraging for wild foods, including hunting or trapping game, fishing, and gathering wild plant resources such as fruits, nuts, and tubers. They maintained a highly specialized relationship with the tropical environment, often living in small, mobile bands.342
• Agriculturalists: These communities lived in small, permanent villages and practiced shifting cultivation. Their staple crops included cassava and bananas, supplemented by beans, sweet potatoes, and oil palms. They also engaged in fishing and hunting using traps and snares near their clearings.5

These groups practiced mutual interdependence, often exchanging hunted meat for agricultural produce. Over time, social interactions and intermarriage fostered cultural exchanges, with Bantu communities absorbing and integrating the skills and crafts of their hunter-gatherer clients. Exchange within these societies was primarily conducted through trade and gift-giving rather than centralized market systems.1326