How may the Aquatic industry have helped Nilo-Saharan languages spread across Africa?

The original expansion of the Nilo-Saharan language family may have been linked to the Aquatic industry. Dating to the 8th millennium BCE, this industry consisted of a network of cultures that exploited food resources found in lakes, rivers, and surrounding environments.1

During a period characterized by a wetter climate and higher lake levels than those seen today, these cultures spanned a vast geographic range, extending from Lake Rudolf in East Africa to the bend of the Niger River in West Africa. By facilitating the exploitation of these aquatic resources across such a wide area, the industry likely provided the framework for the initial diffusion of Nilo-Saharan languages across the continent.1