Abstract EN:

This dissertation is devoted to an historical study of ancient societies in precolonial Gabon and surrounding places, mainly on the coastal line extending from mount cameroon and southward to Congo river estuary, till early 17th century, at a time of forming trade system between African coastal societies and european nations. Multiplicated during last decades, archeological data showed that first hunters-gatherers societies had been taken over by true agriculturing or gardening peoples (perhaps the first bantu speakers in the region) in the whole area, during a long transitional period, along the lsa (late stone age). Traces of iron smelting is dated of last millenium bc. This technology seems to have beeen diffused from north (and maybe east) to south, along hilltops more probably than valleys and seaside. When discovering the coast, portuguese captains (among whom pacheco pereiera, our first written record) found very different peoples living on each part of the equator: on the north, naked populations vith a segmentary organisation; on the south, around Congo river bassin, kingdoms where clothing was of paramount social and political importance. European presence along the coast as well as colonisation of sao tome island generated a partial christianisation of various african peoples and material changes such as introducing new crops, mainly cassava. Due to Congo kingdom expansion, complex ethnic migrations occured from the interior on, and back from a very disputed littoral. More precisely, studying this general movement led to a new and accurate defining for historical importance of such peoples as former bramas, ambous and anzicos, or modern mpongwe and myene, duala, ngola and bakuba.