Pastoralism is a well-adapted form of African economic organization. Climatic fluctuations, droughts and even famine seem to affect agricultural yields much more than animal by-products. The phenomenon seems to testify a long-lasting tradition, probably rooted in the continent's prehistory. In this paper I discuss some of cultural traits (experimentation, innovation, reorganisation) at the basis of the emergence of such a strategy and examine the theoretical and methodological assumptions surrounding the concept of domestication. The study is a first attempt to integrate environmental data, archaeological features, linguistic evidence and ethological information on the Early Holocene hunter-gatherers of North Africa. In particular, I stress here the in-depth knowledge of the animal universe shown by hunter-gatherers in such marginal environments, which provides the basis for the full affirmation of a food-producing economy in this part of the world.