Compared to most other important crops, little is known about the domestication, dispersal, and cultivation history of the cowpea.
Although there is no archaeological evidence for early cowpea cultivation, the centre of diversity of the cultivated cowpea is West Africa, leading an early consensus that this is the likely centre of origin and place of early domestication.
New research using molecular markers has suggested that domestication may have instead occurred in East Africa and currently both theories carry equal weight.

While the date of cultivation began may be uncertain, it is still considered one of the oldest domesticated crops.
Remains of charred cowpeas from rock shelters in Central Ghana have been dated to the second millennium BCE.
In 2300 BC, the cowpea is believed to have made its way into Southeast Asia, where secondary domestication events may have occurred.
From there they traveled north to the Mediterranean, where they were used by the Greeks and Romans.
The first written references to the cowpea were in 300 BC and they probably reached Central and North America during the slave trade through the 17th to early 19th centuries.
Compared to most other important crops, little is known about the domestication, dispersal, and cultivation history of the cowpea. Although there is no archaeological evidence for early cowpea cultivation, the centre of diversity of the cultivated cowpea is West Africa, leading an early consensus that this is the likely centre of origin and place of early domestication. New research using molecular markers has suggested that domestication may have instead occurred in East Africa and currently both theories carry equal weight.
While the date of cultivation began may be uncertain, it is still considered one of the oldest domesticated crops. Remains of charred cowpeas from rock shelters in Central Ghana have been dated to the second millennium BCE. In 2300 BC, the cowpea is believed to have made its way into Southeast Asia, where secondary domestication events may have occurred. From there they traveled north to the Mediterranean, where they were used by the Greeks and Romans. The first written references to the cowpea were in 300 BC and they probably reached Central and North America during the slave trade through the 17th to early 19th centuries.
Cowpea