Ethiopia (Other Keyword)
1-19 (19 Records)
Three-Dimensional modeling is rapidly transforming reconstruction, visualization and conceptualization of ancient architecture. Many archaeologists are enthusiastic about 3D modeling and implementation of 3D methodologies has been rapid; others remain skeptical that the outcomes of 3D modeling justify the time and resources expended. This paper considers the strengths, weaknesses, and future prospects of 3D models. We discuss results of two projects that used photogrammetry and advanced GPS to...
Crossing Deserts and Seas in the Late Pleistocene: Implications of the Aduma MSA Assemblages, Middle Awash, Ethiopia (2016)
The ca. 3 km2 Aduma region of the Middle Awash region, Ethiopia, incorporates a number of stratified sites within a matrix of sands and silts dating to between 180 ka and ca 80 ka.(Yellen et al 2005). With the exception of one possibly earlier site with late Acheulean bifaces (A-14, Clark et al 2003), all sites yielded diagnostic Middle Stone Age cores and most also contained typical retouched bifacial and unifacial points. In contrast to the earlier assemblages of Gademotta (Sahle et al 2012)...
Cultural Continuity Along the Western Red Sea Littoral (2017)
The study of the ancient cultural history of northern Ethiopia, modern Tigray, often includes an interpretation of the obvious connections with the Arabian Peninsula, to the east, and the Nile Valley to the west. Less attention is usually given to contacts with the African heartland, to the south, and the relatively arid region between the Nile Valley and the Red Sea, usually referred to as the Eastern Desert, to the north. The cultural connections with the latter are reflected in linguistic and...
The Daily Grind: Trends in Grinding Stone Use in Eastern Tigrai from 1600 BCE to Modern Times (2017)
A morphological investigation of grinding stones recovered from the Northern Ethiopian site of Mezber revealed changes through time that likely were made to increase efficiencies. The need for efficiency may have been due to increasing needs (e.g. larger populations, an increasing reliance on grains in the diet, a desire to reduce grinding times). Through the phases at Mezber the archaeological evidence suggests a change in the quantity of grinding stones. The growing numbers of recovered...
Ethnoarchaeological Pottery Traditions in North Wollo, Ethiopia (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper will review the ethnoarchaeological context of ceramic production in North Wollo, Ethiopia, and trace changes to ceramic traditions influenced by sociopolitical factors, with implications for archaeological reconnaissance and research. This research is a part of the broader Solomonic-Zagwe Encounters Project and its ongoing efforts to, in part,...
Looking into the Dark: Investigating Four Holocene Shelter Sites in Southwest Ethiopia (2015)
Preliminary excavations from the Gamo Ethnoarchaeological and Archaeological Research project in southwest Ethiopia include three caves and one rockshelter, located on the western escarpment of the Great Rift Valley. The analyses of these four mid-altitude (average 2135 meters) sites will add to our understanding of the cultural, ecological, and technological transitions occurring within the last 6000 years. The cave and rockshelter sites indicate the use of a classic Later Stone Age lithic...
Mai Adrasha and Its Neighbors (2017)
A team from UCLA in cooperation with the Tigrai Culture and Tourism Agency and the Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage of Ethiopia has completed two excavation seasons at the site of Mai Adrasha located about 70 kilometers west of the ancient capital of Aksum. With the information gathered in these excavations, we can now begin to compare Mai Adrasha to neighboring sites and place it within its regional framework. Radiocarbon dates from the first season of excavation...
Neolithic vs. Late Stone Age: The Neolithic Revolution in the Horn of Africa Reconsidered (2015)
This poster assesses the applicability of the term "Neolithic" to describe the beginning of sedentism and agriculture in Ethiopia, and whether we can compare it to similar periods in other regions. The use of the term "Neolithic" has been criticized in recent years (Finlayson 2011; Zeder 2009) both for the implication that the period was one of revolution and its associated package of characteristics. This designation originally derived from the definition of the term as including the birth of...
No strike list, Ethiopia (2020)
Cultural Property Inventory, Ethiopia
The pre-Aksumite Period in Eastern Tigrai: The Chronology and Stratigraphy of the Site of Mezber (2017)
The current understanding of the pre-Aksumite period of northern Ethiopia has been heavily influenced by data originating from sites in western Tigrai, particularly those in the area of Aksum. The Eastern Tigrai Archaeological Project (ETAP), however, has also documented substantial evidence for pre-Aksumite settlement further to the east, through both survey and excavation. This paper will summarize ETAP’s efforts to understand the pre-Aksumite period in eastern Tigrai at the site of Mezber,...
The Pre-Aksumite to Aksumite Transition in EasternTigrai: Ceramic Evidence from Ona Adi (2017)
The pre-Aksumite to Aksumite transition (PA-A transition) is critically important for the culture history of the Horn of Africa. This period in Western Tigrai (400/300–150 BCE) represents a cultural break between the Sabaean-influenced pre-Aksumite period (≥800–400/300 BCE) and the predominantly indigenous kingdom of Aksum. Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite polities in Western Tigrai were not directly related and marked by significant sociopolitical change. The emerging picture of the PA-A transition in...
Problems of Archaeological Site Preservation and Identification in the Highland Mountains of Ethiopia (2015)
This paper will discuss how historical, environmental, and social changes have effected archaeological site preservation in the mountains of the central Ethiopian Highlands, with implications for improving archaeological research in the region. Over the past decade, archaeological and historical research in the central highlands of Ethiopia has seen a growing interest to move beyond prominent Aksumite and Pre-Aksumite monumental sites to more ephemeral sites like medieval settlements and royal...
Reconstructing Mortuary Rites through Micro-CT Forensic Taphonomy at Ancient Aksum, Ethiopia (50-400 AD) (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper uses micro-CT and funerary taphonomy to reconstruct ancient Aksumite burials (50-400 AD). Aksum, in northern Ethiopia, was the capital of an ancient polity that spread across the northern Horn of Africa and became a major power in the Indian Ocean trade. The most notable remains of the ancient capital are its towering funerary stelae and...
Revisiting the Ancient Ona Culture of Eritrea: What Previous Research from the Asmara Plateau Might Offer for New Understandings of the First Millennium BCE in the Northern Horn of Africa (2017)
Sustained archaeological research on the Asmara Plateau of Eritrea occurred between 1998 and 2003, producing important initial efforts in ceramic and lithic artifact typologies, subsistence reconstruction, and regional perspectives in landscape use and settlement patterns dating to the first millennium BCE. Researchers identified a distinct regional cultural expression termed the Ancient Ona Culture. This paper reviews the key qualities of the Ancient Ona Culture and argues that, while...
The tip of the horn: extractive foraging strategies and stone tool technologies in northwestern Ethiopia during the Middle Stone Age (2016)
We present data from open-air MSA sites situated along the trunk tributaries of the Blue Nile River in the lowlands of NW Ethiopia that provide information about the behaviors of anatomically modern Homo sapiens in the Horn near the time of its movement out of Africa. The diverse fauna includes mammals, reptiles, birds, and fish from a wide range of body sizes. Stone raw materials include cryptocrystalline quartz and basalt cobbles, both found on the local gravel bars and in exposed basalt...
Towns and Villages of an African Empire: Eastern Tigrai Archaeological Project (ETAP) Archaeological Survey 2005-2008 (2017)
The Empire of Aksum was one of the earliest and most influential African complex polities, yet remains one of the world’s most scantly documented ancient civilizations. The Eastern Tigrai Archaeological Project (ETAP) surveyed a 196-km2 area between the ancient capital city of Aksum and the Red Sea over four field seasons from 2005-2008. This work documented 137 archaeological sites, including 7 ancient towns larger than 6 hectares, and contributes a substantial body of data on geographies of...
Transferring Technological Styles: an Ethnoarchaeological Study of Marginalized Pottery Production in Tigray, Northern Highland Ethiopia. (2017)
The transfer of pottery making skills and knowledge is well studied in Africa using the chaîne opératoire methodology. Chaîne opératoire is understood as a social practice in which technological choices are guided by social choices that potters learn as members of a potter community. The complement of technological choices of this group of potters creates a unique technological style. Africanists use technological styles to study the history of potter communities through time and space. But...
Variability in the Middle Stone Age of the Horn of Africa: a technical tradition of southeastern Ethiopia (2016)
The Middle Stone Age (MSA) is traditionally defined by flake, point and elongated blank production associated with retouched tools (e.g. scrapers and retouched points). However, a great cultural variability is observed, whether it is linked with spatial (e.g. Brandt 1986, Clark 1988), or temporal (Early vs Late MSA, e.g. Douze 2011) variability. Here we present results from a comparative analysis of the lithic assemblages from Porc-Epic Cave (e.g. Clark and Williamson 1984, Pleurdeau, 2005) and...
The YAS-1 Middle Stone Age site at Gona, Afar, Ethiopia (2016)
Tentatively dated to MIS 5/4, the YAS-1 (Ya’alu South 1) site at Gona, Ethiopia is a high-density open-air archaeological site preserving classic Middle Stone Age (MSA) stone tools such as Levallois cores, points, and blades in addition to a variety of fossil fauna, some with bone modifications including cut marks. While most of the archaeological material has been found on the surface over the last ten years, recent excavations have documented both lithics and fauna in situ. Though the...