An ethnoarchaeological approach to exploring the development of hideworking traditions in Ethiopia

Summary

Presented are the results of an ethnoarchaeological study of hide working traditions among the Wolayta peoples of southern Ethiopia. This research is part of a larger study that aims at tracing the development of social complexity/inequality occurring during the pre-Aksumite period (>800-450 BCE) in eastern Tigrai through studying the emergence of craft specialization of hideworking traditions. The processing and trading of hides has a long history in Ethiopia. The export and local trading of cattle hide has continued as an important aspect of the Ethiopian economy with possible roots within the early development of the Aksumite state. The ethnoarchaeological study focuses on documenting aspects of sociocultural and economic behavior related to hide processing activities that are likely to leave identifiable residues in the archaeological record. Drawing analogies gained from living communities with possible links to the pre-Aksumite/Aksumite populations provides an excellent opportunity to create new understandings of the behavioral adaptions reflected within the material record.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage