Exploratory Investigations into the Origins and Evolution of Food Production in Southwestern Ethiopia

史蒂文·勃兰特博士将在埃塞俄比亚西南部的Gamu-Gofa高地地区进行考古调查和挖掘。他的目标是了解Ensete ventricosum(Ensete Ventricosum)或“假香蕉”是如何被驯化并纳入埃塞俄比亚的生存实践的。他将在这一地区进行为期两个月的田野工作，这一地区既是考古上未知的，也是目前人类使用的中心地区。他将根据当地采访以及对地区照片和卫星图像的分析，确定有希望的地区。特别是，他将把重点放在洞穴和岩石庇护所上，因为那里寻找分层矿藏的潜力最大。将进行有限的试验性挖掘，并建立基本的文化序列。有了这些数据，就有可能计划更长期的实地研究。虽然埃塞俄比亚高地的考古鲜为人知，但现代植物学数据表明，这一地区曾是许多被广泛使用的非洲家养动物的原产地。Ensete是一种巨大的、纤维状的、树状的单子叶动物，与香蕉非常相似。然而，与香蕉不同的是，香蕉的果实是不可食用的，主要的食物来源是根、伪茎和左茎。虽然野生种在非洲中部、东部和南部的大部分地区都有分布，但显然只有在埃塞俄比亚才培育出驯化的品种。Ensete要么被烘焙，要么被制成粥，埃塞俄比亚约1000万人口中约五分之一的人食用Ensete。工厂的各个部分也被用作饲料、燃料和包装材料。人们对enente使用的发展几乎一无所知，勃兰特博士的研究应该会提供所需的基本数据。这个项目之所以重要，有几个原因。它将提供对导致植物和动物最初驯化的过程的洞察。埃塞俄比亚容易发生干旱和人类饥饿，希望更多地了解当地农业技术(这些技术经受住了时间的考验)可能会为解决这一问题提供新的方法。这一短期的探索性项目应该为以后更深入的研究奠定基础。

Dr. Steven Brandt will conduct archaeological survey and excavation in the Gamu-Gofa Highlands region of Southwestern Ethiopia. His goal is to understand how ensete (Ensete ventricosum) or "false banana" was domesticated and incorporated into Ethiopian subsistence practices. He will conduct two months of fieldwork in this area which is both archaeologically unknown and in the heart of the present region of ensete use. He will locate promising areas on the basis of both local interview and analysis of areal photographs and satellite imagery. In particular, he will focus on caves and rock shelters because the potential for locating stratified deposits is greatest there. Limited test excavations will be conducted and a basic cultural sequence established. With this data it will then be possible to plan longer term field research. While the archaeology of the Ethiopian highlands is poorly known, modern botanic data suggest that this region served as point of origin for many widely used African domesticates. Ensete is a large, fibrous, tree-like monocot which closely resembles a banana. Unlike the banana, however, the fruits are inedible and the main sources of food are the roots, pseudo-stems and left- stems. Although wild species of ensete are distributed throughout much of central, eastern and southern Africa, evidently it is only in Ethiopia that domesticated varieties are cultivated. Ensete is either baked or made into porridge and is eaten by about one fifth of Ethiopia's estimated 10,000,000 people. Various parts of the plant are also used for fodder, fuel and packing material. Almost nothing is known about the development of ensente use and Dr. Brandt's research should provide needed basic data. This project is important for several reasons. It will provide insight into the processes which led to the original domestication of plants and animals. Ethiopia is prone to drought and human starvation and hopefully greater understanding of indigenous farming techniques which have stood the test of time) may provide new ways to attack this problem. This short- term exploratory project should lay the groundwork to later more intensive research.