Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Toward the Development of a Neolithic Sequence for Northern Ethiopia

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Under the direction of Dr. Steven Brandt, Mr. Agazi Negash will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. Mr.. Negash has conducted an archaeological survey in the Tigray Province of Ethiopia and located a series of rock shelters which, based on material exposed through erosion, contains archaeological remains which date to the Late Pleistocene and Holocene periods. He has conducted preliminary excavation at two of these sites and uncovered stratified sequences which, in addition to ceramics and stone tools, contain abundant animal remains. The presence of charcoal will allow dating of both sites and also suggests that floral materials will be preserved. At neither site has Mr. Negash reached bedrock and, based on ceramics recovered, it is likely that the excavated materials date to the last several thousand years. With NSF support the excavations as both sites will be continued downwards and a third open air occurrence will also be investigated. A central goal of the research is to recover dated sequences of domestic and non-domesticated plant remains to reconstruct the agricultural prehistory of Ethiopia.The "Neolithic Revolution" - the domestication of plants and animals - constituted a fundamental and significant chance in human behavior and the growth of villages and cities, of states and the attributes which constitute civilization all arose from this subsistence base. This process took place, apparently independently, in many regions of both the Old and New Worlds and thus are not the result of historic accident. Through the comparison of individual cases scientists wish to understand the underlying forces responsible. Although much is known about domestication in the Near East, China, Middle America and the Andes, few realize that the same process took place in Ethiopia and adjoining regions. In part this is because the domestic plants such as ensete and teff are not widely used in the West; in part the lack of archaeological research in this area is also responsible. While many scenarios for domestication in Ethiopia have been proposed, the data to support any are lacking. The sites which Mr. Nagesh has located will likely provide relevant information and serve to establish a cultural sequence for a little known area. The results should allow archaeologists to select between several equally likely scenarios and will, therefore, be of interest to many scientists. This project will also assist in training a promising young scientist.