Post Terminal Pleistocene Reconstruction of Ancient Fire Wood and Human-Environment Relations in the Afro-Alpine Region of the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia: an Anthracological Study

Abstract

This research presents the result of analysis of anthracological remains excavated from four archaeological sites located in the Bale Mountains. The samples were collected from the early Late Stone Age occupation phase to the early arrival of pastoralists in the Bale Mountains (46.5 ka-1.2 ka). The aims of the study are: to reconstruct firewood collection, vegetation history, to shed new light on the poorly understood environmental conditions during human occupation phases in the Bale Mountains, and to understand interactions between past humans and their environment in African high-altitude ecozone. The investigation was conducted on a total of 485 charcoal macro-remains, from which, a total of 328 were identified into taxa and seven different plant species were recorded. The recorded taxa include Erica cf. arborea type (n=75), Myrsine type (n=69), Solanum type (n=48), Artemisia cf. afratype (n=44), Hagenia abyssinica (n=42), Hypericum type (n=29) and Juniperus type (n=21). This study addresses various important issues, including firewood collection, vegetation cover, palaeoenvironment, prehistoric human ecological preferences, and adaptation strategies in the afro-alpine region of the Bale Mountains.