Holocene Cultural and Environmental Reconstruction of the Yeha Area, North Ethiopia

Abstract

The formation of modern state in Ethiopia was initiated some 900-500 BC in northern Ethiopia, Yeha, a town located within the mountain chains of Adwa. Because of its historical and archeological importance, several research works have been conducted on this site for many years. As a continuation of this and in a more comprehensive way a multidisciplinary research team was engaged in a research to reconstruct the ancient environment and culture of the Yeha area using multiple archaeological, historical, and geological methods including: archaeological surveys and excavations; radiocarbon dating; stratigraphic and depositional environment interpretation and biomarker analysis; and interpretation of settlement areas. The outcome of the research indicates that the indigenous inhabitants of Yeha seem to have been living in the area since ~5,000 Years BP as cattle herders and cultivators. Furthermore, the climate of the Yeha region around ~3500Yrs BP, which was wet with an average temperature of 17.5C, had created a favorable condition for settlement that led to the formation of a centralized stratified society at Yeha at about 3500BP.