Combining geomorphological–hydrological analyses and the location of settlement and raw material sites – a case study on understanding prehistoric human settlement activity in the southwestern Ethiopian Highlands

Elena A. Hensel, Oliver Bödeker, O. Bubenzer, R. Vogelsang
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引用次数: 9

Abstract

Abstract. During this study, the recent relations between the hydrological systems and the distribution of archaeological sites and obsidian raw material outcrops within the catchment of the Bisare River, around Mt Damota, and around Mt Sodicho in the southwestern Ethiopian Highlands were investigated. To do so, we combined geomorphological–hydrological analyses with field surveys and GIS mapping. The aim was to try to transfer these recent interrelations into the past to better understand the factors that influenced prehistoric human settlement activity. The natural geomorphodynamics in landscapes such as the southwestern Ethiopian Highlands were and still are characterized by the interplay between endogenous processes (tectonics, volcanism) and climatic fluctuations and, during the recent past, also by human activity. In the considered region, protective and potentially habitable rock shelters are found at the volcanic slopes of Mt Damota and Mt Sodicho at high elevations. In addition, in some areas recent morphodynamic processes make obsidian raw material available near the surface. However, archaeological and terrestrial paleoenvironmental archives that allow an understanding of the interplay between prehistoric settlement activity and paleoenvironmental conditions are still rare. Therefore, the surroundings of formerly occupied rock shelters were investigated to illustrate the effect of the recent fluvial morphodynamics (erosion and accumulation) on surface visibility and preservation of archaeological obsidian raw material. This recent information can be used to make assumptions about the former hydrological system and to thereby get answers to research questions such as those about the past accessibility of obsidian raw material for prehistoric humans. The results suggest that the study area is currently affected by a highly dynamic hydrological system, which is indicated by phenomena such as the formation of swamps due to sedimentation in natural depressions. In addition, wide areas of the Bisare River catchment are affected by gully erosion, which leads to land degradation but also to the exposure of the above-mentioned lithic raw material outcrops. Human influence strongly increased during the Holocene until today, especially on the mountain flanks. This in turn increased soil loss and erosion of archaeological sites, which complicates the transfer of the current morphodynamics into the past. Although it cannot be finally confirmed that prehistoric hunters and gatherers systematically used fluvially exposed raw material, based on our results it can be assumed that humans frequented this area, due to the local availability of such kind of material.
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结合地貌水文分析和定居点和原材料地点的位置——一个了解埃塞俄比亚西南部高地史前人类定居点活动的案例研究
摘要在这项研究中,研究人员调查了埃塞俄比亚西南部高原的Bisare河流域、Damota山周围和Sodicho山周围的考古遗址和多曜石原料露头分布与水文系统之间的最新关系。为此,我们将地貌水文分析与实地调查和GIS制图相结合。其目的是试图将这些最近的相互关系转移到过去,以更好地了解影响史前人类定居活动的因素。埃塞俄比亚高原西南部等地的自然地貌动力学过去和现在仍然以内生过程(构造、火山活动)和气候波动之间的相互作用为特征,在最近的过去,也受到人类活动的影响。在考虑的地区,在高海拔的达莫塔山和索迪科山的火山斜坡上发现了保护性和潜在的可居住岩石避难所。此外,在某些地区,最近的形态动力学过程使接近地表的黑曜石原料成为可能。然而,考古和陆地古环境档案,使史前定居活动和古环境条件之间的相互作用的理解仍然很少。因此,研究人员调查了以前被占领的岩石掩蔽处的周围环境,以说明最近的河流形态动力学(侵蚀和堆积)对表面可见性和考古黑曜石原料保存的影响。这些最新的信息可以用来对以前的水文系统做出假设,从而得到一些研究问题的答案,比如史前人类过去能否获得黑曜石原料。结果表明,研究区目前受到高度动态水文系统的影响,这可以通过自然洼地沉积形成沼泽等现象来表明。此外,比萨雷河流域的广大地区受到沟壑侵蚀的影响,这不仅导致土地退化,而且还暴露了上述岩石原料露头。从全新世到今天,人类的影响大大增加,尤其是在山腰。这反过来又增加了土壤流失和考古遗址的侵蚀,使当前形态动力学向过去的转移变得复杂。虽然不能最终证实史前猎人和采集者系统地使用河流暴露的原材料,但根据我们的结果,可以假设人类经常光顾这个地区,因为这种材料在当地是可获得的。
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