African Archaeological Review最新文献

Unlike their northern counterparts, the kingdoms of southern Ethiopia have received little attention by archaeologists. Their relatively late emergence and absence of literacy may explain this lack of interest. However, they have much to offer to better understand the history not only of the Horn but also of the precolonial African state more generally. In this paper, the polities that developed in the southern Ethiopian highlands during the second millennium AD are briefly described and then one of them is explored in more detail: the kingdom of Anfillo. An archaeological and historical overview of the polity is provided based on two seasons of fieldwork. It is argued that in Anfillo, as in other southern Ethiopian polities, a fortified landscape materialized at the same time a persistent situation of conflict and the collective memory of the ruling classes, which used it as a mnemonic device to tell history and legitimize social divisions.

Archaeobotanical investigations at the site of Ona Adi in Tigrai were conducted during the 2013–2015 field seasons within the framework of the Eastern Tigrai Archaeological Project (ETAP). The site occupation spanned the Middle/Late Pre-Aksumite period (ca. 750/600 BCE) to the fall of the Aksumite Kingdom (ca. 700 CE), including the Pre-Aksumite to Aksumite transition (ca. 400 BCE–CE 1). The main objective of the study was to examine the agricultural economy in Eastern Tigrai during these periods and to evaluate the impact of social and cultural developments on the agricultural practices at Ona Adi. Recovered macrobotanical remains included wheat, barley, linseed, noog, lentil, and wild/weedy plants. In addition, evidence of finger millet was recovered along with tentative identifications of t’ef. The phytolith record shows evidence of grass processing, including morphotypes associated with Chloridoideae, Panicoideae, and Pooideae grasses. Results indicate that plants of both African and Southwest Asian origins were present in the region from the mid-eighth century BCE to the eighth century CE, but their relative importance varied throughout time in relation to socio-political changes at the regional level. Our data demonstrate a significant degree of continuity in the local agricultural economy, which remained largely unchanged even after the decline of Aksumite state.

The discussion of the transition to farming in southern Africa and the formation of Early Iron Age society, referred to in Mozambican archaeology as the Early Farming Communities (EFC), is complicated by the lack of surveys in key areas of intensive contacts. This article presents the results of excavations at the EFC site Chicumbane in the eastern lower Limpopo Valley, dated 500–800 AD. The variation of ceramic styles in terms of decoration and shape suggests predominantly interior influences (Gokomere and Zhizo facies), but there are also decoration elements similar to what is found on the coast. A wide variety of ceramic technologies were used in terms of clay sources, temper, and ways of building the pot. Here, we reconstruct possible social interactions based on these differences. Together with the other artifact categories, such as slag, metal, and shell beads, the results show some aspects of regional interactions among Early Farming Communities. The combined ceramic analyses suggest a mix of traditions by female potters who, through marriage, moved between regions, bringing new ways of decorating, tempering, and building pots.