The Pre-Aksumite Period: indigenous origins and development in the Horn of Africa

The Pre-Aksumite Period (mid-second to late first millennia BC) witnessed the rise of complex societies in the Horn of Africa. Archaeological survey and excavations in the Gulo Makeda region of Eastern Tigrai by the Eastern Tigrai Archaeological Project (ETAP) have produced new data and insights into this critical juncture in the cultural history of the region. Based on data from Mezber and other archaeological sites, we present a new Pre-Aksumite chronology and discuss the material culture, settlement, political organisation, economy, agricultural history and regional interactions of this period. We recommend the use of the term ‘Pre-Aksumite Period’ to encompass this time when the earliest polities developed in the region. Mezber provides us with a glimpse into the lifeways of indigenous peoples inhabiting the northern Horn of Africa who encountered South Arabian visitors to the region during the early first millennium BC. Data from Mezber shift our focus from external influences to considering the culture and development of autochthonous peoples of the Ethiopian/Eritrean highlands who had an active role in negotiating cultural contacts. This perspective constitutes a missing piece of the puzzle needed to better understand the broader socio-economic, political and cultural dynamics of the Pre-Aksumite Period.ETAP investigations at Mezber were financially supported by three grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), including Standard Research Grants 410-2007-2472, 410-2011-1646 and Insight Grant 435-2014-01. Further support was obtained by grants from Simon Fraser University, including four SSHRC/SFU Institutional Grants and a VP Research SSHRC 4A grant. Field and laboratory microbotanical work completed by AR-G and CL was developed within the framework of the RAINDROPS project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC-Stg 759800) and both are part of CaSEs, a recognised research group of the Generalitat De Catalunya (AGAUR SGR-e-2017-212)