The Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite Settlement of NE Tigrai, Ethiopia

Abstract

The first systematic archaeological survey conducted in NE Tigrai has produced new insights into the settlement history of the Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite kingdoms (800 B.C.–A.D. 700) of northern Ethiopia. Results of settlement data and ceramic and lithic artifact analyses from Gulo-Makeda indicate that the region experienced marked continuity in site occupations through time, suggesting a degree of political and economic stability that contrasts to the Aksum-Yeha regions. Cultural links to Eritrea including Matara and the Ancient Ona culture are evident in ceramics dating to Pre-Aksumite and later Middle to Late Aksumite times. Sites in Gulo-Makeda are strategically located along historically known trade routes in areas with moderate to high water flow potential, suggesting that control of trade and high agricultural productivity were factors in the development of elite groups in the region. Gulo-Makeda grew from having a culturally peripheral role in the Pre-Aksumite kingdom to being a center of some importance during Classic Aksumite times, as evidenced by the presence of elite trade artifacts.