The Role of Environmental Changes in the Development of the Agricultural Economy During Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite Cultures
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6414025 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Degsew Z Mekonnen (0000-0003-4813-7703), Hugo R Olivera, Ana Gomes (0000-0002-2492-3112), Ana Calapez Gomes (0000-0001-6853-0487) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 333-356 |
| Publication date | 2025-04-08 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | African Archaeological Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0263-0338 • E-ISSN: 1572-9842 |
| Publisher | Springer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s10437-025-09618-8 |
| OpenAlex | W4409254824 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 145 |
The northern highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea (NHE) hosted the earliest agricultural and urban societies in sub-Saharan Africa: the Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite cultures. However, the role of environmental shifts in the transition from hunting-gathering to agriculture and state formation remains unclear. This study reviews 95 peer-reviewed articles on paleoenvironmental data from the NHE and adjacent regions (6000–1000 BP), integrating recent archaeobotanical and archaeological findings. We draw three main conclusions: (1) Paleoenvironmental conditions during this transition were highly variable, with differing tempos and magnitudes of change across the region. (2) The emergence of early agriculture and Pre-Aksumite societies in the NHE was not directly driven by environmental changes around 3500 BP. Instead, social dynamics and interactions among local human groups provided a more plausible explanation. (3) The NHE highlands experienced a shift towards higher humidity during early Aksumite period, specifically between 2500 and 2000 BP and 1500 and 1000 BP. This climatic shift likely enhanced agricultural productivity, facilitating food surpluses that underpinned the expansion of the Aksumite Kingdom. These results suggest that while early agriculture was culturally driven, later state development was more closely tied to environmental factors. To understand the interplay between environmental and socio-cultural factors in the NHE, we recommended interdisciplinary approach integrating, paleoenvironmental, archaeological, and archaeobotanical and genetic studies. This will enhance data resolution, mitigate geographical biases, and refine our understanding of complex societies in the Horn of Africa
Agriculture · Archaeology · Geography · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Isotope Analysis in Ecology · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies
Holocene climate phases from buried soils in Tigray (northern Ethiopia)
The Holocene lake-evaporation history of the afro-alpine Lake Garba Guracha in the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia, based on δ 18 O records of sugar biomarker and diatoms
Charophyte remains from Wadi Howar as evidence for deep mid-Holocene freshwater lakes in the eastern Sahara of Northwest Sudan
Paleoenvironmental Changes during the Last 4000 yr in the Tigray, Northern Ethiopia
Holocene Paleoclimates of Southern Arabia from Lacustrine Deposits of the Dhamar Highlands, Yemen
High-resolution insight into the Holocene environmental history of the Burullus Lagoon in northern Nile delta, Egypt
Groundwater-Mediated Response to Holocene Climatic Change Recorded by the Diatom Stratigraphy of an Ethiopian Crater Lake
The Nubian Past
Holocene ITCZ and Indian monsoon dynamics recorded in stalagmites from Oman and Yemen (Socotra)
Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution
World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated
Hydrological changes in the African tropics since the Last Glacial Maximum
A Record of Holocene Climate Change from Lake Geochemical Analyses in Southeastern Arabia
Background to Evolution in Africa
The Archaeology of Punt
No Rain, No Grain? Ethnoarchaeology of Sorghum and Millet Cultivation in Dryland Environments of Sudan, Pakistan, and Ethiopia
Holocene Aridity-Induced Interruptions of Human Activity along a Fluvial Channel in Egypt’s Northern Delta
Depositional history of the Holocene Faiyum Paleolake (Egypt) inferred from a petrographic analysis
The advent of herding in the Horn of Africa
Source of Nile sediments in the floodplain at Saqqara inferred from mineralogical, geochemical, and pollen data, and their palaeoclimatic and geoarchaeological significance
The oxygen and carbon isotopic records in Holocene freshwater mollusc shells from the faiyum paleolakes, egypt
Rivers of the Hadramawt watershed (Yemen) during the Holocene
Mid-to Late Holocene paleoclimatic changes and paleoenvironmental shifts inferred from pollen and diatom assemblages at Lake Hamra, Wadi El Natrun (Western Nile Delta, North Western Desert, Egypt)
Climatic change recorded in the sediments of the Chew Bahir basin, southern Ethiopia, during the last 45,000 years
The development of crop production in the northern Horn of Africa
Studien zur Landwirtschafts- und Siedlungsgeographie Äthiopiens
Animal remains from Mahal Teglinos (Kassala, Sudan) and the arrival of pastoralism in the southern Atbai
Holocene hyrax dung deposits in the afroalpine belt of the Bale Mountains (Ethiopia) and their palaeoclimatic implication
Forest clearance and regrowth in northern Ethiopia during the last 3000 years
Multi-proxy studies in palaeolimnology
A tale of new crops in the arid Arabian Peninsula oasis from antiquity to the early Islamic period
Pre-Aksumite plant husbandry in the Horn of Africa
Genomic analysis of emmer wheat shows a complex history with two distinct domestic groups and evidence of differential hybridization with wild emmer from the western Fertile Crescent
The Development of Ancient States in the Northern Horn of Africa, c. 3000 BC–AD 1000
Short contribution
Obsidian sources in highland Yemen and their relevance to archaeological research in the Red Sea region
Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite Agricultural Economy at Ona Adi, Tigrai (Ethiopia)
Holocene Palaeoclimates of Africa
On the Origins and Dissemination of Domesticated Sorghum and Pearl Millet across Africa and into India
The archaeology of the Eastern Sahel, Sudan
Reconsidering Yeha, c. 800–400 BC
The Environmental History of Tigray (Northern Ethiopia) in the Middle and Late Holocene
The Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite Settlement of NE Tigrai, Ethiopia
Foundations of an African Civilisation
On the Antiquity of Agriculture in Ethiopia
The Spread of Food Production in Sub-Saharan Africa
T’ef (Eragrostis tef) in Ancient Agricultural Systems of Highland Ethiopia
Southwest Arabia During the Holocene
Millets in eastern Sudan
The Excavation of Gobedra Rock-shelter, Axum
The Pre-Aksumite Period
Use-Wear on Later Stone Age Microliths from Laga Oda, Haraghi, Ethiopia and Possible Functional Interpretations
Former Lake Levels and Climatic Change in the Rift Valley of Southern Ethiopia
State formation and water resources management in the Horn of Africa
Early domesticated cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) from Central Ghana
General/Specific, Local/Global
Rise and Fall of Axum, Ethiopia
Griddles, Ovens, and Agricultural Origins
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |