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Ecological histories and contingencies from northern Ethiopia: Aksumite cultures in context

Federica Sulas (Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge)

Abstract

This paper aims to emphasise the contribution of geoarchaeology to challenging degradation narratives about African landscapes. The focus is the environmental history of the Kingdom of Aksum (1st millennium AD) in highland Ethiopia, where agrarian cultures flourished by the 1st millennium BC. The occupation history is well-documented, but Aksumite resource distribution and management are still unclear. Aksum’s landscapes and micro-climates remain poorly explored, and the popular narrative of environmental degradation is largely based upon continental models. Intensified plough-farming as factor of socio-environmental collapse fits into this scenario. A novel body of datasets on landforms and soils suggests long-term dynamic stability and tailored resource management at Aksum. Present-day Aksum is situated in a war-prone zone where rain/crop failure and political instability are actual threats rather than potential hazards. The historical and archaeological visibility makes Aksum ideal to test environmental history models, and address the contribution of archaeology to resource management.