Reconstructing prehistoric settlement models and land use patterns on Mt. Damota/SW Ethiopia

Vogelsang, Ralf; Wendt, Karl Peter

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2017.06.061

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Geoarchaeological research at Mochena Borago aimed to reconstruct site formation processes with the help of geomorphological investigations and micromorphological observations (Brandt et al, 2017). During archaeological and geomorphological surveys in the surroundings, Sodicho Rockshelter was first visited in 2012 (Brandt et al, 2017;Vogelsang and Wendt, 2018;Hensel et al, 2019). Further research in the area focused on the exposure of archaeological records along the valleys of the Bilate River and its tributary the Bisare River, southwest of Mt.…”

Section: Backgrounds Geoarchaeological Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stratigraphy and Chronology of Sodicho Rockshelter – A New Sedimentological Record of Past Environmental Changes and Human Settlement Phases in Southwestern Ethiopia

et al. 2021

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The preservation of archaeological remains and environmental information in a sediment accumulation can vary in caves and rockshelters, depending on external climatic conditions, and the circumstances within the shelter. Several sediment stratigraphies in the Horn of Africa are characterized by erosion layers, discordances and chronological gaps, that create uncertainties about the impact of climatic and environmental shifts on human settlements. Archaeological sites in Ethiopia that preserve information about human occupation during the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene often deal with major gaps during a period corresponding to MIS 2. In this study we present the first results of sedimentological, geochemical analyses and radiocarbon dating at Sodicho Rockshelter (1930 m above sea level) that provide evidence on high altitude settlement during this mentioned chronostratigraphic gap and subsequent time slices. This new archaeological site in the southwestern Ethiopian Highlands hosts a 2-m-long sediment record. So far, a stratigraphy has been excavated that dates back to ∼27 ka, including several settlement phases of Late Pleistocene and Holocene hunter-gatherers and providing information on environmental changes. A multiproxy approach was chosen to establish a first general stratigraphy of the site and to disentangle the sediment composition as well as site formation processes. The results suggest a variation of allochthonous and autochthonous geogenic deposits, and anthropogenic accumulation processes. With the help of radiocarbon dating, anthropogenic layers were dated covering the arid Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ∼21 ± 2 ka). The occupation phases were interrupted in cause of environmental changes. The most prominent is the accumulation of reddish, archaeological sterile deposits that can be chronologically associated with the African Humid Period (AHP, ∼15–5 ka BP). Geochemical records point to dry spells within this humid phase, suggesting correlations with regional climate signals of lacustrine sediments. These sediment accumulations of past wet conditions are covered by alternating layers of Holocene volcanic fallout and sediments with preserved cultural material. Our study provides a preliminary impression of still poorly understood time periods of human occupation in the southwestern Ethiopian Highlands. The data obtained from Sodicho Rockshelter could validate the current state of knowledge and partially reduce the chronostratigraphic gap.

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Section: Backgrounds Geoarchaeological Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Higher moisture availability in the highlands could have permitted the survival of vegetation, animals and humans during the arid phases. In this case, rockshelters in high altitude regions might have attracted hunter-gatherers, despite the challenging conditions for human physiology (Foerster et al, 2015;Vogelsang and Wendt, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stratigraphy and Chronology of Sodicho Rockshelter – A New Sedimentological Record of Past Environmental Changes and Human Settlement Phases in Southwestern Ethiopia

et al. 2021

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“…A survey at Mt Damota (2908 m a.s.l.) in southwest Ethiopia, reported by Vogelsang and Wendt (2018) has shown the occurrence of both MSA and LSA sites within a 2000-2400 m a.s.l. altitudinal range, with the presence of a somewhat higher concentration of sites between 2000-2150 m. Using Delauny triangulation and Thiessen polygons to reconstruct MSA and LSA land use patterns, Vogelsang and Wendt (2018) suggest an intensification of human occupation during the LSA, resulting in a larger cluster of sites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…altitudinal range, with the presence of a somewhat higher concentration of sites between 2000-2150 m. Using Delauny triangulation and Thiessen polygons to reconstruct MSA and LSA land use patterns, Vogelsang and Wendt (2018) suggest an intensification of human occupation during the LSA, resulting in a larger cluster of sites. Conversely, the distribution of MSA sites on Mt Damota is characterised by multiple smaller site clusters scattered across different altitudes, leading Vogelsang and Wendt (2018) to propose a model of MSA land use in which small groups would have seasonally moved up and down the mountain ridge across different altitudes -a pattern similar to that of some historical hunter-gatherers. Similar to Mt Damota, the MSA versus LSA artefact distribution at Mt Eburru could be interpreted as pointing to an intensification of the occupation during the LSA.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Prospect Farm and the Middle and Later Stone Age Occupation of Mt. Eburru (Central Rift, Kenya) in an East African Context

et al. 2019

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“…During such periods these groups were probably exploiting these higher elevated areas with the awareness of their sufficient water and food resources, shelter, and the access to obsidian raw material (cf. Vogelsang et al, 2018). Although it is not yet clear which specific obsidian outcrops were used by the prehistoric humans, first results of obsidian microprobe analysis point to the exploitation of raw material from outcrops in the Bisare area by the inhabitants of both rock shelters (Vogelsang, unpublished information, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining geomorphological–hydrological analyses and the location of settlement and raw material sites – a case study on understanding prehistoric human settlement activity in the southwestern Ethiopian Highlands

Hensel

Bödeker

Bubenzer

et al. 2019

E&G Quaternary Sci. J.

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Abstract. During this study, the recent relations between the hydrological systems and the distribution of archaeological sites and obsidian raw material outcrops within the catchment of the Bisare River, around Mt Damota, and around Mt Sodicho in the southwestern Ethiopian Highlands were investigated. To do so, we combined geomorphological–hydrological analyses with field surveys and GIS mapping. The aim was to try to transfer these recent interrelations into the past to better understand the factors that influenced prehistoric human settlement activity. The natural geomorphodynamics in landscapes such as the southwestern Ethiopian Highlands were and still are characterized by the interplay between endogenous processes (tectonics, volcanism) and climatic fluctuations and, during the recent past, also by human activity. In the considered region, protective and potentially habitable rock shelters are found at the volcanic slopes of Mt Damota and Mt Sodicho at high elevations. In addition, in some areas recent morphodynamic processes make obsidian raw material available near the surface. However, archaeological and terrestrial paleoenvironmental archives that allow an understanding of the interplay between prehistoric settlement activity and paleoenvironmental conditions are still rare. Therefore, the surroundings of formerly occupied rock shelters were investigated to illustrate the effect of the recent fluvial morphodynamics (erosion and accumulation) on surface visibility and preservation of archaeological obsidian raw material. This recent information can be used to make assumptions about the former hydrological system and to thereby get answers to research questions such as those about the past accessibility of obsidian raw material for prehistoric humans. The results suggest that the study area is currently affected by a highly dynamic hydrological system, which is indicated by phenomena such as the formation of swamps due to sedimentation in natural depressions. In addition, wide areas of the Bisare River catchment are affected by gully erosion, which leads to land degradation but also to the exposure of the above-mentioned lithic raw material outcrops. Human influence strongly increased during the Holocene until today, especially on the mountain flanks. This in turn increased soil loss and erosion of archaeological sites, which complicates the transfer of the current morphodynamics into the past. Although it cannot be finally confirmed that prehistoric hunters and gatherers systematically used fluvially exposed raw material, based on our results it can be assumed that humans frequented this area, due to the local availability of such kind of material.

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Reconstructing prehistoric settlement models and land use patterns on Mt. Damota/SW Ethiopia

Cited by 12 publications

References 21 publications

Stratigraphy and Chronology of Sodicho Rockshelter – A New Sedimentological Record of Past Environmental Changes and Human Settlement Phases in Southwestern Ethiopia

Stratigraphy and Chronology of Sodicho Rockshelter – A New Sedimentological Record of Past Environmental Changes and Human Settlement Phases in Southwestern Ethiopia

Prospect Farm and the Middle and Later Stone Age Occupation of Mt. Eburru (Central Rift, Kenya) in an East African Context

Combining geomorphological–hydrological analyses and the location of settlement and raw material sites – a case study on understanding prehistoric human settlement activity in the southwestern Ethiopian Highlands

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