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Papers by Habtamu Taddesse

Research paper thumbnail of The Pre-Aksumite to Aksumite Transition in Eastern Tigrai, Ethiopia: The View from Ona Adi

The Pre-Aksumite to Aksumite transition (PA-A transition) is a critically important period in the... more The Pre-Aksumite to Aksumite transition (PA-A transition) is a critically important period in the culture history of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa (ca. 400 BC-1 st century AD). Previous hypotheses derived from archaeological surveys, that the settlement of large sites in Eastern Tigrai was continuous during the PA-A transition, are tested in this study. A main objective of this dissertation is to develop the first systematic ceramic chronology of the PA-A transition and the Aksumite period in Eastern Tigrai, based on excavation and ceramic analysis completed at the site of Ona Adi. The work involved the definition of main features of the Agame Ceramic Tradition. This research, in addition to completed survey data, highlights the distant political and economic relationship between the putative centres of Aksum/Yeha and the outlying region of Eastern Tigrai during the PA-A transition and the Aksumite period. It also provides a glimpse into the social dynamics of the PA-A transition at Ona Adi and the political role of Eastern Tigrai during the PA-A transition and the Aksumite period in the Horn of Africa. The work also explores the local cultural development and the impacts of cultural contacts between Eastern Tigrai and surrounding areas during the PA-A transition and Aksumite period. The results represent important baseline data to facilitate the development of future archaeological investigations in the region.

Research paper thumbnail of Agriculture, Horn of Africa

The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, Mar 30, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Aksumite Settlement Patterns: Site Size Hierarchies and Spatial Clustering

Journal of Archaeological Research, 2022

Settlement pattern analysis offers a range of insights about social, economic, and political rela... more Settlement pattern analysis offers a range of insights about social, economic, and political relationships of Aksumite civilization. Two common approaches involve analyzing site size distributions and the spatial distribution of sites to evaluate possible clustering. We review the history of archaeological survey and settlement pattern analyses for Pre-Aksumite, Aksumite, and Post-Aksumite periods. We focus on data from two areas of northern Ethiopia collected by the Eastern Tigray Archaeological Project and the Southern Red Sea Archaeological Histories Project. We conduct Ripley’s-K multi-distance spatial cluster analysis to evaluate spatial clustering/dispersion, and Gaussian mixture model/Bayesian information criterion analysis to evaluate possible site size hierarchies. Results show similar patterns in the two areas, including site clustering predominantly during the Pre-Aksumite period, an increase in the number of sites and decrease in average site size from the Pre-Aksumite to Aksumite periods, and no definitive evidence that site size hierarchies are an indicator of political changes over time. Overall, results indicate locally aggregated political organization during the Pre-Aksumite period, locally decentralized organization, infilling, and population growth during the Aksumite period, and a subsequent decline in population and political centralization during the Post-Aksumite period.

Research paper thumbnail of Aksumite Settlement Patterns: Site Size Hierarchies and Spatial Clustering

Journal of Archaeological Research, 2022

Settlement pattern analysis offers a range of insights about social, economic, and political rela... more Settlement pattern analysis offers a range of insights about social, economic, and political relationships of Aksumite civilization. Two common approaches involve analyzing site size distributions and the spatial distribution of sites to evaluate possible clustering. We review the history of archaeological survey and settlement pattern analyses for Pre-Aksumite, Aksumite, and Post-Aksumite periods. We focus on data from two areas of northern Ethiopia collected by the Eastern Tigray Archaeological Project and the Southern Red Sea Archaeological Histories Project. We conduct Ripley's-K multi-distance spatial cluster analysis to evaluate spatial clustering/ dispersion, and Gaussian mixture model/Bayesian information criterion analysis to evaluate possible site size hierarchies. Results show similar patterns in the two areas, including site clustering predominantly during the Pre-Aksumite period, an increase in the number of sites and decrease in average site size from the Pre-Aksum...

Research paper thumbnail of The Pre-Aksumite to Aksumite Transition in Eastern Tigrai, Ethiopia: The View from Ona Adi

The Pre-Aksumite to Aksumite transition (PA-A transition) is a critically important period in the... more The Pre-Aksumite to Aksumite transition (PA-A transition) is a critically important period in the culture history of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa (ca. 400 BC-1 st century AD). Previous hypotheses derived from archaeological surveys, that the settlement of large sites in Eastern Tigrai was continuous during the PA-A transition, are tested in this study. A main objective of this dissertation is to develop the first systematic ceramic chronology of the PA-A transition and the Aksumite period in Eastern Tigrai, based on excavation and ceramic analysis completed at the site of Ona Adi. The work involved the definition of main features of the Agame Ceramic Tradition. This research, in addition to completed survey data, highlights the distant political and economic relationship between the putative centres of Aksum/Yeha and the outlying region of Eastern Tigrai during the PA-A transition and the Aksumite period. It also provides a glimpse into the social dynamics of the PA-A transition at Ona Adi and the political role of Eastern Tigrai during the PA-A transition and the Aksumite period in the Horn of Africa. The work also explores the local cultural development and the impacts of cultural contacts between Eastern Tigrai and surrounding areas during the PA-A transition and Aksumite period. The results represent important baseline data to facilitate the development of future archaeological investigations in the region.

Research paper thumbnail of Agriculture, Horn of Africa

The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, Mar 30, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Aksumite Settlement Patterns: Site Size Hierarchies and Spatial Clustering

Journal of Archaeological Research, 2022

Settlement pattern analysis offers a range of insights about social, economic, and political rela... more Settlement pattern analysis offers a range of insights about social, economic, and political relationships of Aksumite civilization. Two common approaches involve analyzing site size distributions and the spatial distribution of sites to evaluate possible clustering. We review the history of archaeological survey and settlement pattern analyses for Pre-Aksumite, Aksumite, and Post-Aksumite periods. We focus on data from two areas of northern Ethiopia collected by the Eastern Tigray Archaeological Project and the Southern Red Sea Archaeological Histories Project. We conduct Ripley’s-K multi-distance spatial cluster analysis to evaluate spatial clustering/dispersion, and Gaussian mixture model/Bayesian information criterion analysis to evaluate possible site size hierarchies. Results show similar patterns in the two areas, including site clustering predominantly during the Pre-Aksumite period, an increase in the number of sites and decrease in average site size from the Pre-Aksumite to Aksumite periods, and no definitive evidence that site size hierarchies are an indicator of political changes over time. Overall, results indicate locally aggregated political organization during the Pre-Aksumite period, locally decentralized organization, infilling, and population growth during the Aksumite period, and a subsequent decline in population and political centralization during the Post-Aksumite period.

Research paper thumbnail of Aksumite Settlement Patterns: Site Size Hierarchies and Spatial Clustering

Journal of Archaeological Research, 2022

Settlement pattern analysis offers a range of insights about social, economic, and political rela... more Settlement pattern analysis offers a range of insights about social, economic, and political relationships of Aksumite civilization. Two common approaches involve analyzing site size distributions and the spatial distribution of sites to evaluate possible clustering. We review the history of archaeological survey and settlement pattern analyses for Pre-Aksumite, Aksumite, and Post-Aksumite periods. We focus on data from two areas of northern Ethiopia collected by the Eastern Tigray Archaeological Project and the Southern Red Sea Archaeological Histories Project. We conduct Ripley's-K multi-distance spatial cluster analysis to evaluate spatial clustering/ dispersion, and Gaussian mixture model/Bayesian information criterion analysis to evaluate possible site size hierarchies. Results show similar patterns in the two areas, including site clustering predominantly during the Pre-Aksumite period, an increase in the number of sites and decrease in average site size from the Pre-Aksum...