The development of crop production in the northern Horn of Africa: a review of the archaeobotanical evidence

This article presents a synthesis of the hypotheses and evidence for plant domestication and the origins of agriculture in the northern Horn of Africa. To date, available archaeological data point to an introduction of agricultural practices to Ethiopia during the late Holocene, c. 1600 BC, influenc...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ruiz-Giralt, Abel, Beldados, Alemseged
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Repositorio:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/70970
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10230/70970
https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270X.2024.2316518
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Plant domestication
Early agriculture
Archaeobotany
Ethiopia
Horn of Africa
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spelling The development of crop production in the northern Horn of Africa: a review of the archaeobotanical evidenceRuiz-Giralt, AbelBeldados, AlemsegedPlant domesticationEarly agricultureArchaeobotanyEthiopiaHorn of AfricaThis article presents a synthesis of the hypotheses and evidence for plant domestication and the origins of agriculture in the northern Horn of Africa. To date, available archaeological data point to an introduction of agricultural practices to Ethiopia during the late Holocene, c. 1600 BC, influenced by adjacent areas including eastern Sudan, Egypt and southern Arabia. The archaeobotanical record shows that farming in the northern highlands was based on the cultivation of barley, linseed and lentils, combined with the exploitation of local wild grasses from the Panicoideae and Chloridoideae sub-families. This indicates that local populations also played a role in the development of productive activities in the region, a process that might have been in place before the arrival of the southwest Asian agricultural package. After the first millennium BC, amidst an increase in sedentary settlements in the region, new domesticated crops appeared in the archaeological record. These include exogenous crops such as emmer wheat, but also indigenous plants such as t¿ef and noog, which were locally domesticated likely throughout the Pre-Aksumite period. With the rise of the Aksumite Kingdom, c. 50 BC¿AD 700, the agricultural package again expanded to include of a wide range of pulses, geophytes and other economic crops. Macrobotanical remains of sorghum and finger millet also appear for the first time during this period, although this contrasts with the microbotanical record of the region, which points to an earlier presence. In the southern highlands and southwest Ethiopia, evidence of Plectranthus edulis (Vatke) Agnew (Ethiopian potato or Oromo potato) has been identified by the late first millennium BC, pointing towards an earlier domestication than previously considered. Similarly, enset and coffee remains have been documented during the early first millennium AD. Altogether, new studies are needed to confirm some of these hypotheses, as archaeobotanical studies in the northern Horn are still limited. The combination of macrobotanical and microbotanical data, along with ethnoarchaeological and experimental research programs and linguistic studies, will be of critical importance for refining our current understanding of the processes associated with plant domestication and the introduction of crop production in the region.Taylor & Francis2025202520242025info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersionapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10230/70970https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270X.2024.2316518reponame:Repositorio Digital de la UPFinstname:Universitat Pompeu FabraInglésAzania. 2024;59(2):183-212.© This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Azania on 22 Feb 2024, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/0067270X.2024.2316518info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/709702026-06-12T07:21:37Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv The development of crop production in the northern Horn of Africa: a review of the archaeobotanical evidence
title The development of crop production in the northern Horn of Africa: a review of the archaeobotanical evidence
spellingShingle The development of crop production in the northern Horn of Africa: a review of the archaeobotanical evidence
Ruiz-Giralt, Abel
Plant domestication
Early agriculture
Archaeobotany
Ethiopia
Horn of Africa
title_short The development of crop production in the northern Horn of Africa: a review of the archaeobotanical evidence
title_full The development of crop production in the northern Horn of Africa: a review of the archaeobotanical evidence
title_fullStr The development of crop production in the northern Horn of Africa: a review of the archaeobotanical evidence
title_full_unstemmed The development of crop production in the northern Horn of Africa: a review of the archaeobotanical evidence
title_sort The development of crop production in the northern Horn of Africa: a review of the archaeobotanical evidence
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Ruiz-Giralt, Abel
Beldados, Alemseged
author Ruiz-Giralt, Abel
author_facet Ruiz-Giralt, Abel
Beldados, Alemseged
author_role author
author2 Beldados, Alemseged
author2_role author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Plant domestication
Early agriculture
Archaeobotany
Ethiopia
Horn of Africa
topic Plant domestication
Early agriculture
Archaeobotany
Ethiopia
Horn of Africa
description This article presents a synthesis of the hypotheses and evidence for plant domestication and the origins of agriculture in the northern Horn of Africa. To date, available archaeological data point to an introduction of agricultural practices to Ethiopia during the late Holocene, c. 1600 BC, influenced by adjacent areas including eastern Sudan, Egypt and southern Arabia. The archaeobotanical record shows that farming in the northern highlands was based on the cultivation of barley, linseed and lentils, combined with the exploitation of local wild grasses from the Panicoideae and Chloridoideae sub-families. This indicates that local populations also played a role in the development of productive activities in the region, a process that might have been in place before the arrival of the southwest Asian agricultural package. After the first millennium BC, amidst an increase in sedentary settlements in the region, new domesticated crops appeared in the archaeological record. These include exogenous crops such as emmer wheat, but also indigenous plants such as t¿ef and noog, which were locally domesticated likely throughout the Pre-Aksumite period. With the rise of the Aksumite Kingdom, c. 50 BC¿AD 700, the agricultural package again expanded to include of a wide range of pulses, geophytes and other economic crops. Macrobotanical remains of sorghum and finger millet also appear for the first time during this period, although this contrasts with the microbotanical record of the region, which points to an earlier presence. In the southern highlands and southwest Ethiopia, evidence of Plectranthus edulis (Vatke) Agnew (Ethiopian potato or Oromo potato) has been identified by the late first millennium BC, pointing towards an earlier domestication than previously considered. Similarly, enset and coffee remains have been documented during the early first millennium AD. Altogether, new studies are needed to confirm some of these hypotheses, as archaeobotanical studies in the northern Horn are still limited. The combination of macrobotanical and microbotanical data, along with ethnoarchaeological and experimental research programs and linguistic studies, will be of critical importance for refining our current understanding of the processes associated with plant domestication and the introduction of crop production in the region.
publishDate 2024
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2024
2025
2025
2025
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
format article
status_str acceptedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10230/70970
https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270X.2024.2316518
url http://hdl.handle.net/10230/70970
https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270X.2024.2316518
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Azania. 2024;59(2):183-212.
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Taylor & Francis
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Taylor & Francis
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
instname:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
instname_str Universitat Pompeu Fabra
reponame_str Repositorio Digital de la UPF
collection Repositorio Digital de la UPF
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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