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

Abstract

Although high-altitude mountain habitats are often regarded as unfavorable for human occupation (e.g. Aldenderfer 2014); on the other hand tropical highlands in Africa are suggested as potential refugia during times of environmental stress (e.g. Basell 2008; Brandt et al. 2012). Archaeological investigations on Mount Damota (2908 m a.s.l.), located on the boundary between the Southwest Ethiopian Highlands to the west and the southern Main Ethiopian Rift valley to the east, yielded a large number of archaeological sites from the Middle Stone Age period until historical times. In this paper we try to reconstruct settlement models for the late Pleistocene and Holocene occupation in this area and speculate about potential land use patterns. Such complex topics demand a landscape archaeological approach that includes open-air sites and rock-shelters. The results from our excavations at Mochena Borago Rock-shelter and evidence from open-air-sites that were recorded during intensive surveys on the slopes and plateau of the mountain, allow a first reconstruction of the settlement history of the area.