Sorghum and finger millet cultivation during the Aksumite period: insights from ethnoarchaeological modelling and microbotanical analysis

Abstract

Cross-cultural models are a useful tool to generate hypotheses about the past using ethnographic data, especially when they can be validated against the archaeological record. In this paper, we propose the use of computer modelling techniques to gain insights into the agricultural history in the northern Horn of Africa of two key staple crops, i.e. finger millet (Eleusine coracana) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). To date, our understanding of the role of these cereals in the past economies of the region has been hindered by preservation issues and the limited number of systematic archaeobotanical research programs. By building predictive models that combine published ethnographic literature and environmental datasets on a global level, we can generate hypotheses about past agricultural systems in the northern Horn. The ability of the models to predict local agricultural practices in the area was tested against ethnoarchaeological observations in Gulo Makeda (Tigrai, Ethiopia). Archaeobotanical data from an archaeological site in the area, i.e. Ona Adi (ca. 750 BCE – CE 700), was used to assess the model’s predictions when applied to the archaeological record. According to our results, the rainfed agriculture of finger millet and sorghum was already in place during the Aksumite period (ca. 50 BCE – CE 800) around the main centres of settlement articulation. These results are supported by the phytolith assemblage from Ona Adi, which records the presence of water-stressed Chloridoideae and Panicoideae grasses throughout the occupation of the site.