CFEE Seminar – Human-Environment Interaction in Southwest Ethiopia’s Moist Afro-Montane Forest during the Mid-Late Holocene: Evidence from Anthracological Samples
CFEE Seminar – Human-Environment Interaction in Southwest Ethiopia’s Moist Afro-Montane Forest during the Mid-Late Holocene: Evidence from Anthracological Samples
June 4th 2026, 2:00 p.m. (UTC+3), at the French Centre for Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa, and online
By Tefera Tarekegn Bayu, PhD student, Université Côte d’Azur, affiliated with CEPAM – Cultures et Environnement, Préhistoire, Antiquité, Moyen Âge, and Wolaita Sodo University, Department of Archaeology and Heritage Management
Tefera Tarekegn Bayu’s current research focuses on human-environment interaction in southwest Ethiopia’s Moist Afro-Montane Forest during the mid-late Holocene. Drawing on anthracological samples from the Kumali rockshelter, his work explores past vegetation, woodland-resource use, and human adaptation in one of Africa’s most ecologically diverse regions.
Southwest Ethiopia occupies an important place in discussions of long-term human occupation, indigenous plant domestication, and environmental refugia. Yet despite its ecological and archaeological significance, the region’s paleoenvironment remains poorly understood. Previous attempts to reconstruct environmental history have been limited by the scarcity and poor preservation of key proxies, including pollen.
This research addresses that gap through the study of archaeological charcoal remains. By identifying charcoal taxa and examining their anatomical and ecological significance, the study seeks to reconstruct local vegetation history and better understand how human communities engaged with forested landscapes over the last 5,000 years.
The Kumali rockshelter provides a particularly valuable case study, thanks to its well-preserved mid- to late-Holocene sequence and strong organic preservation. The analysis of charcoal remains from this site offers insight into fuel use, woodland management, and broader patterns of human adaptation in the Moist Afro-Montane Forest.
Tefera’s research also combines anthracological analysis with ethnoarchaeological observations of contemporary firewood collection practices and the development of a modern comparative wood collection from southwest Ethiopia. Together, these approaches provide a framework for understanding the long-term relationship between human communities and their environment in a region where other paleoenvironmental evidence remains limited.
The seminar is open to all and will also be accessible online.
To receive the connection link, please send an email to : secretariat@cfee.cnrs.fr
Date: Thursday, June 4, 2026
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Venue: French Centre for Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa / Online
French Center for Ethiopian Studies’ location:
The French Center for Ethiopian Studies is located in the Jan Meda neighborhood (Arada sub city, Kebele 11/12, house no. 1907), between Menelik Hospital and Sidist Kilo (50m before the entrance of Jan Meda)
View on Google Maps: Here
OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
Secrétaire Scientifique (27 mai 2026). CFEE Seminar – Human-Environment Interaction in Southwest Ethiopia’s Moist Afro-Montane Forest during the Mid-Late Holocene: Evidence from Anthracological Samples. UN ŒIL SUR LA CORNE / AN EYE ON THE HORN. Consulté le 10 août 2026 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/16a8p
