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Diorama of Homo erectus using tools at Parc de Préhistoire de Bretagne.       Source: Bas Kers (NL)/CC BY NC-SA 2.0 DEED

Homo Erectus Mastered Oldowan and Acheulean Tools 2 Million Years Ago

While they first appeared on the lowland savannas of East Africa around two million years ago, the human ancestor Homo erectus soon expanded their range into the Ethiopian highlands. According to a...
Top down view of an Ethiopian Church Forest in the early morning.  Several white-robed worshipers around the church.  Source: Gregory/Adobe Stock

Ethiopian Church Forests, Struggling Fragments of Sacred Greenery in the Desert

In the distant past, the world around us looked completely different in many ways. One notable aspect that changed is forestation. Once covered in lush forests, much of the world around us is now...
Towards the rock-hewn church of Abuna Yemata Guh in Tigray Ethiopia. Source: Reto Ammann / Adobe Stock.

Abuna Yemata Guh: Ethiopia’s Chapel in the Sky (Video)

Northern Ethiopia's Tigray Region is renowned for its collection of rock-hewn churches , the most incredible of which is Abuna Yemata Guh, carved out of sandstone and perched 650 feet above a steep...
Timkat. Source: Wallpaper Flare / CC by SA.

The Challenging Rituals of Ethiopia’s Christian Timkat Ceremony (Video)

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is a unique branch of Christianity that traces its roots back to the earliest days of the faith . For those who follow this ancient religion, the annual Timkat ceremony...
Unique monolithic rock-hewn Church of St George, Lalibela, Ethiopia. Credit:Dmitry Chulov / BigStockPhoto

The Astonishing Architecture of Lalibela’s Monolithic Rock-Hewn Churches

In the heart of Ethiopia, there lies a town of unparalleled beauty and wonder. Lalibela is home to eleven monolithic rock-hewn churches, the largest of their kind in the world, which have been...
These Ethiopian megaliths in the Gedeo Sakaro Sodo area, photographed in 2014, have been dated to 1,000 years older than previously believed and everyone’s amazed!		Source: Ashenafi Zena / Washington State University

Phallic Ethiopian Megaliths Are 1000 Years Older Than Believed

Ethiopia’s Gedeo zone has the largest concentration of stone stelae in Africa. A new study published in the Journal of African Archaeology has pushed back the dates of megalithic stelae dotting the...
Aerial view of Fasil Ghebbi castle or fortress in Gondar, Ethiopia. 		Source: ondrejprosicky / Adobe Stock

Fasil Ghebbi: The Magnificent 17th-century Camelot of Ethiopia

Fasil Ghebbi is a fortress located in the city of Gondar, in the north-western Ethiopian region of Amhara. The fortress was founded in the 17th century and served as the royal residence of the...
The Mythos Of The Enigmatic Prester John

The Mythos Of The Enigmatic Prester John

Around 1165 AD a mysterious letter addressed to Manuel Comnenus, Emperor of Byzantium, began circulating around Europe. It was from a Prester John who claimed to “ exceed in riches, virtue and power...
The Periplus Of The Ports Of Ethiopia, The Hidden Empire

The Periplus Of The Ports Of Ethiopia, The Hidden Empire

Known as the Hidden Empire, Ethiopia’s official name, until recently, was Abyssinia. Its history fades back into the mists of time and for some reason, Ethiopia has largely been written out of world...
Abyssinia and the Ethiopian Empire: The Ancient History of a Struggling Nation

Abyssinia and the Ethiopian Empire: The Ancient History of a Struggling Nation

The Horn of Africa is a region with a unique identity and vibrant history. Close to the Arabian Peninsula, it always stood out from the rest of the African continent. Today, the Horn of Africa is...
Both sides of the recent Ethiopian bone hand axe find.

1.4-Million-Year-Old Bone Hand Axe Revises Toolmaking Timeline

In Ethiopia , a team of experts have uncovered a bone hand axe made, a staggering 1.4 million years ago, by an ancestor of modern humans. It was probably made by the archaic human species Homo...
This small, gracile, almost complete cranium was found near Homo erectus tools in Ethiopia. Source: Dr. Michael J. Rogers, Southern Connecticut State University

Homo Erectus Tools Challenge Single Species-Single Tech Thinking

Even a million and a half years ago, our ancestors understood that sometimes you need a simple hammerstone and other times a finely-made hand axe would better suit the task in front of you. New...
The Queen of Sheba meets with King Solomon. Source: Archivist / Adobe Stock.

The Queen of Sheba: How A Legend Was Born

The Queen of Sheba is an enigmatic figure found in all three of the Abrahamic faiths, i.e. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In addition to her presence in these three religions, the Queen of Sheba...
Tiya Stones, Intricately Carved Monoliths of Ethiopia

The Intricately Carved Tiya Megaliths of Ethiopia

The Tiya stones are part of an archaeological site located in central Ethiopia, in an area known as the Gurage Zone. The 46 large, decorated Tiya megaliths have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage...
Michael Harrower and Cinzia Perlingieri mapping architecture at the Aksumite town of Beta Samati. (Credit: Nicole Harrower) A Christian stone pendant and a gold and carnelian intaglio ring found in the basilica. (Credit: I. Dumitru)   Source: Antiquity Publications Ltd.

Lost Aksumite Town Reveals Secrets of Enigmatic Kingdom

Despite their prominent place in the ancient world, much of the story of the Aksumite civilization is still a mystery to archaeologists today. This partly explains why the discovery of the town of...
Artistic representation of a shotel sword (PetriBot / CC BY-SA 4.0) on a fractal background. (Pixabay License)

The Shotel Sword: Ancient African Weapon Was Worn To Impress the Ladies

One thing that every culture has in common is weaponry, and that weaponry is often unique and distinctive in its appearance. Swords are a particularly prevalent example of this – from the...
The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon, painting by Edward Poynter, 1890, Art Gallery of New South Wales

The Ethiopian Gold Mine that may have supplied the Queen of Sheba with her riches

Ever wondered where the Queen of Sheba got her gold from? Sudan and Ethiopia are both in the region of what was the kingdom of Sheba, and both have ancient mines. In fact, the Asosa zone of Ethiopia...
One of several processional crosses that were among the items looted during the British campaign in Ethiopia in 1868.

Ethiopian Treasures Stolen by British May Return Home, But Only on Loan

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England states the return of looted treasure is not a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ choice. The artifacts in question are Ethiopian treasure such as a gold crown, a...
View and colour rendered model of the hominin track P-01, belonging to the left foot of an adult

What ancient footprints can tell us about what it was like to be a child in prehistoric times

Western society has a rather specific view of what a good childhood should be like; protecting, sheltering and legislating to ensure compliance with it. However, perceptions of childhood vary greatly...
Representational image of African travelers.

East African Invasions in South America: Tracing Cultural Clues and Artifacts Left by Early Travelers

Archaeologists have found many artifacts that suggest Blacks lived in Pre-Columbian America in locations including Tiahuanaco and Valdivia. Epigraphers and archaeologists have even found evidence...
Carved into the rock face, with a plaster façade, is Abba Yohani Church

Hidden Religion: Abba Yohani and the Clandestine Cave Churches of Ethiopia

Ethiopia is a land full of ancient relics. For example, the fossil remains of the earliest hominins were found in Ethiopia. The oldest stone tools known to have been intelligently manufactured by...
Depiction of what the ancient 'Herto Man' may have looked like. His skull dates to 160,000 years ago.

A Serendipitous Skull Discovery in Ethiopia: Is This the Oldest Known Modern Man?

The El Niño weather phenomenon of 1996-97 wrecked havoc on many parts of the world; however, it also enabled one team of scientists to make an incredible discovery. When the skies cleared and the...
A. afarensis reconstruction, an adult left ulna of Australopithecus afarensis. Several fossilized teeth have also been found in the Kantis site. Credit: Image courtesy of Kyoto University

Australopithecus Fossils Found East of the Great Rift Valley

New fossils from Kenya suggest that an early hominid species -- Australopithecus afarensis -- lived far eastward beyond the Great Rift Valley and much farther than previously thought. An...
Bas-relief ‘Carrying the Ark of Covenant’, The Aksum Obelisk, and a depiction of the Queen of Sheba from the medieval manuscript ’Bellifortis’ by Conrad Kyeser (c. 1405), Prague school.

How is the Fallen Kingdom of Aksum Connected to the Queen of Sheba and the Ark of Covenant?

The Kingdom of Aksum (also spelled as ‘Axum’) was an ancient civilization located in what is today northern Ethiopia and Eritrea. This kingdom existed roughly between the 1st and the 8th centuries AD...

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