(ORDO NEWS) — The Gedeo zone in Ethiopia contains the largest number of megaliths in Africa (more than 10,000 stelae).
Until now, archaeologists cannot unravel all the secrets of these monuments, but recently one of the mysteries was revealed to them…
There are stelae, mounds and dolmens in the Gedeo zone. Many of the megaliths have long since fallen, others are decorated with intricate designs, some of them even have intricately carved faces!
Existing archaeological and ethnographic evidence suggests that the most ancient stelae were most likely created for two purposes: during ceremonies for the transfer of power and to “record” achievements.
For a long time, scientists believed that the steles began to be erected no earlier than 850 years ago.
But since this region is very little studied, archaeologists from the State Historical Society of North Dakota and Hawass University, USA, decided to clarify these data.
Dr. Ashenafi Zena and her colleagues used radiocarbon dating. So they were able to determine that the megalithic stelae at the Sakaro-Sodo site were probably created around the 1st century AD.
They also found that the obsidian artifacts belonged to a region in northern Kenya, which is about 300 km from the found site.
This is evidence that the people of Sakaro-Sodo obtained most of their raw materials through some form of exchange or trade.
The authors of the work note that today very little is known about the life of the people who inhabited this region at the turn of the first millennium.
But the new construction dates for the monuments seem to coincide with the arrival of domesticated animals in the region and the start of more complex social and economic systems.
“This study is important because it may shed light on what the first people in this area did for a living, as well as what their cultural and social customs were,” the scientists write.
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