History and archeology of the Ethiopian territories of the East African Rift (10th - 16th centuries): For a cultural and memorial alterity

• Grant number: 17/08214-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: November 01, 2017
• End date: January 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - Ancient and Medieval History
• Principal Investigator: Neri de Barros Almeida
• Grantee: Ayda Bouanga
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In Ethiopia, during Antiquity and Middle Age, the so-called "pagan" societies are a historiographic unthought. This phenomenon results of the absence of written sources produced by these populations and is due to a historiography that accepts as a fact the assimilation of the so-called "pagan" to the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia in the 14th century. However, recent historical and archaeological investigations invalidate this latter conclusion.Between the 10th and 16th century, the populations of south-western Ethiopia settled at the crossroads of the Horn of Africa and the interior of the continent, erected megalithic monuments, evidences of a strong political, cultural and economic diversity in this region of the East African Rift. Combining textual and archaeological analyzes, this research project aims to retrospect the history of these societies, their spatial organization and their religious cults. My research will involve both investigating a missing part of Ethiopian history, renewing a historiography monopolized by monotheistic formations, and understanding the several interactions resulted from the coexistence of powerful regional actors.