New insights on the first Neolithic societies in the Horn of Africa: The site of Wakrita, Djibouti

• Published in: Journal of field archaeology Vol. 40; no. 1; pp. 55 - 68
• Main Authors: Gutherz, Xavier, Lesur, Joséphine, Cauliez, Jessie, Charpentier, Vincent, Diaz, Amélie, Ismaël, Mohamed Omar, Pène, Jean-Michel, Sordoillet, Dominique, Zazzo, Antoine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 01-02-2015; Maney Publishing for the Trustees of Boston University; Maney Publishing
• Subjects: Archaeology and Prehistory; Djibouti; Field Reports: Excavation and Survey; herding practices; Holocene; Humanities and Social Sciences; Neolithic; pottery; Djibouti; Horn of Africa; first Neolithic societies
• ISSN: 0093-4690; 2042-4582
• DOI: 10.1179/0093469014Z.000000000110

The site of Wakrita is a small Neolithic establishment located on a wadi in the tectonic depression of Gobaad in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. The 2005 excavations yielded abundant ceramics that enabled us to define one Neolithic cultural facies of this region, which was also identified at the nearby site of Asa Koma. The faunal remains confirm the importance of fishing in Neolithic settlements close to Lake Abbé, but also the importance of bovine husbandry and, for the first time in this area, evidence for caprine herding practices. Radiocarbon dating places this occupation at the beginning of the 2nd millennium b.c., similar in range to Asa Koma. These two sites represent the oldest evidence of herding in the region, and they provide a better understanding of the development of Neolithic societies in this region.