Nationality: Ethiopian

Institution: Ethiopian Heritage Authority and University of Bordeaux

Department: Prehistory

PAST programme support: Research Project support

Research title: New insights into the technological changes during the Middle to Late Pleistocene in Eastern Africa (500,000 to 100,000  bp): transformation process, technological diversity, and behavioural implications

“I am an archaeologist at the Ethiopian Heritage Authority and a PhD candidate at the University of Bordeaux, France, specializing in lithic technology and human behavioural evolution during the Middle to Late Pleistocene in Eastern Africa.”

I earned my BA in Archaeology and Heritage Management from Addis Ababa University in 2013 and completed two master’s degrees, including an MA in Prehistory (Bio-Geosciences) in France. My research focuses on Acheulean and Middle Stone Age assemblages from key sites in the Ethiopian Rift Valley, using 3D geometric morphometrics, techno-typological, and morpho-functional analyses to investigate technological change and behavioural diversity.

I have conducted extensive archaeological fieldwork across Ethiopia with the Ethiopian Heritage Authority and participated in international research and training programs in Kenya, Belgium, and France. I have presented my research at major conferences, including the Eastern African Palaeoanthropology and Palaeontology (EAAPP) and the GDR Rift Symposium. I also co-authored a 2023 paper on Oldowan adaptations published in Scientific Reports. My goal is to contribute to a deeper understanding of early human adaptation and regional technological variability in Africa.