Relating the Ancient Ona Culture to the Wider Northern Horn: Discerning Patterns and Problems in the Archaeology of the First Millennium BC

Archaeological research carried out between 1998 and 2003 on the Asmara Plateau of Eritrea has provided new insights concerning the development of early-to-mid first millennium BC settled agropastoral communities in the northern Horn of Africa. The settlement, subsistence, and material culture of these communities in the greater Asmara area, referred to as the “Ancient Ona culture,” bear both unique qualities and striking similarities to coeval communities in Tigray, Ethiopia. This article provides an overview of regional settlement data and ceramic and lithic traditions from the greater Asmara area, drawing comparisons to other contexts of this period in the archaeology of the wider northern Horn. It is argued that we can see among the Ancient Ona sites distinct localized cultural expressions and development as well as strong links to a wider first millennium BC macro-cultural identity.