Periodic Reporting for period 3 - StateHorn (Pathways to Statehood: Authority, legitimacy and Social Diversity in the Horn of Africa (11th-16th centuries))
Berichtszeitraum: 2023-06-01 bis 2024-11-30
Statehorn is an European Research Project that analyses the reasons for failure in the contemporary states in the Horn of Africa through the archaeological study of their historical dynamics during the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Modern Age. This period of time under study –approximately from the 11th to the 16th centuries CE- witnessed the emergence and consolidation of a score of Muslim states which for 500 years were able to control large regions, provide stability and prosperity to their citizens and establish complex diplomatic and economical links with the Mediterranean, the Near East, Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The former stability of these states contrasts with the challenges that face the states in the region today, with Somalia being the epitome of a failed state.
The project is organised around five core research themes (political territoriality and cultural landscape, material culture, written and oral sources, urbanisation, and trade). Combining archaeological information with written historical sources, oral traditions, historical linguistic data and ethnography, it will present the most comprehensive study of statehood in the Horn of Africa during the medieval period. StateHorn studies how medieval states controlled or exerted influence over territory, and how they interacted with the different communities -nomads, urban dwellers, international traders, ethnic minorities- which inhabited the Muslim territories of the Horn of Africa. To do so, the project studies the material culture of the medieval communities of the Horn of Africa from different perspectives -regional, settlement, domestic, individual- aiming to reconstruct the material, economic, social, religious and identity parameters of these groups. The final objective is to reconstruct, as accurately as possible, the historical dynamics of this region during the Medieval period, and the role states played in them.
The StateHorn Project focuses primarily on the medieval states of the Horn of Africa. Yet, its goals extend beyond the study of a society long time gone. Indeed, the project aims to formulate questions and to propose alternative ways to understand the functioning of the states in Africa and in other places where states face problems of legitimacy and authority. In so doing, the project can contribute to elaborate new approaches that help in improving the lives of millions of people in the Horn of Africa and in other regions of the world.
The project is organised around five core research themes (political territoriality and cultural landscape, material culture, written and oral sources, urbanisation, and trade). Combining archaeological information with written historical sources, oral traditions, historical linguistic data and ethnography, it will present the most comprehensive study of statehood in the Horn of Africa during the medieval period. StateHorn studies how medieval states controlled or exerted influence over territory, and how they interacted with the different communities -nomads, urban dwellers, international traders, ethnic minorities- which inhabited the Muslim territories of the Horn of Africa. To do so, the project studies the material culture of the medieval communities of the Horn of Africa from different perspectives -regional, settlement, domestic, individual- aiming to reconstruct the material, economic, social, religious and identity parameters of these groups. The final objective is to reconstruct, as accurately as possible, the historical dynamics of this region during the Medieval period, and the role states played in them.
The StateHorn Project focuses primarily on the medieval states of the Horn of Africa. Yet, its goals extend beyond the study of a society long time gone. Indeed, the project aims to formulate questions and to propose alternative ways to understand the functioning of the states in Africa and in other places where states face problems of legitimacy and authority. In so doing, the project can contribute to elaborate new approaches that help in improving the lives of millions of people in the Horn of Africa and in other regions of the world.
During the first half of the project and despite the impact of the COVID19 pandemic, which has disturbed several important research lines, StateHorn has developed an intense activity programme which can be organized in four main areas:
- Launching and substantial implementation of the four main databases which will organize the project information: a geographical database (GIS) to store geographical, archaeological and historical data; a database of all the medieval archaeological sites documented in the Muslim territories of the Horn of Africa, a bibliographic database and a historical database which incorporates medieval, modern and contemporary references to sites, historical characters, objects and other relevant information.
- Archaeological fieldwork. The project has launched two fieldwork projects. The first one is based in Djibouti, where in 2021 it started the excavation of the important medieval town of Handoga, the only medieval site located so far in that country. The second one started in 2022 and studies the border region between Ethiopia and Somaliland, and combines excavations and surveys to document a cluster of around 15 poorly studied medieval settlements. Both campaigns are gathering a huge amount of information about the urbanism, architecture, economy, material culture and identity of two areas directly under the control of the Medieval Muslim states of the Horn
- Development of sets of scientific analyses. The archaeological materials during the excavations and surveys have provided a significant number of archaeological materials which are currently being analysed and will provided a huge amount of information abut the region. Analyses include radiocarbon dating, studies on the chemical composition of metal and glass objects, studies on pottery manufactures and different vegetal remains (pollen, charcoals, seeds).
- Scientific and general dissemination. During this first period, StateHorn has launched an ambitious plan of dissemination at different levels, including the setting of a website (www.statehorn.com) with information about the project and a blog with updates about our research, and has used a Twitter account to disseminate the daily activities of the project. From a different perspective, the project has participated in around 20 conferences and other scientific events, presenting the preliminary results of the project and its different research lines.
- Launching and substantial implementation of the four main databases which will organize the project information: a geographical database (GIS) to store geographical, archaeological and historical data; a database of all the medieval archaeological sites documented in the Muslim territories of the Horn of Africa, a bibliographic database and a historical database which incorporates medieval, modern and contemporary references to sites, historical characters, objects and other relevant information.
- Archaeological fieldwork. The project has launched two fieldwork projects. The first one is based in Djibouti, where in 2021 it started the excavation of the important medieval town of Handoga, the only medieval site located so far in that country. The second one started in 2022 and studies the border region between Ethiopia and Somaliland, and combines excavations and surveys to document a cluster of around 15 poorly studied medieval settlements. Both campaigns are gathering a huge amount of information about the urbanism, architecture, economy, material culture and identity of two areas directly under the control of the Medieval Muslim states of the Horn
- Development of sets of scientific analyses. The archaeological materials during the excavations and surveys have provided a significant number of archaeological materials which are currently being analysed and will provided a huge amount of information abut the region. Analyses include radiocarbon dating, studies on the chemical composition of metal and glass objects, studies on pottery manufactures and different vegetal remains (pollen, charcoals, seeds).
- Scientific and general dissemination. During this first period, StateHorn has launched an ambitious plan of dissemination at different levels, including the setting of a website (www.statehorn.com) with information about the project and a blog with updates about our research, and has used a Twitter account to disseminate the daily activities of the project. From a different perspective, the project has participated in around 20 conferences and other scientific events, presenting the preliminary results of the project and its different research lines.
So far, the research conducted by StateHorn has contributed significantly to the advance of the archaeology of the Muslim Horn of Africa in several ways. It has provided a whole new set of archaeological data based on the research conducted in Djibouti and Ethiopia, where several settlements poorly unknown are being documented and excavated, sometimes for the first time. The information obtained by this research is providing the most extensive set of data ever collected in the region, in areas where research has been intermittent and superficial at the best. Once fully processed and published, it will complete studies from other regions such as the Harar region or Somaliland, contributing to a more balanced and comprehensive knowledge of the medieval Muslim world of the Horn of Africa.
The ongoing work is generating data which deals with some of the main deficiencies in the archaeology of the region, such as the distribution networks of imported materials, the characteristics of the local material culture -unknown so far-, the chronologies of the archaeological sites and the evolution of the settlement patterns through time. The samples currently under study are the first ones ever processed in this region, and will set the foundations of a whole area of studies that so far have been left aside. All this information is facilitating the insertion of the region within wider regional contexts, establishing links with nearby areas such as the Red Sea coast or the Arabian Peninsula. From another perspective, the four datasets which are currently being implemented will constitute the largest and most comprehensive corpus of information about the medieval history and archaeology of the Horn of Africa, combining archaeological, historical, bibliographical, ethnographic, cartographic and linguistic data.
For the next years the project will continue the archaeological research in Djibouti and Ethiopia, incorporating new information from nearby regions such as Somaliland or Puntland, processing, systematizing and making it available to build a well-based, comprehensive archaeological and historical framework for the medieval period. In parallel with this acquisition of data, during the second half of the project StateHorn will develop a theoretical model which will interpret the historical and archaeological context of the region and will address key concepts for the understanding of the region such as legitimacy, authority, ethnic diversity or conflict management.
The ongoing work is generating data which deals with some of the main deficiencies in the archaeology of the region, such as the distribution networks of imported materials, the characteristics of the local material culture -unknown so far-, the chronologies of the archaeological sites and the evolution of the settlement patterns through time. The samples currently under study are the first ones ever processed in this region, and will set the foundations of a whole area of studies that so far have been left aside. All this information is facilitating the insertion of the region within wider regional contexts, establishing links with nearby areas such as the Red Sea coast or the Arabian Peninsula. From another perspective, the four datasets which are currently being implemented will constitute the largest and most comprehensive corpus of information about the medieval history and archaeology of the Horn of Africa, combining archaeological, historical, bibliographical, ethnographic, cartographic and linguistic data.
For the next years the project will continue the archaeological research in Djibouti and Ethiopia, incorporating new information from nearby regions such as Somaliland or Puntland, processing, systematizing and making it available to build a well-based, comprehensive archaeological and historical framework for the medieval period. In parallel with this acquisition of data, during the second half of the project StateHorn will develop a theoretical model which will interpret the historical and archaeological context of the region and will address key concepts for the understanding of the region such as legitimacy, authority, ethnic diversity or conflict management.