Eritrea

LOCATION: N. E. Africa, by the Red Sea.
Latitudes 12° to 18° N; Longitudes 36° to 44° E.

Map AREA: 124,330 Sq. km.
POPULATION: 3.5 to 4 million.
RELIGIONS: Christianity & Islam.
LANGUAGES: Tigrinya & Arabic; English & Italian spoken.

The oldest written reference to the territory now known as Eritrea is the chronicled expedition launched to the fabled Punt (or Ta Netjeru, meaning land of the Gods) by the Ancient Egyptians in the twenty-fifth century BC under Pharaoh Sahure. Later sources from the Pharaoh Hatshepsut in the fifteenth century BC present a more detailed portrayal of an expedition in search of incense. The geographical location of the missions to Punt is described as roughly corresponding to the southern west coast of the Red Sea. The name Eritrea is a rendition of the ancient Greek name Erythraía, the "Red Land".

Pre-history

One of the oldest hominids, representing a possible link between Homo erectus and an archaic Homo sapiens, was found in Buya (Eritrean Danakil) in 1995 by Italian scientists. The cranium was dated to over 1 million years old.[5] Furthermore, in 1999, the Eritrean Research Project Team, composed of Eritrean, Canadian, American, Dutch, and French scientists, discovered some of the earliest remains of humans using tools to harvest marine resources, at a site near the bay of Zula, south of Massawa. The site contained obsidian tools dated to the paleolithic era, over 125,000 years old.[6] Epipaleolithic or mesolithic cave paintings in central and northern Eritrea attest to early hunter-gatherers in this region.

A US paleontologist, William Sanders of the University of Michigan, also discovered a possible missing link between ancient and modern elephants in the form of the fossilized remains of a pig-sized creature in Eritrea. Sanders claims that the dating of the fossil to 27 million years ago pushes the origins of elephants and mastodons five million years further into the past than previously recorded, and asserts that modern elephants originated in Africa, in contrast to mammals such as rhinos that had their origins in Europe and Asia and then migrated into Africa. In addition to Sanders, the research team included scientists from the Elephant Research Foundation of Wayne State University in Michigan, USA, University of Asmara in Eritrea; Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, USA; the Eritrean ministry of mines and energy; Global Resources in Asmara, Eritrea; the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris; the National Museum of Eritrea; and German Primate Center in Göttingen, Germany.

Early history

The earliest evidence of agriculture, urban settlement and trade in Eritrea was found in the western region of the country consisting of archeological remains dating back to 3500 BC in sites called the Gash group. Based on the archaeological evidence, there seems to have been a connection between the peoples of the Gash group and the civilizations of the Nile Valley namely Ancient Egypt and Nubia.[7] Ancient Egyptian sources also give references to cities and trading posts along the southwestern Red Sea coast, roughly corresponding to modern day Eritrea, calling this "the land of Punt," famed for its incense.

In the highlands, in the capital city Asmara's suburbs, scores of ancient sites have been documented, including Sembel, Mai Chiot, Ona Gudo, Mai Temenai, Weki Duba, and Mai Hutsa. Mostly dating to the early and mid-1st millennium BCE (800 to 350 BCE), these communities consisted of small towns, villages, and hamlets built of stone. People practiced a mixed economy of pastoralism and grain agriculture, but little evidence for trade with the outside world has been found. The proximity of these ancient communities to gold mines suggest that part of their prosperity was linked to the mining and processing of gold. Around the mid-1st millennium, several sites with Sabaean remains (inscriptions, artifacts, monuments, etc.) seem to emerge in the central highlands, for example, at Keskese. There is evidence at Keskese that older remains, similar to those around Asmara, are present. The Sabaean remains, however, are not accompanied by evidence for residence of people from that southern Arabian kingdom. It appears to archaeologists that these remains represent the growth of local elites who appropriated powerful symbols from Saba in their quest for legitimacy.[8]

 

Eritrea, Ministry of Tourism of the State

LOCATION: N. E. Africa, by the Red Sea.
Latitudes 12° to 18° N; Longitudes 36° to 44° E.

Eritrea MapAREA: 124,330 Sq. km.
POPULATION: 3.5 to 4 million.
RELIGIONS: Christianity & Islam.
LANGUAGES: Tigrinya & Arabic; English & Italian spoken.

 

CLIMATE: Climatic Zones &endash; Highland plateau (2,000m.) including capital, Asmara, 10° to 22°; Western lowlands, cool to warm; Eastern coastal plain, pleasant in winter months & hot in summer. Rainfall - Short rains in March & April. Longer heavier showers with occasional hailstorms from late June to end-August.