The Chabu hunter-gatherers of the highland forests of Southwestern Ethiopia

Dira, Samuel Jilo; Hewlett, Barry S.

doi:10.3828/hgr.2017.15

Cited by 14 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(6 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Finally, we show that the Chabu, descendants of earlier Southwestern Ethiopian hunter-gatherers, have experienced a precipitous decline from an ancestral N e of ~5,700 to ~140 over 56 generations. Recent ethnographic work describes the loss of Chabu land to agriculturalists in just the past two decades ( 12 ); we hypothesize that this is a continuation of a trend that began 40 ga (Response 3). We found that the Chabu and the Aari are descended from Southwestern Ethiopian ancestors that must have once comprised a wide-ranging population (Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The Chabu people are poorly known even among anthropologists. They inhabit the highland forests that straddle the border between the Oromia Regional State, Gambella Regional State, and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) ( 12 ). Recent estimates of their census size range between 1,700 and 2,500 individuals ( 12 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They inhabit the highland forests that straddle the border between the Oromia Regional State, Gambella Regional State, and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) ( 12 ). Recent estimates of their census size range between 1,700 and 2,500 individuals ( 12 ). The Chabu claim to be the original inhabitants of these forests, an assertion that their Majangir and Shekkacho neighbors generally support.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During the last decade, the Chabu have faced mounting challenges to their survival. Their land claims are not recognized, and as a result their traditional forests are often violently co-opted for coffee plantations and other development ( 12 ). We sought to understand the effects of recent and historical isolation and demographic pressures faced by the Chabu by analyzing runs of homozygosity (RoH) (Methods).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…S3). As the Chabu have no cultural tradition of close relative marriage and practice clan exogamy, this demonstrates an increased level of isolation relative to their neighbors ( 12 ). We compared the Chabu to other African hunter-gatherers, including the Biaka, Mbuti, and Hadza, as well as recent descendants of hunter-gatherer groups; these include the Majangir, Gumuz, Sandawe, and Aari.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Hunter-gatherer genomes reveal diverse demographic trajectories following the rise of farming in East Africa

Berl

Belbin

Gignoux³

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

19A major outstanding question in human prehistory is the fate of hunting and gathering populations 20 following the rise of agriculture and pastoralism. Genomic analysis of ancient and contemporary 21Europeans suggests that autochthonous groups were either absorbed into or replaced by expanding 22 farmer populations. Many of the hunter-gatherer populations persisting today live in Africa, perhaps 23 because agropastoral transitions occurred later on the continent. Here, we present the first genomic 24 data from the Chabu, a relatively isolated and marginalized hunting-and-gathering group from the 25 Southwestern Ethiopian highlands. The Chabu are a distinct genetic population that carry the highest 26 levels of Southwestern Ethiopian ancestry of any extant population studied thus far. This ancestry has 27 been in situ for at least 4,500 years. We show that the Chabu are undergoing a severe population 28 bottleneck which began around 40 generations ago. We also study other Eastern African populations 29 and demonstrate divergent patterns of historical population size change over the past 60 generations 30 between even closely related groups. We argue that these patterns demonstrate that, unlike in Europe, 31Africans hunter-gatherers responded to agropastoralism with diverse strategies. 32 33Since the beginning of the Holocene 12,000 years ago (ya), the dominant mode of human subsistence 34 has shifted from hunting and gathering to agriculture through a process known as the Neolithic 35 transition. Whether this transition occurred primarily through the mass movement of people from 36 centers of domestication (demic diffusion) or through the cultural transmission of agricultural practices 37 (cultural adoption) is still debated in archaeology, genetics and anthropology (1, 2). As this transition 38 largely concluded by 4,000 ya in Europe and Asia, there remains little direct evidence of on-the-ground 39 interaction between hunter-gatherers and agriculturalist migrants. Theoretically, in the face of 40 displacement and conflict over resources, hunter-gatherer populations might respond in a variety of 41 ways: 1) intermarry with the migrant group and adopt their agropastoral subsistence practices 42 (substantial genetic exchange); 2) adopt the subsistence practices of the migrants without intermarriage 43 (limited genetic exchange); 3) reduce their geographic range or resource acquisition (leading to a decline 44 in population size); 4) enter into an economic-symbolic exchange relationship with the migrant group; or 45 5) move to an ecological region that is marginal for pastoralism or agriculture (3, 4). These are not 46 mutually exclusive; the history of any particular hunter-gatherer group may involve multiple modes of 47

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 98%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Hunter-gatherer genomes reveal diverse demographic trajectories following the rise of farming in East Africa

Berl

Belbin

Gignoux³

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Afromontane forests and human impact after the African Humid Period: wood charcoal from the Sodicho rock shelter, SW Ethiopian highlands

Bodin,

Neumann,

Hensel

et al. 2024

Veget Hist Archaeobot

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The SW highlands of Ethiopia are a key component in the evolution of modern humans. Yet, palaeoecological studies, essential to understand past human-vegetation relationships, are almost inexistent in this region. In this paper, we present an anthracological study of the Sodicho rock shelter, located at 1,930 m a.s.l. in the SW Ethiopian Afromontane forest zone, reconstructing the past woody vegetation since the end of the African Humid Period (ca. 5,000 cal bp). Our results show that the vegetation around the rock shelter from ca. 4,750 to 1,750 cal bp was an ecotone between Afromontane forest and wooded grasslands of the lowlands, maintained open by the use of fire, although the climatic conditions were favourable for closed forest. The charcoal assemblage also demonstrates strong wood selection, with Syzygium guineense, Acacia and Proteaceae as the preferred taxa, even during a volcanic event when human occupation had been assumed to be absent. We therefore suggest that the rock shelter might have been visited more continuously than previously thought. Finally, under less intense occupation activities from ca. 1,700 to 300 cal bp, forest taxa became comparatively more dominant than before, as documented in the charcoal record. This demonstrates that the forest can recover under reduced human impact. The fact that the Afromontane forest is resilient is of utmost importance, indicating that reforestation is still possible despite the strong agricultural and demographic pressures the Ethiopian highlands are currently facing.

show abstract

Social Learning and Innovation in Adolescence

Hewlett

2021

Hum Nat

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Chabu hunter-gatherers of the highland forests of Southwestern Ethiopia

Cited by 14 publications

References 6 publications

Hunter-gatherer genomes reveal diverse demographic trajectories following the rise of farming in East Africa

Hunter-gatherer genomes reveal diverse demographic trajectories following the rise of farming in East Africa

Afromontane forests and human impact after the African Humid Period: wood charcoal from the Sodicho rock shelter, SW Ethiopian highlands

Social Learning and Innovation in Adolescence

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About