“Prehistoric Cultural Development
“Findings from recent research indicate that during the late stone age, languages, most likely to be precursors to the Afroasiatic Superfamily, existed in modern-day Eritrea and Sudan. While not definite, these languages first began to take their "separate" forms by 13,000 BCE, which is probably when the Omotic precurser-language began its slow migration southward in the Ethiopian region. Today, Omotic speakers live in the west and southwest part of the country.
Not too long afterward, the Cushitic language-precursor group were also in formation. The speakers of this language originally inhabited what is today northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, and slowly migrated westwards into the Sudan, further eastwards into eastern Ethiopia and northern Somalia, and southward into north-central Ethiopia (Gondar, Gojjam and Wallo).
“The Semitic family can also trace their origins from this area in north-eastern Africa. Most modern experts hold the theory that the Semitic precursor-language must have at first existed in a cluster with ancient Egyptian and Berber, before exiting into its unique form. However the timing for these events is quite difficult to discern. The Semitic language-precursor being, for our purposes, the "last" language in formation, was somehow transported into Arabia and further east into central and northern Asia.
“The early inhabitants of Ethiopia during the Chalcolithic Age (6200-3000 BCE) were in the beginning stages of domesticating grains such as teff and ansete (locally known as the false banana). Plough-based agriculture was also in the process of evolving, which could imply the domestication of cattle. Certainly by the Early Bronze Age (3000 BCE), the domestication of animals, including cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys was taking place.
Pre-Aksum
4500 BCE - 300 BCE
“As early as 4500 BCE, wheat and barley could have entered northern Ethiopia from the northern Sudan/southern Egypt region. Some other seeds such as Teff (Eragrostis tef) and Enset (Ensete edulis, Ensete ventricosum), which are today still very important today in Ethiopia, originated in Ethiopia. The Pre-Aksumites probably started herding cattle "around the beginning of the second millennium BCE." Horses entered Ethiopia from the Nile Valley, camels from the Middle East, and sheep and goats entered Ethiopia from the Nile and the Middle East. (Henze 11-14)
“The earliest black inhabitants of the Ethiopian region have very few of their descent exist today. These indigene were joined by immigrants from Egypt and the later from south Arabia (Doresse 20). However, the arrival of the immigrants does not mark the beginning of civilization. For much time before, 'peoples had been interacting through population movement, warfare, trade, and intermarriage in the Ethiopian region, resulting in a predominance of peoples speaking languages of the Afro-Asiatic family. The main branches represented were the Cushitic and the Semitic.' (Munro-Hay 62)
“By mid first millennium BCE, clear evidence of close contact between the Ethiopians and the south Arabians has been found. The immigrants, though probably not entirely, mostly came from a region of western Yemen associated with Sabean culture. It has become a rather difficult task in assessing why the Arabians originally left their homes to an entirely new culture, which had very little connection to their own. Perhaps, conditions were extremely harsh in their homelands such that the only means of escape is a direct route across the Red Sea into Eritrea. Over time, as their social and perhaps economical connections in the Ethiopian region became vast, it was safe to assume that migrating from the harsh desert would only be in their best interest. When the south Arabians crossed the Red Sea, they found the tribes of the Beja, Agaw, and Sidama, to name a few of the major groups (Tamrat 5-6). The south Arabians brought with them a writing system, from which Ge’ez takes its origin.
“As early as the third millennium BCE, the pre-Aksumites had begun trading along the Red Sea. They mainly traded with Egypt. Earlier trade expeditions were taken by foot along the Nile Valley. The Egyptians main object in the trade from the Ethiopian region (which they may have called Punt) was the acquire myrrh, which the Ethiopian region had much of.”
http://www.ethiopianhistory.com/lucy/cultural.html
