The Gotera Archaeological Mission in Southern Ethiopia: A preliminary field report on the ongoing research at the Middle Stone Age site of Gotera

The Middle Stone Age (MSA) of Eastern Africa plays an unprecedented role in the general discussion on the emergence, bio-cultural development and dispersal of our species within and beyond Africa. Despite this, chronologically dated and archaeologically documented open-air sites dated to this region’s MSA period remain sparse. In the framework of the current debate about modern human origin and behavioral evolution, the “La Sapienza” University of Rome has been directing an archaeological mission in southern Ethiopia on the site called Gotera since 2016. Situated in the broadly bifurcated section of the southern end of the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER), this newly rediscovered site has been yielding rich archaeological and environmental data for the ongoing late Pleistocene archaeological evidence. Thus, this paper reports our successive field and laboratory endeavors, our collaborative research’s preliminary results, and future perspectives. By investigating this area rich in archaeological evidence, we aim to broaden our knowledge and contribute to reconstructing cultural, behavioral, and environmental dynamism associated with past human occupations in East Africa.