Melka Kunture

Melka Kunture

Located in the upper Awash Valley, Melka Kunture is a Paleolithic site in Ethiopia. It lies 50km south of Addis Ababa, across the Awash River from the village of Melka Awash. The basin is bounded by Pliocene volcanoes and covers an area of approximately 3000 km². Wachacha and Furi in the north and Boti and Agoiabi in the south are the main volcanic centers. The Ethiopian Rift, part of the great East African Rift System, forms the eastern boundary. The area of Melka Kunture consists of valleys, the inner terraces of which have resisted to be eroded. The thickness of the visible deposits is about 30 meters, but the combined thickness of the different layers is about 100 meters. Since 4-5 Ma, the Awash River valley has been inhabited by humans. After each of the major volcanic episodes, the Awash River has periodically reshaped its course, creating a new erosional basement each time. The flow of this river and its tributaries provided the sedimentary environment for the volcanic matter burying and preserving the archaeology sites of the Melka Kunture formation. At Melka Kunture, archaeologists have uncovered more than 30 occupation sites. The finds are dated to the volcanic deposits left behind by the eruptions of Mount Zuqualla, which lies northeast of the site. The East African Late Palaeolithic has not been well documented in Melka Kunture, but has been represented by a few finds in Wofi and Kella.