That Ethiopia has a heritage from the beginnings of mankind was underlined when the remains of ‘Lucy’, dated from 3.5 million years ago, and the 4.4 million year old Homo ramidus afarensis, man’s oldest anthropoid ancestor, were uncovered. Traders from Greece, Rome, Persia and Egypt knew of the riches of what is now Ethiopia, and by the first century AD, Axum was the capital of a great empire. More>>
Ethiopia is also a land of natural contrasts, from the tops of the rugged Simien Mountains (4543m) to the depths of the Danakil Depression which, at 116 meters below sea level, is one of the lowest dry land points on earth. The cornucopia of natural beauty that blesses Ethiopia offers an astonishing variety of landscapes: Afro-Alpine highlands soaring to around 4300 meters deserts sprinkled with salt flats and yellow sulphur. More>>
During the first millennium B.C. and possibly even earlier, various Semitic-speaking groups from Southwest Arabia began to cross the Red Sea and settle along the coast and in the nearby highlands. These migrants brought with them their Semitic speech (Sabaean and perhaps others) and script (Old Epigraphic South Arabic) and monumental stone architecture. More>>
Ethiopia's population is highly diverse. Most of its people speak a Semitic or Cushitic language. The Oromo, Amhara, and Tigreans make up more than three-fourths of the population, but there are more than 80 different ethnic groups within Ethiopia. Some of these have as few as 10,000 members. English is the most widely spoken foreign language and is taught in all secondary schools. More>>
