The Colonial Shadow Over Ethiopian Pottery

Archaeological findings from the 1960s at sites like Yeha and Matara revealed the presence of the Musnad script on domestic pottery, indicating that South Arabian influence reached the household level between 700 BC and 500 BC. These discoveries, specifically regarding the T-B-ʿ name root, have sparked a significant intellectual debate between two schools of historical thought. The "Karrabist" model, championed by Hermann von Wissmann the Younger, argues that these inscriptions prove a political and cultural colonisation of Ethiopia by Sabaean elites. Conversely, Professor Ephraim Isaac rejects this diffusionist view, suggesting instead that the script and titles reflect an indigenous Semitic continuity native to the Horn of Africa. Ultimately, these sources highlight a clash between a geographic-political interpretation of history and one rooted in linguistic and cultural indigeneity.