Contacts between Egypt and Ethiopia in the Predynastic and Protodynastic periods: obsidian, amazonite… and myrrh?

Amazonite, a gemstone utilized in Egypt since the Badarian period, may serve as an indicator of the earliest trade routes connecting Egypt with East Africa. Initial provenance analyses, based on the chemical composition of Nubian amazonite specimens, have demonstrated that it originated from quarries in southern Ethiopia, situated in close proximity to the region believed to be the source of obsidian employed during the Predynastic Period. Consequently, an exchange route is proposed, potentially linking Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, and even Kenya, given that communities inhabiting the vicinity of Lake Turkana in the early 3rd millennium BCE utilized substantial quantities of amazonite, which may also have been sourced from the Ethiopian quarries.