旧石器时代
目前世界上最早的人类化石-距今300万年前的南方猿人露西，1974年在埃塞俄比亚东部出土。她被认为是现代人类的起源。
埃塞俄比亚长期以来被广泛认定为人类的发源地，或者是"人类文明的摇篮"。这种说法来源于埃塞俄比亚境内众多重要的考古发现。早在1974年，在阿法尔州（Afar）的哈达尔(Hadar)就发现了距今380万年前的保存完整的人类始祖骨骼化石。该骨骼化石的发现地点位于著名的东非大裂谷的湾流火山岩层带的巨石中。
经过考古队的证实，该骨骼被证明为原始人类女性，同时以"露西"将其命名。埃塞俄比亚早先就为这位女性原始人类起了一个更为恰当的名字"Dinkinesh"，它在当地语言中的意思是"太神奇了"。根据带领考古队发现该原始人类骨骼化石的克利夫兰大学教授唐纳德·约翰森博士所说�"露西"虽然外表类似类人猿，但却属于年代久远并且可完全直立行走的两足原始人类。
经过进一步的细致研究，科学家们为露西起了一个属于她这种物种的恰当名字：阿法尔南部猿人（Australopithecus afarensis）, 她被科学家认定为是后来南方类人猿和人类的共同祖先，同时也是介于类人猿和人类之间发展链条中缺少的那一环。因此，露西骨骼化石的发现具有重要的考古意义，因为她重新绘制了人类发展历史的进化图。
"露西"的发现只是哈达尔（Hadar）地区众多的科学考古发现之一。在20年后的1994年，科学家们在挖掘出露西地点以南75公里处又成功挖掘出距今 440万年的人类祖先化石残骸。这项最新的考古发现包含了一枚距今580万年前的名为"拉玛迪斯·拉玛迪斯·卡达巴（Ramadis Ramadis Kadabba）"的古老化石。
现在，露西的骨骼化石和很多其他史前考古发现一起陈列在位于埃塞俄比亚首度亚的斯亚贝巴的埃塞俄比亚自然博物馆中。与露西的骨骼化石陈列在一起的考古发现还包括距今250万年的石器时代人类所使用的工具以及各式栩栩如生的洞穴绘画。发现该名为"Dinkereah"骨骼化石的地区仍旧相当活跃，相信会有更多历史遗迹和考古发现会陆续展现在人们面前。因此，埃塞俄比亚鼓励旅游者踊跃参观埃塞俄比亚自然博物馆，目前该馆特辟出一个区域专门展示史前考古和古人类学遗迹的考古发现。
在此部分展出的考古发现包括如下内容：
· 来自蓝尼罗河盆地超过6千万年历史的古化石残骸以及化石日志；
· 来自博尔吉（Burji）地区的超过1，100万至1，200万年历史的古老探测期化石；
· 来自阿瓦什（Awash）中部地区的具有4百万年历史古老鱼骨化石残骸；
· 来自哈达尔（Hadar）地区的超过 3百万年历史的古老鳄鱼卵化石；
· 来自阿瓦什（Awash）中部地区的距今大约5百万年历史的古老大型陆地龟甲化石；
· 距今440万年历史的古老拉米达猿人（Ardipithecus ramidus）化石；
· 具有250万年历史的古老南方古猿garhi（意为"惊奇"）的化石；
· 具有520万至580万年历史的新近发现的拉米达猿人（Ardipithecus ramidus）卡达巴（kadabba）化石。
综上所述，近来在东非大裂谷开展的古人类考古工作已经初见成效，大量化石和物质残骸的考古发现将会为该地区是人类发源地的说法提供了强有力的证据。不仅如此，位于埃塞俄比亚境内的东非大裂谷埃塞俄比亚段早已提供了众多有关人类早期进化的充分证明。这样的事实已经使得很多人相信埃塞俄比亚确实是人类的发源地。因此，为了亲眼见证这片神奇的人类起源地，每个人在其一生中都应至少来埃塞俄比亚参观一次。
Ethiopia is considered one of the oldest human settlement areas, if not the oldest according to some scientific findings. Lucy, discovered in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia's Afar region, is considered the world’s second oldest, but most complete, and best preserved adult Australopithecine fossil. Lucy's species is named Australopithecus afarensis, which means 'southern ape of Afar, after the Ethiopian region where the discovery was made. Lucy is estimated to have lived in Ethiopia 3.2 million years ago. There have been many other notable fossil findings in the country including recently found oldest human fossil, Ardi.
Around the eighth century BC, a kingdom known as Dʿmt was established in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, with its capital at Yeha in northern Ethiopia. Most modern historians consider this civilization to be a native African one, although Sabaean-influenced because of the latter's hegemony of the Red Sea, while others view Dʿmt as the result of a mixture of Sabaeans and indigenous peoples. However, Ge'ez, the ancient Semitic language of Ethiopia, is now thought not to have derived from Sabaean (also South Semitic). There is evidence of a Semitic-speaking presence in Ethiopia and Eritrea at least as early as 2000 BC. Sabaean influence is now thought to have been minor, limited to a few localities, and disappearing after a few decades or a century, perhaps representing a trading or military colony in some sort of symbiosis or military alliance with the Ethiopian civilization of Dʿmt or some other proto-Aksumite state.
After the fall of Dʿmt in the fourth century BC, the plateau came to be dominated by smaller successor kingdoms, until the rise of one of these kingdoms during the first century BC, the Aksumite Empire, ancestor of medieval and modern Ethiopia, which was able to reunite the area. They established bases on the northern highlands of the Ethiopian Plateau and from there expanded southward. The Persian religious figure Mani listed Aksum with Rome, Persia, and China as one of the four great powers of his time.
In 316 AD, a Christian philosopher from Tyre, Meropius, embarked on a voyage of exploration along the coast of Africa. He was accompanied by, among others, two Syro-Greeks, Frumentius and his brother Aedesius. The vessel was stranded on the coast, and the natives killed all the travelers except the two brothers, who were taken to the court and given positions of trust by the monarch. They both practiced the Christian faith in private, and soon converted the queen and several other members of the royal court.