Dr Kingsley Daraojimba
Dr Kingsley Chinedu Daraojimba is an Environmental archaeologist with special focus on archaeopalynology. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Archaeology He from the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan in 2007 and in 2010 bagged a Master of Science degree in Environmental Archaeology and a PhD in 2017 from the same institution.
Dr Daraojimba occupied a University of Ibadan Postgraduate School Teaching and Research Assistant Position between 2013 and 2016. He was appointed into an academic position at the Department of Archaeology and Tourism, University of Nigeria Nsukka in 2017, where he teaches till present. He was a 2020 African Humanities Program (AHP) Postdoctoral Fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). He is currently a Marie Curie Fellow at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge.
Dr Daraojimba is the Principal Investigator of the Igbo-Ukwu Archaeology Project. His research examines the intersection of human-environmental interactions at the c. 9th-13th CE Igbo-Ukwu cultural landscape with the aim of understanding how human-environment interactions have contributed to the development of early urban landscapes in West Africa by i) reconstructing the environmental context of settlement development; ii) reconstructing the spatial and temporal sequences of settlement and industrial activities in the landscape; iii) undertaking diverse material science analyses of recovered ceramics, plant remains, soil and sediment samples in collaboration with scholars at the McDonald Institute, University of Cambridge.
He was also the Assistant Business Manager of the West African Journal of Archaeology (WAJA). He is a member of several learned societies such as Archaeological Association of Nigeria (AAN), West African Archaeological Association (WAAA), World Archaeological Congress (WAC), Society of Africanist Archaeologist (SAfA), Palynological Association of Nigeria (PAN) just to mention a few.
His research interests lie in West African archaeology and ethnohistory; palynology and archaeobotany. Specifically, he studies preserved pollen and spores (pteridophyte and fungal) within and outside archaeological contexts to reconstruct the palaeoenvironments of the tropics and understand human-environment interactions, landscape evolution and plants exploited in the past. Dr Daraojimba also has an interest in public/community archaeology.
2024 -26 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship
2024-25 Cambridge-Africa Alborada Research Grant (with Dr Kenechukwu Chidiogo Daniel)
2022-24 British Academy Newton International Postdoctoral Fellowship
2023 Conference Travel Support for International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) Congress, Rome
2023 British Academy Additional Needs Funding
2022 University of Cambridge Public Engagement Starter Fund
2020-21 Cambridge-Africa Alborada Research Grant (with Dr Abidemi Babatunde Babalola)
2020-21 African Humanities Program (AHP/ACLS) Early Career Postdoctoral Fellowship 2020-21
2020-21 Society of Antiquaries of London Research Grant (with Dr Pamela Smith)
2019 Small grant from the discretionary funds of Professor Paul Lane, the Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge
2018 Early Career Academic Grant, Association of Commonwealth Universities
2017 CODESRIA College of Academic Mentors Institute, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
2013-2016 University of Ibadan Postgraduate School Teaching and Research Assistant Award
2007 Prof. Nwanna Nzewunwa Prize for the Best Graduating Student in African Archaeology
2007 Departmental Prize for the Best Graduating Student in Archaeology
2007 Dr Liman Ciroma Prize for the Best Graduating Student in Archaeology
Journal Articles
2023 Daraojimba, K.C and Luz, C.F.P. Botanical and geographical origins of some commercial Apis mellifera var. adansonii honeys from Nigeria. Grana. DOI: 10.1080/00173134.2023.2181099.
2022 Daraojimba, K.C., Uzuegbu, J., Halilu, A. and Yunusa, O. 2022. New excavations at Edem-Ani of Enugu State, Nigeria: A report of the 2021 fieldwork. Journal of Archaeology and Tourism Research 2 (1): 1-11
2022 Abdulmalik, A.A and Daraojimba, K.C. 2022. Textile Weaving (Aṣọ-Òkè) at Ologbin-Adewole, Northern Yorubaland, Nigeria. Textile- Cloth and Culture. DOI: 10.1080/14759756.2022.2141024.
2022 Daraojimba, K.C, Babalola, A., Brittain, M., Adeyemo, E., Champion, L., Smith-Shaw, P.J and Sulas, F. 2022. Expanding Space and Time at Igbo-Ukwu: Insights from Recent Fieldwork. African Archaeological Review 39: 437–459.
2021 Daraojimba, K.C., Luz, C.F.P and Barros, M.A. Environmental and vegetation dynamics in the forest of Orile-Owu, Southwest Nigeria, from the last ~ 1,4k cal. yr BP. Hoehnea. https://doi.org/10.1590/2236-8906-41/2021
2021 Ogundiran, A., Moyib, O., Daraojimba, K.C and Adeara, E. Methodological Protocols of Understanding Decomposed Mud Wall Residential Structures in Oyo-Ile (C. 1570–1837), Nigeria. South African Archaeological Bulletin 76 (214): 43–56.
2021 Daraojimba, K.C. Archaeology Education in Igbo-Ukwu, southeast Nigeria. Archaeologies 17(2): 193-216
2019 Daraojimba, K.C. Short Notes on the 2019 Igbo-Ukwu Research Project. West Africa Journal of Archaeology 49:177-184.
2016 Daraojimba, K.C. Humans and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) exploitation in Orile-Owu, Southwest Nigeria Ca. 1450-1640 A.D: Archaeo-botanical evidence. Dig It 3:14-23.
2016 Daraojimba, K.C. Archaeological reconnaissance, cultural documentation, and archaeo-tourism possibilities of Orile-Owu, southwest Nigeria. West African Journal of Archaeology 46 (2): 203-217.
2015 Daraojimba, K.C. Sediment analysis of a 500-year-old Archaeological deposit in Central Yorubaland, Southwest Nigeria. Nyame Akuma 84:107-114.
Books and Edited Volumes
2021 Daraojimba, K.C, Ezeoke, B.C, Salihu, H.A and Idode, P.E. Africanism In A.K, Bangura (ed) African Isms: Africa and the Globalised World. New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc. Chapter 2: 11-33.
2019 Ishmael I. Munene, Chris Shisanya, Joy A. Obando,Daraojimba, K.C et al. Brief Descriptions of Qualitative Research Methods. In A. K. Bangura, J. A. Obando, I. I. Munene, and C. Shisanya (eds.). Conducting Research and Mentoring Students in Africa: CODESRIA College of Mentors Handbook. Dakar, Senegal: CODESRIA Publications. Chapter 4:59-116.
2018 Daraojimba, K.C., Oyelaran, P. A., Luz, C. P. F., Barros, M. A., and Cordeiro, J. Archaeological deposit in Motako, southwest Nigeria, investigated by pollen analysis In A. M. Mercuri et al. (Eds.): Plants and People in the African Past. Springer Nature Switzerland AG, Chapter 13: 246-270.
2016 Daraojimba, K.C. A study of pollen rain in Oke-Eri, southwest Nigeria. In P.A. Oyelaran, R.A. Alabi and P.A. Adeonipekun (eds) Human Palaeoecology in Africa: Essays in Honour of Professor M. Adebisi Sowunmi. Published by Palynological Association of Nigeria. Chapter 4:72-91.
Published Conference Proceedings/Abstracts
2023 Daraojimba, K.C. New development in the archaeobotany of southeast Nigeria. Conference paper presented at the 10th International Workshop for African Archaeobotany (IWAA10), 13-20 June 2023, Paris (MNHN), France. HAL https://hal.science/hal-04168103.
2020 Daraojimba, K.C. Luz, C.F.P. and Barros, M.A. A palynological contribution to environmental history reconstruction in Orile-Owu, Osun State, southwestern Nigeria. 27th Annual meeting of the Institute of Botany, Sao Paulo, Brazil. (eds) A.O. Fidalgo, C. Augusto, C.F.P. Luz, E.J.N. Silva, M.R. Angelo. 23‒27 November. pp. 36.
2018 Luz, C.F.P. Daraojimba, K.C. and Barros, M.A. Palynological and archaeological evidence of land use and vegetation changes during the past 1375 cal YBP in Awerele, southwest Nigeria. 25th Annual meeting of the Institute of Botany, Sao Paulo, Brazil. (eds) M. Gaspar, N.A.S. Junior, R.M. Suzuki and V. Tamaki. 5-9 November. pp. 152.
2017 Luz, C.F.P, Barros, M.A., Cordeiro, J. and Daraojimba, K.C.
Palynological and archaeological evidence of land use by the Owu people in Motako, Southern Nigeria. Proceedings of the XVI Congress of the Brazilian Association of Quaternary Studies (ABEQUA). Municipality of Bertioga (Metropolitan Region of Baixada Santista, SP). (ed.) Gruber, N.L.S. 21-27 October. Vol 3 (1) pp. 262.
2015 Luz, C.F.P., Daraojimba, K.C., Cordeiro, J. and Barros, M.A. Archaeo-palynological evidence of the exploitation of Elaeis guineensis in Motako, Southern Nigeria, Africa. Proceedings of the XV Congress of the Brazilian Association of Quaternary Studies (ABEQUA). Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Sul (UFRGS). (eds.) E.G. Barboza, E.M. Martins and M.L.C.C. Rosa. 18‒23 October. Vol 2 (1) pp. 32‒33.
2015 Daraojimba, K.C., Oyelaran, P.A., Luz, C.F.P., Barros, M.A. and Cordeiro, J.
A palynological study of an archaeological deposit in Motako, South-western Nigeria. Conference proceedings of the 8th International Workshop of African Archaeobotany, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy. (eds) A. Florenzano and R. Fornaciari. Unione Stampa Periodica Italiana. 23‒26 June, pp 163-166.
