About
My interest in zooarchaeology started in 2019 as a volunteer on an archaeological expedition in Bara, one of the satellite cities of the Old Oyo Empire. This interest began with a conversation with the Project PI, Professor Akin Ogundiran, who walked me through the lacunae in the archaeology of Nigeria and West Africa caused by a lack of expertise in zooarchaeology. I encountered these gaps personally as I participated in the project for the rest of my undergraduate program.
The archaeology of the Old Oyo Empire is multifaceted, and various aspects of its archaeology stand out to different scholars. I was rather drawn to the Old Oyo horses as this quintessential species paved the way for the rise and subsequent expansion of the empire. As time passed, I became interested not only in the Old Oyo horses but also in global discussions surrounding the importance of horses and other species to the development of complex societies.
This interest gradually became a passion as I proceeded with my undergraduate studies. My unflinching interest in science and biomolecular methods also got me interested in stable isotope analysis. Within the last two years of undergraduate studies, I trained myself in traditional zooarchaeology identification by reading books and visiting collections in the zoological museums and veterinary departments of the University of Ibadan and the University of Ilorin, Nigeria.
In 2021, I submitted my first zooarchaeological report (my undergraduate thesis), a preliminary faunal analysis of collection from Ikija, Nigeria, and was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Archaeology with First-Class Honours. Shortly after this, I started my doctoral program in Anthropology at the University of Toronto, where I am currently working with Professor Lisa Janz and Professor Paul Szpak, investigating human interaction with large herds, particularly horses and cattle in Mongolia, over the past 50,000 years. I am also working on materials from Nigeria using multispecies isotope analysis and zooarchaeological methods to investigate human-animal relations in the last 3000 years.