About

My interest in zooarchaeology emerged in 2019 during my volunteer work on an archaeological expedition at Bara, a royal suburb and necropolis of the Oyo Empire. This interest was shaped through discussions with the project’s principal investigator about significant lacunae in the archaeology of Nigeria and West Africa, particularly those resulting from the limited application of zooarchaeological data in the region. I encountered these gaps firsthand as I continued working on the project throughout the remainder of my undergraduate studies.

The archaeology of the Oyo Empire is complex and multifaceted, with different aspects attracting the attention of scholars from diverse perspectives. My own research interests were initially drawn to the role of horses in Oyo Empire, as this species was central to the emergence and expansion of the empire. Over time, this focus broadened to encompass wider comparative and theoretical discussions on the role of horses and other animals in the development of complex societies globally.

This interest in zooarchaeology deepened over the course of my undergraduate studies, alongside a growing interest in scientific and biomolecular approaches to archaeological research, particularly stable isotope analysis and Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS). During the final two years of my undergraduate program, I pursued independent training in traditional zooarchaeological identification through extensive self-directed study and hands-on work with comparative collections housed in zoological museums and veterinary departments at the University of Ibadan and the University of Ilorin, Nigeria.

In 2021, I completed and submitted my first zooarchaeological report—my undergraduate thesis—which presented a preliminary faunal analysis of material from Ikija, Nigeria. I was subsequently awarded a Bachelor of Science in Archaeology with First-Class Honours. Shortly thereafter, I began my doctoral program in Anthropology at the University of Toronto. My doctoral research investigates human interactions with large herds, particularly Ovodov horses and aurochs, in Mongolia over the past 50,000 years. In parallel, I am conducting research on archaeological materials from Nigeria, employing multispecies stable isotope analysis and zooarchaeological methods to examine human–animal relations over the last 3,000 years.