US-based Nigerian research archaeologist and expert in anthropological archeology, Mr. Abidemi Babalola, has won the $300,000 Dan David Prize, recognised as the world’s largest award for history research, at a ceremony held in Italy.
The News Agency of Nigeria disclosed that Babalola is one of nine global recipients of the 2025 Dan David Prize, awarded annually to outstanding early- to mid-career scholars who have made significant contributions to historical research.
The work of this year’s winner ranges from enlisting the methods of archaeology to explore Nazi death camps to rewriting what we know about the development and use of glass in Africa.
Who is Abidemi Babalola?
Abidemi Babalola currently serves as the lead archaeologist on the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) Archaeology Project in Benin City, Nigeria, under the British Museum’s Department of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas (AOA).
Before assuming his current role, Babalola was a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the museum’s Scientific Research Department, where he specialized in copper alloy objects from the Lower Niger region of Nigeria.
He earned his PhD from Rice University in Houston, Texas, and holds MA and BA degrees in Archaeology and Anthropology from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Research in Glass Technology
Babalola’s work focuses on the intersection of archaeology of pyrotechnologies and the history of science and innovation in pre-modern West Africa.
His pioneering research has fundamentally challenged the Eurocentric narrative that African civilizations lacked technological inventiveness.
His most notable contribution lies in uncovering the primary production of glass in pre-15th-century West Africa. His studies have shown that ancient forest communities developed and supplied glass beads for local and long-distance trade, including through what he refers to as the glass bead roads.
This work demonstrates that technology did not necessarily spread from a single origin but could arise independently across different societies, highlighting Africa’s creativity, resilience, and indigenous knowledge systems.
Other recognitions
In addition to the Dan David Prize, Babalola has received:
- Shanghai Archaeology Forum Discovery Award (2019)
- World Archaeology Congress Blaze O’Connor Award (2022)
- Archaeological Institute of America Conservation and Heritage Site Award (2025)
The Dan David Prize, presented by the Dan David Foundation, recognizes scholars whose work contributes meaningfully to understanding the human past. Each year, nine winners across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas receive the $300,000 award.
