On agricultural histories, city formation: Nigerian scholar reframes global narratives of early urbanism

Archaeology, at its core, is the study of past human life through the material remains that people left behind—whether it’s pottery, stone tools, plant residues, or ancient settlement patterns. 

Victoria Olajide, a Nigerian doctoral candidate at the University of Oregon, is breaking new ground in global archaeological discourse through her research on early African cities and ancient agricultural systems in West Africa. 

Her work brings critical attention to a region long overlooked in international narratives of early urban development and food systems, offering insights with far-reaching relevance for today’s global challenges.

Victoria, who began her PhD in Anthropology in 2019, holds both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan. 

“There’s a persistent gap in how we understand food production in early African cities. My current research focuses on how early agricultural systems—particularly those centered on yams in Nigeria and African rice in Mali—shaped and supported the growth of these unique urban settings. It’s like viewing history through a different lens—through food.”

By investigating the foundations of ancient African agriculture, Olajide is reframing key global assumptions about the origins of cities and sustainable food systems. West Africa is home to many indigenous crops, including yams, African rice, fonio, millet, and oil palm. Yet, the region is often underrepresented in broader historical narratives of early agriculture. “Despite its global significance, West Africa is frequently left out or misinterpreted through externally imposed models of early state formation.

“In fact, many people do not know that maize is not indigenous to West Africa. 

There’s still so much we don’t understand about how food was produced, stored, and exchanged in early West African cities. This research is about restructuring those narratives and bringing African perspectives to the global stage.”

In the Mali portion of her project, Olajide focuses on ancient cities that flourished from the first millennium BC and served as critical trade hubs for centuries. Through macro-botanical analysis of plant remains from these sites, she is uncovering how agriculture supported long-term urban stability in the Sahel. “I’m doing the kind of comparative work that’s urgently needed in African archaeology and global urban studies,” she said. “By analyzing both yam systems in Nigeria and African rice cultivation in Mali, I am showing that African urbanism was not just diverse—it was ecologically adaptive and globally instructive.”

As part of her research, Olajide conducts in-depth archival work at the University of Ibadan, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and the National Archives of Nigeria. She examines unpublished excavation reports, colonial-era agricultural records, and historical manuscripts to reconstruct patterns of yam cultivation and food storage in early Yoruba cities.

“This kind of field-based archival research is critical not only for Nigerian archaeology but for generating global knowledge about ancient food resilience,” she said. “Much of what we know is locked away in local archives. Making that knowledge visible expands what the world understands about ancient innovations in food and urban planning.”

In addition to her academic contributions, Victoria is deeply committed to student mentorship and public engagement. During her time in Nigeria, she has trained and mentored undergraduate and graduate students in the Archaeology and Anthropology Department at the University of Ibadan, cultivating interest in archaeology’s role in national development. “I’ve met incredibly talented students in Ibadan, and it’s important to inspire the next generation of archaeologists—to show them that our past holds the keys to solving present and future challenges. Archaeology isn’t just about digging up the past—it’s about making that past relevant to today’s world.”

Her work also intersects with some of the most urgent global issues of our time—food insecurity, climate change, and sustainability. “We can learn a lot from how past societies coped with environmental stress,” Olajide said. 

“Traditional farming knowledge is not just history—it’s a living resource. This research helps connect ancient resilience strategies to contemporary questions about how we feed ourselves in a changing climate.”

As she prepares to complete her PhD, Olajide emphasizes that her work is transforming how scholars and policymakers alike understand the relationship between agriculture, environment, and early urbanization—not just in Nigeria, but around the world. “This isn’t just about ancient history,” she concluded. “It’s about ensuring that West Africa’s contributions to agriculture and urban life are fully recognised and that they inform global models of sustainability and resilience. Rather than applying one-size-fits-all theories, this work is grounded in local histories with global consequences.”