Freda Nkirote M’Mbogori is a Kenyan

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

, who is Director of the British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA) and President of the Pan-African Archaeological Association.

Biography

Nkirote studied for her BA at the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a collegiate research university based in Nairobi. It is the largest university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dates back to 1956, it did not become an independent univer ...

, for her MA at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen ( no, Universitetet i Bergen, ) is a research-intensive state university located in Bergen, Norway. As of 2019, the university has over 4,000 employees and 18,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 194 ...

and for her PhD at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

. She also holds a PG Diploma in

Museum Studies Museology or museum studies is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and education. Terminology The w ...

from

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, and a

Field Research Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct fie ...

qualification from the

University of Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher l ...

. She is project lead, alongside

Paul Lane Paul Gerard Lane is a Canadian politician in the provincial legislature of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. He represents the electoral district of Mount Pearl-Southlands in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly. Prior to enterin ...

, for the 'Well Being' project, funded by the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

, which is an academic research project working with pastoralist community organisations in Kenya and southern Ethiopia to understand historic water management practices. She was previously funded by the

Wenner-Gren Foundation Axel Lennart Wenner-Gren (5 June 1881 – 24 November 1961) was a Swedish entrepreneur and one of the wealthiest men in the world during the 1930s. Early life He was born on 5 June 1881 in Uddevalla, a town on the west coast of Sweden. He w ...

to research

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle *Black Association for National ...

migration in the Mbeere region. She was also a project lead for the 'Rising from the Depths' scheme, where she investigated the role of women in maritime heritage preservation on the Kenyan coast. She has called for a change in angle on debates around

cultural repatriation Repatriation is the return of the cultural property, often referring to ancient or looted art, to their country of origin or former owners (or their heirs). The disputed cultural property items are physical artifacts of a group or society taken b ...

, arguing that the "tangible economic benefits" that countries whose cultural heritage is held overseas would gain from repatriation is equally significant to the "intangible negative effects" of loss of identity. Nkirote joined the British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA) in 2015 as Assistant Director. In 2018 she was promoted to Director and is the first African to hold the role. Prior to her role at BIEA, she was Head of Cultural Heritage at

National Museums of Kenya The National Museums of Kenya (NMK) is a state corporation that manages museums, sites and monuments in Kenya. It carries out heritage research, and has expertise in subjects ranging from palaeontology, archeology, ethnography and biodiversit ...

(NMK). In 2016 she curated the exhibition 'Pots and Identities' in the Creativity Gallery at NMK. In 2013 she held a

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

International Training Programme Fellowship. In 2018 she was elected President of the Pan-African Archaeological Association.

Selected publications

* Nkirote, M'Mbogori Freda. "Population and ceramic traditions: revisiting the Tana ware of coastal Kenya (7th–14th century AD)." ''Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa'' 47.2 (2012): 245-246. * Davies, Matthew IJ, and Freda Nkirote M'Mbogori, eds. ''Humans and the environment: new archaeological perspectives for the twenty-first century''. OUP Oxford, 2013. * Nkirote, M'Mbogori, Mercy Gakii Kinyua, and Ochieng Nyamanga. "Pottery chaine operatoire among the Mbeere People of Mt. Kenya Region: Continuity and change." (2020).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nkirote, Freda Living people Kenyan archaeologists University of Nairobi alumni University of Bergen alumni University of Paris alumni Harvard University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)