Dr Emuobosa Akpo Orijemie
Main Focus
Orijemie, Emuobosa Akpo is an Alexander von Humboldt
Experienced Research Fellow. He graduated in Botany and obtained an MSc and PhD
in Archaeology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. His research interests cut
across human palaeoecology, palynology, palaeoenvironmental reconstruction,
archaeobotany and melissopalynology. His research focuses on the environmental
(vegetation and climate) dynamics of the tropics during the Quaternary, food
production strategies and dietary habits of peoples of the tropics. He is also
interested in integrating palaeo-science with human-ecology data to better
understand human-landscape interactions and cultural dynamics within an
environmental context.
He is a specialist in palynology and archaeobotany. More
specifically, he studies preserved pollen and spores (pteridophyte and fungal),
phytoliths and dinocysts to reconstruct palaeoenvironments from the deep
geologic past to the recent, and decipher past hominin/ human-landscape
interactions and cultural dynamics in the tropics. He also employs
archaeobotanical evidence (charred seeds, fruits and parenchyma particles) to
understand food pathways. He had Postdoc experience at the McDonald Institute
of Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom under the
Newton International (British Academy) Fellowship.
His current research, situated within the ancient West
Africa role in Recent hominin Evolution (aWARE) project in the MPI-GEA, focuses
on the palaeoenvironmental background of recent hominin evolution in Africa
with attention on West Africa based on palaeoecological data from sedimentary
and archaeological contexts. He is also the Secretary of the Palynological
Association of Nigeria (PAN), and Vice President of the Archaeological
Association of Nigeria (AAN). He is a Senior Lecturer (2019) in the Department
of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He teaches
palynology, environmental archaeology and human palaeoecology, Quaternary
studies, African Arts, and forensic archaeology.
Curriculum Vitae
Emuobosa Akpo ORIJEMIE
orijemie@gea.mpg.de/ Orijemie17@gmail.com
EDUCATION
2013 PhD, Environmental Archaeology (University of Ibadan)
2005 MSc, Environmental Archaeology (University of Ibadan)
2001 BSc (Hons) Botany (University of Ibadan)
RESEARCH INTERESTS
I specialize in palynology and archaeobotany. More specifically, I study preserved pollen
and spores (pteridophyte and fungal), phytoliths and dinocysts to reconstruct
palaeoenvironments from the deep geologic past to the recent, and decipher past hominin/
human-landscape interactions and cultural dynamics in the tropics. I also employ
archaeobotanical evidence (charred seeds, fruits and parenchyma particles) to understand
food pathways to address food (in)security in Africa.
PROFESSIONAL AND RESEARCH POSITIONS
2024-date Alexander von Humboldt Experienced Researcher, Max Planck
Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
2022 Visiting Lecturer, Department of Pure and Applied Botany, Federal University of
Agriculture Abeokuta, Nigeria (FUNAAB).
2019-date Senior Lecturer, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.
2019 Visiting Scholar, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies (SGAES),
University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.
2017 Visiting Researcher, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Faculty Lead Italy-Sicily Mummy
Studies Field School, Sicily.
2016-2017 Newton International (British Academy) Postdoctoral Research Fellow, McDonald Institute
for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Submitted Orijemie, E.A., Larbey, C., French, C.A.I., and Jones, M. K. First direct evidence of
domesticated yam (Dioscorea sp.) management at Tse Dura rock shelter, Middle Benue
Valley, Nigeria. Archaeological Science Report
Submitted Orijemie, E.A., Opadeji, O. A. and Alabi, R. A. Archaeological and palynological
evidence of iron smelting and its ecological consequences in the Ijebu forest, region,
Nigeria. Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa
2024 Liadi, M.T, Adesiyun, A. A., Uddin ll R. O., Oyerinde A.A. and Orijemie E.A. Analysis of
Pollen in Stingless bee (Meliponula ferruginae [Moure]) Honey, an Indicator of
Deforestation Levels at University of Ilorin and its Environs. Nigerian Journal of Entomology
40 (1): 1-26.
2024 Orijemie. E.A., França, M.C. and Sowunmi M.A. Holocene vegetation and climatic changes in
the coastal tropical rainforests of Nigeria. Quaternary Science Advances 14: 100198.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100198
2023 Borges da Silva, F.A., Pantoja, N.R.C., Torres, A.S.C., Ortiz-Whittingham, L., Nascimento,
L.R.D, Machado, G.M.V., Rocha, P.A., Orijemie, E.A. and França, M. Palynology: a forensic
trace tool to identify a temporal coastal vegetation changes. Revista Ifes Ciência 9 (3):1-11.
2023 Olatoyan, J. O., Neumann, F. H., Orijemie, E. A., Sievers, C., Evans, M., Hatting, T., and
Schoeman, M.H. Modern pollen- and phytolith-vegetation relationships at a wetland in
northeastern South Africa. South African Journal of Botany 161: 780-796,
2023 Mustapha, S., Musa, A.K., Vanhaelewyn, L., Hung, Y., Adeboye, A.A., Orijemie, E.A., Lawal,
A.A., Ogundare, O.P., and Popoola, F.A. Honey as a sustainable indicator of heavy metals in
tropical rainforest vegetation zone: an early warning monitoring approach. International Journal
of Tropical Insect Science https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-023-01038-y
2023 Orijemie, E.A., Ayelagbe, T.O. Diya, A.S., Ibirogba A.J. and Olaleye, E.T. Paleoenvironmental
change and human activity at Okomu National Park, Nigeria. Past Global Changes Magazine
31(1): 24-25. doi.org/10.22498/pages.31.1.24.
2023 Cerasoni, J.N., Hallett, E.Y., Orijemie, E.A., Ashastina, K., Lucas, M., Farr, L., Höhn, A.,
Kiahtipes, C. A., Blinkhorn, J., Roberts, P., Manica, A. and Scerri, E.M.L. Human interactions
with tropical environments over the last 14,000 years at Iho Eleru, Nigeria. iScience 26, 106153,
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.106153
2023 Mustapha., S., Musa, A.K., Ojumoola, O. A and Orijemie, E.A. Use of Apis mellifera Honey
to Predict Heavy Metal Loads in African Fruit Crops? – A Proof of Concept, Bee World, DOI:
10.1080/0005772X.2023.2166735.
2022 Olatoyan, J. O., Neumann, F. H., Orijemie, E. A., Sievers, C., Evans, M., Mvelase, S., Hattingh,
T., and Schoeman, M. H. (2022). Archaeobotanical evidence for the emergence of pastoralism
and farming in southern Africa. Acta Palaeobotanica 62 (1): 50-75.
2022 Orijemie, E.A. Human behaviour and Climate-linked fluctuations in the rainforests of West-
Central Africa. In Scerri, E.M.L., Roberts, P., Maezumi, S. Y. and Malhi, Y. (Eds.) The Role of
the Tropics in the Deep Human Past. Phil Trans Royal Society B 377:20200488.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2020.0488
2021 Orijemie, E. A., Ceccarelli, A. and French, C.A.I. The ceramic assemblage of Tse Dura (Indyer
Mbakuv) rock shelter in Benue State, north-central Nigeria. African Archaeological Review 38:
231-249.
2020 Scerri, E.M.L., Kühnert, D., Blinkhorn, J., Groucutt, H.S., Roberts, P., Nicoll, K., Zerboni, A.,
Orijemie, E.A., Barton, H., Candy, I., Goldstein, S.T., Hawks, J., Niang, K., N’Dah, D., Nicholl,
K., Petraglia, M.D. and Vella, N.C. Field-based sciences must transform in response to COVID-
19. Nature Ecology & Evolution 4: 1571–1574. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-01317-8.
2019 Orijemie, E.A. Long-term histories of Tiv agriculture and their implications for food security and
sustainability today. Useable Past Forum African Archaeological Review
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-019-09347-9