NewStats: 3,265,416 , 8,186,677 topics. Date: Saturday, 14 June 2025 at 08:42 PM n182v

Nigerian archaeologist Babalola wins $300,000 Dan David Prize

Nigerian archaeologist Abidemi Babatunde Babalola has been selected as a 2025 Dan David Prize winner.

The Dan David Prize, endowed by the Dan David Foundation and headquartered at Tel Aviv University, is the largest history prize in the world.

The Dan David Prize was first established in 2001 by the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Dan David, to reward innovative and interdisciplinary work that contributed to humanity.

Each year, up to nine researchers are awarded $300,000 each in recognition of their achievements and to their future endeavors.

In a statement to The Nation, the award organisers said: “Babalola has used material science to uncover the history of technological development in premodern West Africa.

“His research showed that glass production in Africa predated European colonialism and was developed independently. Babalola is active in public outreach in Nigeria, bringing the knowledge he produces through archaeological work to the communities that are connected to this history.

“He served as lead archaeologist ahead of construction of the Museum of West African Arts set to open in Benin City, Nigeria this year.”

The nine 2025 Dan David Prize winners, whose work explores the human past through exceptional scholarship and research, will each receive $300,000 (USD) in recognition of their achievements and to their future endeavors.

The nine winners, all in early and mid stages of their career, are researchers and filmmakers who work in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.

The winners are selected after an open nomination process by a global committee of historians that changes annually.

This year’s selection committee are d with leading academic institutions including the University of Toronto, the Cyprus Institute, and the University of Cambridge.

“The work of this year’s winners 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,” said Ariel David, board member of the Prize and son of Dan David, the founder of the Prize.

“By making groundbreaking discoveries or applying new methods to historical research, our winners constantly challenge us to think about the past while rethinking how we shed light on it.

“We are also particularly excited that two winners this year work in the film industry, helping bring scholarly findings to broader audiences and thus highlighting the importance of historical research for society at large.”

In addition to authoring academic articles, Babalola – a research archaeologist at the British Museum – is active in public outreach in Nigeria, bringing the knowledge he produces through archaeological work to the communities that are connected to this history.

He served as lead archaeologist ahead of construction of the Museum of West African Arts set to open in Benin City, Nigeria this year.

Other winners include: Mackenzie Cooley, Hamilton College; Bar Kribus, Tel Aviv University; Fred Kudjo Kuwornu, Do the Right Films; Dmitri Levitin, University of Utrecht and All Souls College, Oxford; Beth Lew-Williams, Princeton University; Hannah Marcus, Harvard University; Alina Șerban, Founder of Untold Stories; and Caroline Sturdy Colls, University of Huddersfield.

“We’re delighted to add another nine outstanding individuals to our growing community of scholars, curators and filmmakers from around the globe,” said Professor Tim Cole, historian and Academic Advisor to the Dan David Prize.

“They will the 27 previous winners who, together, research varied aspects of the human past. The originality of the questions being asked and the methods deployed show how archaeologists and historians are creatively working within and across disciplines to offer new understandings of our collective past.”

The 2025 winners recently received the Prize at a gathering in Italy.

https://thenationonlineng.net/nigerian-archaeologist-babalola-wins-300000-dan-david-prize/#google_vignette

Congratulations.

For person to get this kind price win, brains most have been racked.

Confam..

No be small thing o..

Seun, Wetin dey play nah?

To quickly comment dey hard now

You must reason well before you comment and if you comment rubbish..dem go ban u straight up

Very funny thing Seun

But trust Nairalanders to find a way around it...like the guy above me

Modified: omo dem don move the guy above me go recycle bin ...he be drop just two words come leave long space in between...

Wow that's a huge amount of money in Nigeria currency
Congratulations sir

Keep representing us well sir

Same $300k na weytin many footballers dey earn in a week or max 2 weeks. This life is just somehow.

School no bẹ scam abeg.



Where I wan take see 40 character on this

I never know who dey supply the owner of this site him drug


His type of update dey come with old age update....

Very impressive,we need more research and innovative ideas to move Africa forward, kudos

It’s funny because our ancestors did very little literature and relied heavily on oral traditions over written manuscripts. That has kept us backward compared to the Europeans with heavily historical manuscripts. It’s even easier now to manipulate old theories of whatever science and produce something new just because someone 500 years ago dared to think and write. Impressive

God Don butter him bread Sha.... If u convert d money to naira eno small oh

Judolisco:
God Don butter him bread Sha.... If u convert d money to naira eno small oh

Even in dollar, 300k no be small money ooo

Starz825:
To quickly comment dey hard now

You must reason well before you comment and if you comment rubbish..dem go ban u straight up

Very funny thing Seun

But trust Nairalanders to find a way around it...like the guy above me

Oh really? Check again sir

The above you cannot be found.

Congratulations o
IN this hard time that will go a long way

This is amazing.

I love this

See money but then he earn it unlike yahoo Yahoo guys that want to reap from another person sweat ...very terrible people

Hezzyluv:


Even in dollar, 300k no be small money ooo

yeah.... Not everyone abroad can afford that amount.... But if e wan enjoy him money.... Make e come huz

That is almost half a billion naira.
$300,000 is equal to #461,964,000.

KingAzubuike:
Same $300k na weytin many footballers dey earn in a week or max 2 weeks. This life is just somehow.

Next time, congratulate him and move on. He's not a footballer

KingAzubuike:
Same $300k na weytin many footballers dey earn in a week or max 2 weeks. This life is just somehow.

Musicians earn more than footballers generally.

Yorubas et al. ................ Synonym for Nigeria.

If na Crime. If I say Bia .... and you say Fur-0. Na you sabi

Ofemannnu:

Musicians earn more than footballers generally.

Surely, not a Nigerian or African musicians

Gboom:

Surely, not a Nigerian or African musicians

Yes,Nigerian musicians of course.
Name one footballer that is richer than our musicians.

I don chop ban for more than 10 times alone this month, seun what's going on? Must I type 40 words as well too

Ommmmmoooohhhh, seauuuuuunnn whhhhhhhyyy naaaaaaa.....

4000000000 wooooooordssssss....

LoneSoldier:
Ommmmmoooohhhh, seauuuuuunnn whhhhhhhyyy naaaaaaa.....

4000000000 wooooooordssssss....

the thing tire us oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

We no dey carry last Omo Babalola . Such a genius , we're known for this . More money for you ..

His research shows that glasses in Africa predates European glass manufactures.

Good job.
$300,000. Go and chop. Your intellectual work. At least, you rich some of those political harlots stealing government money for Nigeria.

Omoh this level wey seun out is for this commenting no gel oo ..

Ah been no fit comment since morning because, I no gree for come up with those long typo