Freda Nkirote M’Mbogori is a Kenyan

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

, who is Director of the

British Institute in Eastern Africa The British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA) is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, and is dedicated to supporting historical, archaeological, and other social science and humanities research in eastern Africa. The BIEA is sponsored by the British A ...

(BIEA) and President of the

Pan-African Archaeological Association The PanAfrican Archaeological Association (PAA) is a Pan-Africanism, pan-African professional organisation for Archaeology, archaeologists, Geologist, geologists and Paleoanthropology, palaeoanthropologists. History The association was founded ...

Biography

Nkirote studied for her BA at the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a college, collegiate research university based in Nairobi and is the largest List of universities and colleges in Kenya, university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dat ...

, for her MA at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...

and for her PhD at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

. She also holds a PG Diploma in

Museum Studies Museology (also called museum studies or museum science) 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 ed ...

from

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, 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 fi ...

qualification from the

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

. She is project lead, alongside Paul Lane, for the 'Well Being' project, funded by the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies 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 sa ...

, 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 to research Bantu 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, 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

(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 biodivers ...

(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 Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

International Training Programme Fellowship. In 2018, she was elected President of the

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)