Nigerian archaeologist Abidemi Babatunde Babalola has been selected as a 2025 Dan David Prize winner, the largest history prize in the world, to celebrate his professional achievements. 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 upcoming 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 support 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 members are affiliated 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.”
Abidemi Babatunde Babalola is an anthropological archaeologist who uses material science to uncover the history of technological development in premodern West Africa. His research has transformed our understanding of how glass was produced in Africa, proving that glass production in the region predated European colonialism and was developed independently. 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 upcoming Museum of West African Arts set to open in Benin City, Nigeria this year.
