By Ghazali Ibrahim 
Nigerian scholar Dr. Abidemi Babatunde Babalola, a research archaeologist at The British Museum, has been announced as one of the winners of the prestigious 2025 Dan David Prize, the world’s largest financial award for excellence in historical research.
Dr. Babalola will receive $300,000 in recognition of his field-defining work proving that glass bead production is indigenous to Africa.
“This is not a grant. It’s a prize—awarded for undeniable achievement,” the organizers emphasized.
“And with this honor, Dr. Babalola becomes the second Nigerian in recent years to earn the distinction, following LSA President Saheed Aderinto’s 2023 win.”
For decades, historians and archaeologists believed that Africa lacked the technological capacity to produce glass beads.
Dr. Babalola’s pioneering work has upended that narrative. Through two decades of archaeological excavations at Ile-Ife, the spiritual heartland of the Yoruba people, and the application of scientific, ethnographic, and historical methodologies, he has conclusively demonstrated that sophisticated bead-making was not only practiced in Africa, it originated there.
His research highlights the central role of material culture in African history, arguing that objects like glass beads are more than decorative, they are historical artifacts that reveal insights into class, gender, power, religion, and societal organization.
Dr. Babalola’s academic journey has taken him through Harvard University, the University of Cambridge, and elite laboratories around the world, culminating in this global recognition.
His findings also elevate Ile-Ife’s status in Yoruba history and contribute significantly to the broader understanding of precolonial African innovation.
As part of the 2025 African Studies Association (LSA) Conference, Babalola will co-organize three panels on “Public History and Critical Museology: Rethinking African Cultural Property across the Globe”.
For Nigerian academia, this win signals yet another proud moment of international excellence.
