Bio
Chiamaka’s research explores the long-term relationships between people, plants, and environments in West Africa. Since joining the OBT Lab in 2021, she has developed an interdisciplinary research program that integrates archaeology, archaeobotany, oral history, and environmental science to investigate how past societies adapted to changing climatic and environmental conditions. Her work examines the impacts of climate variability on food systems, landscape use, and human resilience, with a particular focus on Holocene communities. Through the analysis of archaeological, paleoenvironmental, and ethnographic data, she investigates how people responded to environmental change and how these responses shaped subsistence, cultural transformation and land use over time. Her current research focuses on a Holocene hill settlement, exploring questions of food security, plant use, environmental change, early agricultural practices and human adaptation across millennia. Beyond her research, Chiamaka is committed to community-engaged and collaborative scholarship. She works closely with local communities as partners in the research process, recognizing them as custodians of cultural heritage and important contributors to knowledge building. Her broader interests include environmental archaeology, archaeobotany, climate adaptation, heritage preservation, and climate science.
Chiamaka enjoys Traveling and engaging with diverse cultures, mentoring students, community volunteering, science and heritage outreach, Exploring cultural landscapes and heritage sites, and Nature walks.