Researcher, Nigeria
Macham is an archaeologist and lecturer in the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies at the University of Jos, Nigeria. He earned a combined honours degree in History and Archaeology from Ahmadu Bello University in 2009, followed by a Master’s degree in 2014 and a PhD in Archaeology in 2021 from the University of Ibadan. His training integrates historical and archaeological methods, enabling him to examine Africa’s past through material culture, landscapes, and historical narratives.
His research interests include historical landscapes, migration and mobility, ceramic analysis, and the use of GIS and remote sensing. He focuses particularly on the long-term settlement history, sociopolitical organisation, and economic systems of communities on the Jos Plateau. His interdisciplinary work sheds new light on Chadic migrations and the formation and transformation of ethnic identities in the region.
Macham has contributed to several major collaborative projects, including the Oyo Empire Archaeology Project, Ancient Ife Project, Niger–Benue Confluence Project, Igbo-Ukwu Project, and the MOWAA-led Gashaka-Gumti National Park Project.
He has received various notable fellowships and awards since 2020 including his current Postdoctoral Fellowship at Northwestern University’s Chabraja Center for Historical Studies (2024).
As a project that bridges locally grounded archaeological knowledge with continental-scale datasets, I am delighted to be part of the MAEASaM project/team. My engagement with the project aligns closely with my interest in landscape, particularly in understanding how people “engage with it, re-work it, appropriate and contest it” (Bender 1993). MAEASaM provides a unique platform for exploring these dynamics at scale while supporting evidence-based heritage protection across Africa.
Outside of work, Macham’s interests include landscape photography, reading African history, map-making, community-centred heritage storytelling, and podcasting on local history and archaeology.
Read more about Macham on the ACLS website, LinkedIn, ResearchGate and Google Scholar .