Researcher, Senegal and Gambia
Lamine is an archaeologist with a Master’s and a PhD in Archaeology from Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD), Dakar. His research focuses on the baobab-burial sites of northwestern Senegal, where the cavities of Adansonia digitata trees were once used as burial places for griots (the historians, storytellers, poets, and musicians portraying the collective memory in West Africa). His approach seeks to integrate these funerary trees, long overlooked by archaeology centered on visible monuments, into the broader archaeological landscape of Senegambia. His work contributes to the creation of a cartographic record of baobab-burial sites, with the goal of incorporating them into Senegal’s national archaeological map. Beyond their funerary role within griot communities, Lamine explores how baobabs can be understood within broader historical and cultural dynamics, as structuring elements of memory, landscape, and identity in the Senegambian region. His research also extends to the critical study of colonial archaeological archives and collections, with a focus on repair, care, and the decolonization of archaeological knowledge.
Trees, and particularly baobabs, are sensitive markers of ancient historical dynamics, living archives inscribed with the gestures and memories of societies. Through the MAEASaM programme, I have the opportunity to restore their place within the cartography of African heritage, exploring the intersections between tree, memory, and death as foundations of another history of the continent.
Outside of academia, Lamine is passionate about martial arts, practicing Aikido, and also enjoys photography and African cuisine.
Read more about Lamine on Antiquity .