Dr Freda Nkirote M'Mbogori

College position: Visiting Fellow

Subject: Archaeology

Dr Freda Nkirote M’Mbogori is a Visiting Fellow at Magdalene.

Dr Freda Nkirote M’Mbogori is a Senior Research Scientist at the National Museums of Kenya (NMK), where she has worked for over three decades. She holds a PhD in Archaeology from Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense (France), a Master’s degree from the University of Bergen (Norway), and a BA from the University of Nairobi.

Between 2016 and 2022, Dr M’Mbogori was affiliated with the British Institute in Eastern Africa, serving first as Assistant Director and later as Country Director from 2018 to 2022. She is also the immediate past President of the Pan African Archaeological Association (PAA).

Her research focuses on the Iron Age and historical periods in East Africa, with recent work concentrating on pastoralist communities in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia. This includes research on ancient wells funded by the British Academy and on endangered material knowledge related to milk and water containers supported by the Endangered Material Knowledge Programme of the British Museum.

Her publications include the Cambridge monograph Population and Ceramic Traditions: Revisiting Tana Ware of Coastal Kenya (7th–14th Centuries AD) and the Oxford co-edited volume Humans and Environments: New Archaeological Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century (with Dr Matthew Davies).

Research Interests

Iron Age and historical periods in East Africa. More recently, she has been focusing on pastoralist environments in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia, examining wells and cultural heritage in relation to climate change.

Qualifications

  • PhD Archaeology, Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, Paris, France, 2007-2011
  • MA, Archaeology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway, 2004-2006
  • Post Graduate Diploma, Museum Studies, University College of London, London, UK, 1995
  • BA, Archaeology, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya, 1987-1990
  • Archaeological Field Research Certificate, Harvard University, 1992
  • Certificates, Computer packages, programming and basic accounting, Associated Computer Services, 1994
  • Certificate, Strategic Leadership Development Program, Kenya School of Government, 2020

Career / Research Highlights

  • President Pan African Archaeological Association
  • Director British Institute in Eastern Africa
  • Iron Age Research In Mt. Kenya Region (Funded by Wenner Gren Foundation)
  • Bio cultural research on Pastoralist Wells of Northern Kenya and Southern Ethiopia (Funded by the British Academy)
  • Gabra and Borana Milk and Water Container research (Funded by ARCADIA-Endangered Material Knowledge programme of the British Museum)

Professional Affiliations

  • Member LHEAAPS Advisory Board Meeting, University of Cambridge
  • Reviewer Current Anthropology
  • Reviewer Wenner Gren Foundation grants
  • Reviewer British Academy grants
  • Reviewer Leakey Foundation grants
  • Advisory Committee member of SAF
  • Research Associate, University of Cambridge
  • Fellow Royal Anthropological Institute
  • Fellow and Member British Institute in Eastern Africa
  • 2018-2022 President, Pan-African Archaeological Association (PAA)
  • Member KIPPRA-Kenya Think Tanks group
  • Member Working group Medium Term Plan IV/ Science, Technology, Innovation (MTPIV/STI)
  • Nominated board member, Meru County, Kimeru Institute
  • Member Society for American Archaeologists (SAA)
  • Ethics Committee member (SAA)
  • Advisory Panel Member Mt. Kenya Museum and Cultural Centre (MMCC)
  • International Advisory Board Member for Forschungscampus Dahlem (Research Campus Dahlem), Germany
  • Advisory Board Member and PhD supervisors, ANTHUSIA Consortium project, Aarhus University
  • Latitude: Rethinking Power Relations for a decolonised and non-racial world: magazine expert
  • 2014-2018 Council member representing Eastern Africa- Pan African Archaeological Association (PAA)
  • Member East African Quaternary Association (EAQUA)
  • 2016 to present Senior Editor: Oxford Research Encyclopaedia of African History (OUP)
  • Member: Heritage Conservation and Human Rights group (HCHR)
  • Member: WAC (World Archaeological Congress)
  • Member: CAM (Commonwealth Association of Museums)
  • Member: SAFA (Society of Africanist Archaeologists)
  • Member: ICOM (International Council of Museums)
  • Member ICMS (International Council for Museum Security)
  • Member ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites)
  • Member Scientific Committee: AFRICOM (International Council of African Museums) defunct
  • Member: AFRAKEN (Association of French Alumni in Kenya)
  • Member: Editorial Board Nairobi Journal of Historical Studies

KEY PUBLICATIONS

Population and Ceramic Traditions: Revisiting Tana Ware of Coastal Kenya (AD 7th to 14th Century). M’Mbogori, F.N. 2015. Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology, BAR International Series. Cambridge University Press.

Humans and the Environment: New Archaeological Perspectives for the 21st Century. Davies, M.I.J. and M’Mbogori, F.N. eds. 2013. Oxford University Press.

Using Community Archaeology to Protect Indigenous Wells and Pastoral Biocultural Heritage in Northern Kenya and Southern Ethiopia. M’Mbogori, F.N., Kinyua, M., Katello, A., Gufu, A., Lane, P. 2023. Oxford Encyclopaedia of Anthropology, Chapter 43.

Anthropological Research Objectivity: A Privilege for Exogenous Investigators?. M’Mbogori, F.N. In Thiaw, I. ed. Self and at Home in Social Sciences Field Practices. URICA. Past peer review stage.

The Useable Archaeology of African Farming Systems. Davies, M.J., Folorunso, C.A., Kipruto, T.K., M’Mbogori, F.N., Moore, H.L., Orijemie, A., Schoeman, A. 2016. In Karim, S., Amanda, E., Chrissie, S. eds. African Archaeology without Frontiers. Johannesburg, Wits University Press, pp. 1 to 32.

Traditional Technologies: A Conservation Challenge. M’Mbogori, F.N. 2016. In Deisser, A.M. and Njuguna, M. eds. Conservation of Cultural and Natural Heritage in Kenya. London, UCL, pp. 108 to 124.

Cost Effectiveness in Emergency Preparedness and Response: A Case for African Museums. M’Mbogori, F.N. 2003. International Symposium Proceedings, Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad. ICOM, Paris, pp. 169 to 176.

Climates of Change in Northern Kenya and Southern Ethiopia: From Scientific Data to Applied Knowledge. Lane, P.J., M’Mbogori, F.N., Godana, W.G., Kuria, M.W., Kanyingi, J., Abduba, K., Mohamed, A.A. 2025. Heritage 8, 352.

African Museums, Archaeology and Praxis. M’Mbogori, F.N. 2023. African Archaeological Review.

Remote Sensing for Biocultural Heritage Preservation in an African Semi Arid Region: Indigenous Wells of Northern Kenya and Southern Ethiopia. Pamela, O., Khalaf, N., Merlo, S., Beldados, A., M’Mbogori, F.N., Tiki, W., Lane, P.J. 2022. Remote Sensing 14, 314.

Changes to Water Management and Declining Pastoral Economic Resilience in Northern Kenya: The Example of Gabra Wells. M’Mbogori, F.N., Kinyua, M., Gufu, A., Lane, P. 2021. WIRES Water. In press.

Anthropological Research Objectivity: A Privilege for Exogenous Investigators?. M’Mbogori, F.N. 2021. In Thiaw, I. ed. Self and at Home in Social Sciences Field Practices. URICA. In press.

Human and Environmental Interactions in Late Iron Age Kenya. M’Mbogori, F.N. 2021. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Anthropology.

Pottery Chaine Operatoire among the Mbeere People of Mt Kenya Region: Continuity and Change. M’Mbogori, F.N., Gakii, K., Ochieng, P.N. 2020. Archaeological Review from Cambridge 35(1), pp. 160 to 171.

First Archeomagnetic Data from Kenya and Chad: Analysis of Iron Furnaces from Mt Kenya and Guera Massif. Madingou, B.T., Herve, G., Perrin, M., M’Mbogori, F.N., Guemona, D., Mathe, P.E., Williamson, D., Brunner, C.R. 2020. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors 309.

Clay Source Variability and Implications on Archaeological Interpretations: An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective. M’Mbogori, F.N. 2018. African Archaeological Review 35, pp. 597 to 608.

Complex Contagions and the Diffusion of Innovations: Evidence from a Small N Study. Manzo, G., Gabbriellini, S., Roux, V., M’Mbogori, F.N. 2018. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 25(4), pp. 1109 to 1154.

Pan African Archaeological Association for Prehistory and Related Studies. M’Mbogori, F.N., Thiaw, I. 2018. Antiquity 92(366), pp. 1419 to 1428.

Farming in Eastern Africa: Historical and Archaeological Perspective. M’Mbogori, F.N. 2017. Oxford Encyclopaedia of African Archaeology.

Populations and Ceramics. M’Mbogori, F.N. 2012. Azania: Journal of African Archaeology 47(2), pp. 245 to 246.

Late Iron Age Technology of the Mt Kenya Region: Case Studies of the Kangai and Kanyua Archaeological Sites in Mbeere District. M’Mbogori, F.N. 2013. In Humphris, J. and Rehren, T. eds. The World of Iron. Archetype Publications, pp. 46 to 55.