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African Archaeological Review - In Memoriam: Nicholas David, founding editor of the African Archaeological Review

From the Society of Africanist Archaeologists:

It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of our dear friend, colleague, and mentor, Dr. Nicholas David, on Wednesday, January 11, 2023.  Nic died peacefully in his home with his wife, Judy Sterner, by his side.  Nic was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) a blood and bone marrow cancer in 2017 which progressed rapidly in late 2022.  Nic ‘retired’ nearly 20 years ago, but he continued to direct the Mandara Archaeology Project (MAP), doing fieldwork until 2008, and he attended conferences and published until 2019.  But he and Judy also expanded their interest in astronomy, building telescopes and travelling to find dark skies in Chile, Western Canada, and the US. We will remember Nic as a man with a keen intellect, a quick wit, and a deep enthusiasm for life.

Nic was a founding member of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists in the Americas (later SAfA) in 1970 and was President of SAfA between 1998 and 2000. He was the founding editor of the African Archaeological Review (1981-1985) and was also editor of the West African Journal of Archaeology (1976-1978) and Nyame Akuma (1982). He began his career in Paleolithic archaeology in Europe, but his interest turned to Africa where he conducted research in Cameroon beginning in 1967. He directed and co-directed archaeological projects in North Cameroon (Upper Benue Basin Archaeological Project (1968-71), the Central African Megaliths Project with Pierre Vidal (1974-1975), re-excavation of Rop Shelter, Nigeria (1976), and the excavation of the Otunba Suna Grave site in Nigeria (1977). He led the BIEA’s southern Sudan Expedition in 1979.  In 1984 Nic launched the Mandara Archaeological Project that included substantive archaeological and ethnoarchaeological components.  The MAP continued until 2008 and expanded from northern Cameroon in 1984, into Nigeria and Ghana in 1992.  Nic supervised 11 MA and 6 PhD students whose research was based in MAP activities. 

Of all the Mandara places where Nic and Judy conducted research, Sukur holds a special place. In 1996 they contributed to the inscription of the Sukur Cultural Landscape to the UNESCO World Heritage list, advocated for the Mandara Mountains International Peace Park (recently there have been talks between Cameroonian and Nigerian governments), and in 2003 Nic created the Sukur website (http://sukur.info/ (this opens in a new tab)). In late 2014 Sukur was attacked by Boko Haram; Nic responded by founding the Boko Haram Victims fund and website. In 2017 Nic prepared a successful proposal to the World Monuments Fund and Sukur was included on the World Monuments Watch list for 2018. In 2021 their Sukur research came to the attention of the African International Documentary Festival Foundation (AFIDFF) and ICOMOS Climate Vulnerability Index (CVI). Most satisfying of all was that Nic’s last film, ‘The 13 Months of Sukur’, was shown twice at Sukur (http://sukur.info/sukurfilm.htm (this opens in a new tab)). As of 2022 AFIDFF hosts a ‘modern’ version of the Sukur website. 

Nic was a dominant figure in the field of ethnoarchaeology.  With Carol Kramer he wrote “Ethnoarchaeology in Action” (2002), a work that has been the introduction and reference to the field for two decades. His filmmaking on ethnography and material culture brought the communities of the Mandara region in Cameroon and Nigeria to students and researchers across the world. His multiple publications have contributed to our understanding of how contemporary African people perceive and use material culture style, the need to explore socio-cultural variability in past societies, how power is constituted in architecture and landscape, the technological, spiritual, and social integration and complexity of iron working technology in African societies, insight into societal transformations in mortuary practices, and how traditions of ceramic and lithic technology inform on social and ideological practices of living people.

Those of us who had the honour to work with Nic thought him indestructible.  He was a force in our lives, and we owe him so much.  He will be greatly missed, and fondly remembered.

Judy, Diane, and Scott

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Judy Sterner, Diane Lyons, and Scott MacEachern


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