Margaret Adebisi Sowunmi facts for kids

Margaret Adebisi Sowunmi (born September 24, 1939) is a Nigerian scientist. She is a botanist and an environmental archaeologist. She was a professor at the University of Ibadan. There, she taught about Palynology and Environmental Archaeology.

Professor Sowunmi was a pioneer in her field. She was the first to study environmental archaeology in Nigeria. She also started the study of ancient plants, called palaeoethnobotany, in Nigeria. She is the founder and president of the Palynological Association of Nigeria.

Early Life and Education

Margaret Adebisi Sowunmi was born in Kano, Nigeria. This was on September 24, 1939. Her father was a pastor. She went to St Anne's School Ibadan for her high school education.

She then studied botany at University College Ibadan. She earned her first degree in 1962. In 1963, she received a scholarship. This allowed her to study for her PhD in palynology. Palynology is the study of pollen and spores. She traveled to Sweden to learn from a famous scientist, Gunnar Erdtman. She completed her PhD in botany in 1967.

A Career in Science

In 1967, Professor Sowunmi started working at the University of Ibadan. She was a research fellow in archaeology. In 1971, she created the first palynology laboratory in a Nigerian university. This was a big step for science in Nigeria.

She became a full professor in 1982. She taught about palynology and environmental archaeology. Throughout her career, she visited many universities. These included Uppsala University in Sweden and the UCL Institute of Archaeology in London. She also visited Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany.

Professor Sowunmi was a great teacher. She guided seven students to get their PhDs. She also worked to make archaeology more fair. She helped change course names to be less focused only on men.

She founded and led the Palynological Association of Nigeria. She also served as president of the West African Archaeological Association. Professor Sowunmi retired from her work in 2004.

Important Discoveries

Professor Sowunmi made many important discoveries. She was the first to figure out the age of the Gwandu Formation. This is a geological area in Nigeria. She also described ancient pollen from the Eocene period. This pollen came from the Ogwashi-Asaba Formation.

She was the first to study Nigeria's plant history. This included how plants changed over the last 2.6 million years. She also studied pollen found at ancient human sites. This helped scientists understand how people lived long ago.

Awards and Recognition

In 2003, Professor Sowunmi received a special award. Uppsala University gave her an honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree. This award recognized her amazing work. It celebrated her research and teaching in environmental archaeology. It also honored her contributions to paleobotany. Paleobotany is the study of ancient plants.