The project was divided into 5 Work Packages (WP).
WP1 focused on training activities for the fellow which included training in ethnoarchaeological research, multivariate statistics, and studying advanced archaeological, historical, and anthropological theory (e.g. understanding collective action theory, symmetrical archaeology, materiality, etc.). The fellow also acquired numerous transferable skills, the Fellow of the Higher Education Academy qualification, and took on teaching roles.
WP2 focused on the collection of ethnographic, historical, and archaeological data on Baringo and its communities from museums, archives, and researchers in Europe and Kenya. The fellow visited 7 European institutions, collecting information on over 300 items. He also collected notes and data from 6 researchers who previously worked in Kenya's Baringo region. The fellow recorded and analysed the archaeological assemblage from the site Ilchamus Leabori. The data from WP2 allowed the fellow to aggregate information to produce a high-resolution record of material culture and identity change.
WP3 focused on the collection of ethnoarchaeological, ethnographic, and oral historical data. The objective was to extend the timeframe of available records to include the present. Moreover, WP3 was designed to engage the Ilchamus so the research can be co-created and the outputs co-owned. The fellow undertook 35 key informant and 4 focus group interviews, memory elicitation, and the recording of 19 production processes of traditional items and 5 traditional practices, 4 of which were distilled into shorter informative videos. The videos resulted in a new methodology of recording crafting knowledge that intertwines it with object biographies and histories, social structure, and ecologies.
WP4 centred on the exploitation, analysis and presentation of the spatial and chronological dimensions of the data using GIS and statistics. The fellow with Kenyan colleagues studied the impact of the 2013 and 2019 floods on the archaeology and heritage of the region, and will in the future discern spatial patterns in the distribution of features associated with households and personal presentation in the landscape and through time.
In WP5 the fellow reviewed theoretical literature on ethnogenesis and group dynamics in order to best elucidate the formation of modern East African identities. WP5 represented the culmination of HEAAT and the fellow was developing a theoretical framework and research agenda for historical archaeology tailored to the East African historical context. The fellow organised a conference, which discussed the legacy and impact of global archaeological theory that took inspiration from East African communities. He also designed and developed an exhibition. The exhibition has been lauded by the Ilchamus community.
Overall, the fellow organised numerous research events, and presented his work at 5 conferences. He is in the process of producing 3 manuscripts that are the result of HEAAT. He has produced numerous videos and documentaries that have been viewed over 7000 times, and his work has been reported in the news.
