A Geometric Morphometric and Ancient DNA Framework for Reconstructing Population History and Migration Patterns in Nigeria Using Archaeological Crania

Understanding the population history and migration dynamics of Nigeria's diverse ethnic groups requires integration of archaeological craniometric evidence with ancient genetic data. Existing models of Nigerian population history are largely based on linguistic and ethnographic reconstructions, with limited biological corroboration from archaeological human remains. This study aims to develop an integrated geometric morphometric and ancient DNA framework for reconstructing population history and migration patterns across Nigerian archaeological sites. Crania from 15 archaeologically documented sites spanning the Iron Age to pre-colonial period, excavated in partnership with the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, will be subjected to three-dimensional geometric morphometric analysis using landmark-based cranial shape analysis. Ancient DNA will be extracted from dental pulp using established protocols and subjected to genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping. Phylogenetic and principal component analyses will establish relationships between archaeological samples and modern Nigerian ethnic group representatives. Bayesian clustering algorithms will model population structure, admixture, and migration routes. This study constitutes an original transdisciplinary contribution to Nigerian bioarchaeology, integrating for the first time geometric morphometrics and ancient genomics to reconstruct a biological history of human settlement, migration, and diversity within the Nigerian archaeological record.

Keywords: geometric morphometrics, ancient DNA, population history, archaeological crania, Nigeria