Oral History Documentation as a Tool for Archaeological Site Identification in Borno State

Oral historical traditions retain detailed knowledge about past settlement locations, agricultural landscapes, migration routes, and political histories that can be directly productive for archaeological site identification, particularly in regions where insecurity has severely constrained conventional fieldwork. This study evaluates oral history documentation as a systematic tool for archaeological site prospection in Borno State, developing and applying a structured oral history collection protocol with communities in the relatively secure southern districts of the state. Interviews were conducted with seventy-three elder informants across twelve communities using a semi-structured guide designed to elicit topographic descriptions, place names, and activity references associated with past occupation sites. Information derived from interviews was geo-referenced and plotted as a predictive site location map, which was then tested against field verification at fifteen high-priority locations. Verification confirmed archaeological material at eleven of fifteen predicted locations, representing a hit rate of seventy-three percent, which compares favourably with predictive modelling approaches using environmental variables alone. Identified materials included mounded settlement debris, iron smelting slag, and ceramic scatters consistent with Late Holocene occupation. The study reflects on methodological challenges including memory variation, narrative embellishment, and the variable interpretive reliability of different informant categories. It recommends the adoption of this protocol as a cost-effective and culturally respectful complement to conventional remote sensing in areas where ground access is constrained. Keywords: oral history, archaeological prospection, Borno State, site identification, participatory methods.