Abstract
Archaeology examines human cultural expressions as reflected in the artefactual record, in particular, through excavation of the remains of human settlements. Problems with Archaeology in Nigeria have been viewed in terms of poor funding, low number of archaeologists, and poor preservation of artifacts . The reportage and/or framing of Archaeology and archaeological issues by the Nigerian print media are other factors to be considered in discussions about the problems with Nigerian Archaeology. This holds true because effective and frequent reportage on archaeological issues will no doubt influence the way people perceive Archaeology. Consequently, the paper examined how two print media outfits - The Guardian and Vanguard newspapers - frame issues on archaeology from 1 st May 2019 to 31 st July, 2019. The investigation laid much emphasis on frequency, prominence, story type and frame used in the reportage. Findings revealed that the newspapers recorded only 7 news stories within the study period, and all the reports were placed inside the pages of the sampled newspapers. Result also revealed that news was used mainly to report issues on archaeology and related issues such as arts and culture for extant society, travel and tourism were reported more than archaeological issues. The implication of the findings is that archaeological issues were accorded low priority in the sampled newspapers. Based on the findings, the study recommends that archaeology and archaeological issues should be reported frequently using other formats - editorial, feature and opinion articles for in-depth analysis, and for better understanding of the importance of Archaeology to society. Keywords: Archaeology, Print Media, Newspapers, Reportage, Nigeria DOI: 10.7176/NMMC/99-04 Publication date: November 30 th 2021
Highlights
Archaeology is the systematic study of human societies, especially prehistoric or extinct societies through the remains of their material culture
Folorunso (2011) tells us that the historical development of archaeology in Nigeria could be traced to the first digs at Ile Ife in 1910 by the German anthropologist, Leo Frobenius, who searched for buried terracotta figurines, to the accidental discovery of the first piece of what have become known as the Nok terracotta figurines in tin mines on the Jos Plateau in 1928, and finds of archaeological materials in the course of digging foundations in Benin, Ife and Igbo-Ukwu in 1938
All the 7 reports with (100%) appeared inside the pages while Front and Back page presented no story on archaeology in Nigeria
Summary
Archaeology is the systematic study of human societies, especially prehistoric or extinct societies through the remains of their material culture. In the view of Winthrop (1991 p.13), Archaeology examines human cultural expression as reflected in the artefactual record, in particular through the excavation of the remains of human settlements. It seeks to document both the specific cultural patterns of past human groups and the broad shifts in the scale, complexity, and adaptation of human societies manifested over the entire archaeological record. The entire domain of culture and cultural heritage are relegated to the background in the scheme of things This is a most unfortunate situation and suggests that Nigeria as a nation is yet to come to terms with the significance of Archaeology in human existence and nation-building
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