Nationality: Ethiopian

Institution:  University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

Department:  Department of Archaeology

PAST programme support: Degree support

Project: The Influence of Raw Material Properties on the Acheulean Technocomplex during the Early-Middle Pleistocene Period in East and South Africa.

Meta/Facebook: Haftom Berhane

Haftom was awarded his BA degree in Archaeology from Aksum University in 2011. Two weeks after  graduating, he joined the Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritages (ARCCH) of Ethiopia, as Junior Curator of Prehistory and Archaeology. In 2015, he was awarded a prestigeous Erasmus Mundus Program in Quaternary and Prehistory scholarship to pursue his master’s degree at the Università di Ferrara and other consortium Universities. He successfully completed his master’s from the joint program in September, 2017. During his stay he completed coursework in Università di Ferrara (hosting institution), Universitat Rovira i Virgli and Instituto Politecnico de Tomar.

Before and after completing his MA, Haftom has continued to work in the ARCCH as Archaeology and Palaeontology Researcher. As a researcher, he is involved in surveying and documenting new archaeological and paleontological sites for further investigation. This includes archaeological impact assessment work, curating and studying of archaeological museum collections and organizing public awareness works on antiquities with local communities and university students.

In addition to his main tasks as Archaeology and Palaeontology Researcher, his career in ARCCH gives Haftom the opportunity to collaborate and engage with international research groups who are working in Ethiopian archaeological and paleontological sites. This provides an opportunity to learn and work with distinguished researchers in the field of archaeology, and as a result Haftom can contribute with his own work in the lab and field. This was the case in his participation in Ciota Ciara (Italy), Sibdu Cave (South Africa), Swabian Jura (Germany). Additionally, Haftom has presented his work at the 4th International Enno Littmann Conference at Tubingen University, 26th Biennial Meeting of Society of Africanist Archaeologists conference, and underwent training at Restaurierung am Oberbaum GMBH (RAO), Berlin, Germany in artifact casting and restoration.

Currently, Haftom is pursuing his PhD at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.