Zahra Haghighi

My passion to address archaeological questions using scientific approaches lead me to enter the art conservation science field of study after I obtained my bachelor’s degree in pure chemistry. I obtained my second master’s degree in archaeological material science through an Erasmus Mundus joint program (ARCHMAT). For years, I have been involved in studying and analysing organic contents of artefacts.

Currently, I am a Marie Curie PhD fellow within an ETN network called PUSHH (Palaeoproteomics to Unleash the Study of Human History). In my project, I am looking at several materials coming from Blombos Cave and Klipdrift Shelter, South Africa, to detect and identify protein residues contained in them employing Palaeoproteomic approaches.

My overall goal is to enhance our understating of the use of organic compounds in the African Middle Stone Age and Later Stone Age.

To learn more about my PhD project, check out (https://sites.google.com/palaeoproteomics.org/pushh/research-and-phd-pro...)