Job Titles
PhD Student in Archaeology
General Info
Not available for consultancy
Contact Details
hhk27[a]cam.ac.uk
Biography
I graduated with a BA in Archaeology (Hons) from the University of Dar es Salaam in 2012. I later received sponsorship from the Volkswagen Foundation through the Lake Eyasi Basin Biocultural Evolution Project to pursue an MA in Archaeology at the same university, completing my degree in 2017. My master’s research examined lithic technological change, focusing on how environmental factors shaped transitions from Middle Stone Age to Later Stone Age traditions, particularly within the Kisele industry.
After completing my MA, I joined the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies at the University of Dar es Salaam as an assistant lecturer on a part‑time basis from 2018 to 2022. During this period, I worked on both archaeological and interdisciplinary social projects within several multicultural research teams. In early 2023, I was appointed to a permanent position in the Department of Archaeology (UDSM), where I continue to serve.
In October 2025, I was honoured to receive a funded PhD position under the ERC project Landscape Historical Ecology and Archaeology of Ancient Pastoral Societies (LHEAAPS) at the Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge. My doctoral research focuses on reconstructing past mobility patterns and interaction networks of Pastoral Iron Age (PIA) communities, with a particular emphasis on obsidian provenance studies in north‑central Kenya.
Research
My research interests centre on lithic technologies and the behavioural strategies of past populations, especially their adaptive responses to shifting paleoenvironmental conditions. My PhD project investigates the nature of trade and interaction networks among PIA communities across the Laikipia and Leroghi Plateaus. This involves analysing obsidian artefacts sourced from different geographical locations. My study will also involve geochemical analysis of obsidians from the Nakuru–Naivasha Basin, as well as other potential obsidians from the Lake Victoria shores and the Serengeti in Tanzania’s Mara Region.
A key component of my study is the geochemical fingerprinting of obsidian artefacts to identify their sources and trace patterns of movement and exchange. The research also integrates landscape variables and ecological factors across spatial and temporal scales to understand the direction, scale, and extent of PIA mobility and social networks.
Key Publications
Key publications
Mwitondi, M.S., Kihanzah, H.H., Lelio, H., & Bushozi, P.M. Obsidian Use in Archaeology: A New Insight from an Ethnoarchaeological Perspective in the Lake Eyasi Basin, Northern Tanzania. Journal of the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO. 2958‑7999, Volume 4 (1), 2024.
Bigambo, R., Mwitondi, M., & Kihanzah, H. Sustainable Preservation of Rock Art Sites in the Mara Region, Tanzania. Arch 21, 489–523 (2025).
Mwitondi, M.S., Kihanzah, H.H., Bigambo, R., Lelio, H., Mtani, J., & Musa, A. Initial Report on the Archaeological Investigation of the Mara Region, Southeast of the Lake Victoria Basin, Tanzania. Southern African Field Archaeology (accepted; in preparation).
Kihanzah, H.H. Palaeoenvironmental Synthesis and Material Culture from the Kisele Industry at Mumba Rock‑Shelter in Northern Tanzania. MA Dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam (unpublished).
