About the collections

The Archaeozoological collections comprise hundreds of sites representing the history of the fauna from the Pliocene to the Holocene of Israel, where major events in the history of human took place, from hunting, gathering, fishing, to domestication and husbandry. The collections are open to students and researchers from all over the world.

The recent vertebrate comparative collection (ca. 10,000 specimens) represents the local fauna of Israel and adjacent regions. It includes specimens of all taxa collected during the past 60 years. This collection represents populations from various regions of the country. Prof. Israel Aharoni started the collection at the beginning of the 20th century, and was in turn followed by researchers and students who collected animals for research and teaching.

Rare species, extinct species, and endangered species, including type specimens, are present in the collection. From the early years, the policy of the curators was to preserve a complete skeleton, thus most specimens represent complete animals. Each specimen has a number that appears on every skeletal element. Rodents (ca. 200) are preserved as stuffed specimens as well as skeletal elements.

National Natural History Collections Website

Staff: 

Prof. Rivka Rabinovich - rivkar@mail.huji.ac.il

Gali Beiner (Conservator)

Dr. Rebecca Biton