Professor in the Prehistoric department, Institute of Archaeology. My research interests include: the development of mobile hunter-gatherer groups and the transition to sedentary life and an economy of agriculture and pasture in the Near East. 

I have led surverys and archaeological excavations in the Negev and Sinai (some of which are still ongoing), as in other areas of the Southern Levant. Recently, a long running excavations of Kfar HaHoresh, a Neolithic burial and ritual site, came to an end. I am a participant in the "Religion as the Basis for Power and Property in the First Civilizations" project at Neolithic Catalhoyuk, Turkey, directed by I. Hodder (Stanford University, USA). I am also involved in the Early Neolithic in Aşikli Höyük in Cappadocia, Turkey, directed by M. Özbaşaran (University of Istanbul, Tureky).  

Recent Teaching

Hunter-Gatherers in the Near East during the Upper Palaeolotic and Epipalaeolithic; Development of Complex Societies in the Near East; Techo-Typology of Lithic Assemblages; Archaeology in the South-West United States; Ethnoarchaeology of Contemporary Hunter-Gatheres; Man-Landscape Relations.

Recent Research Projects

• Kfar-HaHoresh - Analysis and publication of 17 years of excavation at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B cult and mortuary site in the Nazareth hills, lower Galilee (10,500-9,250 before present).
• Upper Besor 6 - Excavations at the Early Natufian (ca. 15,000 years BP) in the central Negev.
• Nahal Azgad Cave - Excavations at the Early Natufian (ca. 15,000 years BP) in the southern Judean Desert. 
• Cappadocia - Transition from moblie hunter-gatherers to sedentary life style (25,000-8,000 BP).
  • Survey in Aksaray Province, Cappadocia, Turkey, with Dr. N. Kayacan, Dr. G. Duru & Prof. M. Özbaşaran (University of Istanbul, Turkey).
  • Excavations at Balikli, Cappadocia, Turkey, with Dr. N. Kayacan, Dr. G. Duru & Prof. M. Özbaşaran (University of Istanbul, Turkey).

• Nahal Hava - A Pre-Pottery Neolithic hunting camp in the central Negev. Excavations in 2010.

• Nahal Lavan 1021 - A Pre-Pottery Neolithic B knapping site in the western Negev dunes. (co-director with O. Barzilai). Excavations conducted in 2005.
• Nahal Neqarot - An Epipalaeolithic Rockshelter in the Negev (co-director with A. Belfer-Cohen, I. Gilead & S. Rosen). Excavations conducted in 1991.
• Technological Studies of Upper Palaeolithic, Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic Assemblages from the Western Negev Based on Refitting.
• Publication of the Excavations by the Late Tamar Noy at Gilgal in the Lower Jordan Valley (with O. Bar-Yosef & A. Gopher).
• Publication of the Emergency Archaeological Survey of the Negev Excavations. The results of surveys and excavations (1979-1984) in: the Western Negev Dunes (Nahal Nizzana, Nahal Lavan, Holot Shunera, Nahal Sekher, Hamifgash); Har Qeren (with S. A. Rosen); Ramat Matred (with I. Gilead); Ain Qadis (with A. Gopher & S. A. Rosen); Har Harif (with A. Gopher); Maktesh Ramon (with S. A. Rosen); Nahal Issaron (with A. Gopher).

Past and Present M.A. Students

Rebecca Biton: The Technological Properties of Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Clay Objects: Kfar HaHoresh as a Case Study. (with Prof. Yuval Goren, Tel Aviv University).

Michal Birkenfeld: Spatial Analysis at the PPNB Site of Kfar HaHoresh, Lower Galilee Using GIS.

Doron Boness: Micromorphological Study of Sediments in PPNB Sites in the Southern Levant: Identification of Activity Areas and Possible Social Correlates. (with Prof. Yuval Goren, Tel Aviv University).

Lena Brailovsky-Rosker: The PPNB Sickle Blades from Galilee Typo-Chronological and Stylistic Analysis as a Key for Understanding Ancient Agricultural Practices and Social Traditions.

Angela Davidzon: Early Ahmarian Knapping Traditions as Seen at Nahal Nizzana XIII, Israel.

Neta Friedman (ongoing). GIS analysis of subsistence strategies and mobility patterns during the Middle and Late Epipaleolithic in the Negev and Sinai.

Sorin Hermon: Survey Methods and Practices: A Case Study from the Northern Negev. (Graduated 1995/6). (with Prof. A. Belfer-Cohen). Currently a faculty member at the Cyprus Institute, Cyprus.

Liora K. Horwitz: Animal Exploitation at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B and Early Bronze Age Periods at Yiftahel, Israel. (with Prof. E. Tchernov).

Hamoudi Khalaily: The Late Neolithic Chipped Stone Tool Assemblages from Hagoshrim. Currently Deputy Department Director, Excavations, Surveys & Research Department, Israel Antiquities Authority.

Naomi Korn: The Uses of Ochre in the Late Quaternary of the Southern Levant. (with Prof. A. Belfer-Cohen).

Ofer Marder: Technological Aspects of Epipalaeolithic Flint Industries in the Levant: Reduction Sequences of the Ramonian Industry in the Negev. (with Prof. A. Belfer-Cohen).

Netta Mitki: The Chaîne Opératoire at Nahal Lavan 1021: A Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Knapping Site in the Western Negev.

Josette Sarel: The Heavy Duty Flint Assemblages from the Natufian Site of Mallaha (Eynan). (with Prof. A. Belfer-Cohen).

Past and Present Ph.D. Students

Itai Abadi (ongoing): The end of the Upper Palaeolithic and beginning of the Epipalaeolithic in the Southern Levant.

Uzi Avner: Research on the Material and Spiritual Culture Remains of Populations in the Negev and Sinai from the 6^th-3^rd Millennia BC. (with Prof. A. Mazar). Currently a Researcher at the Dead Sea-Arava Science Center.

Omry Barzilai: Pre-Pottery Neolithic Opposed Platform Blade (Naviform) Technologies in the Levant. Currently Head of Archaeological Research Department, Israel Antiquities Authority.

Michal Birkenfeld: The Lower Galilee during the PPNB: Settlement Systems and GIS Applications. Currently Head of GIS Research Branch, Israel Antiquities Authority. 

David Eitam: Archaeo-Industry of the Natufian Culture: Installations and Ground Stone Tools in the Late Epipalaeolithic in the Southern Levant. (with Prof. A. Belfer-Cohen).

Ofer Marder: The Lithic Technology of Epipalaeolithic Hunter-Gatherers in the Negev: The Implications of Refitting Studies. Currently a faculty member in the Department of Bible, Archaeology and Ancient Near East, Ben Gurion University of the Negev.

Heeli Schechter (ongoing): The Social, Economic and Symbolic Uses of Marine Mollusks in the Neolithic of the Southern Levant. (with Dr. D. Bar-Yosef Meyer, Tel Aviv University).