Research Interests: Animal bones as a marker of past human behavior, Paleoecological and taxonomic implications of faunal assemblages from prehistoric sites in the southern Levant, Patterns of animal exploitation and subsistence during the Paleolithic in the southern Levant, Vertebrate taphonomy, Aging and sexing of archaeological faunal material as a marker of human exploitation, seasonality and climate change, Experimental studies of carnivore and rodent activity, Butchery experiments, Paleonutrition in the Mediterranean Basin.

Ongoing Projects:

• Intra-site faunal variability: analysis of faunal remains from the Neandertal site of Amud Cave (see figure 1)
• Broad spectrum revolution, evolution or necessity? Analysis of the faunal assemblage from the Natufian site of Eynan and its implications for reconstruction of subsistence patterns and site formation processes
• Taphonomy of the fauna from the submerged prehistoric site of Ohalo II
• Analysis of the fauna from the Lower Paleolithic site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov
• Cervids in the southern Levant
• Conservation and analysis of faunal remains from the Lower Paleolithic site of Revadim (with focus on elephant bones)
• Crusaders’ horses at Metzad Ateret
• Roman limes fauna

Teaching:

• Introduction to archaeozoology
• Seminar of archaeozoology
• Small and big in the southern Levantine fauna from archaeological sites 
• Microscopic-Taphonomy
• Selected topics in archaeozoology
• Elephants and people

M.A. Students (past and present):

 

• Dr. Eli Lotan - Actualistic studies - Taphonomy in the Jordan Valley (with Prof. N. Goren-Inbar, HUJI), graduated
• Motro Hadas – Equids in the Crusaders’ Epoch in Israel (with Prof. R. Ellenblum, HUJI), graduated, Summa Cum Laude
• Sharon Gil – Spatial distribution at the site of Ohalo II (with Dr. D. Nadel, Haifa University), graduated
• Ron Kahati – The faunal assemblage from Ovdat, Israel (with Prof. Z. Weiss, HUJI), graduated
• Tiki Steiner – The Ohalo II fauna from Locus I. Ariel Shatil - The Assemblage of Bone Objects from Iron Age IIa Tel Rehov - a Typological and Technological Analysis of Objects and Production Wastes.
• Mustafa Housein - Animals in private and public spaces: the case of Tiberias during the early Islamic period, 7th to 11th centuries. (with Dr. Katia Cytryn-Silverman).

PhD. Students:

 

• Rebecca Biton – Early Paleolithic to Neolithic Herpetofauna of the Jordan Rift Valley- A key to Paleoenvironment reconstruction.

• Yael Lashno - Benthic macrofaunal-based environmental assessment of the middle Jurassic formations in outcrop from southern and northern Israel (with Dr. Yael Edelman-Furstenberg, Geological Survey, Israel).