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Ran Barkai

A herd of elephants illustration: depositphotos.com

The mystery of the prehistoric quarrying sites has been solved: the connection between man, the elephant and the source of water

Why did the ancient man return again and again, over hundreds of thousands of years, to the same quarry sites? It turns out that the secret lies in the migration routes of the elephants
The famous prehistoric rock paintings of Tsili N'Air, Algeria. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The evolutionary changes following the extinction of the large animals

The need to hunt small animals caused prehistoric man to improve his mental abilities in order to perfect his hunting tools
Elephant hunting illustration. Photo: Dana Akerfeld.

The human brain grew following the extinction of large mammals and the transition to hunting small mammals

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A new article by Dr. Miki Ben Dor and Prof. Ran Barkai, researchers from the Department of Archeology offers a unifying explanation for the accumulated physiological changes and the social behavior of humans since the appearance of man about two million years ago until the agricultural revolution
Chopping and cutting tool from the late Ishli site in Rabved (photo: Prof. Ran Barkai)

The toolbox of prehistoric man

The layered site, which was apparently used by humans of the late Homo erectus type, was a favorite site, to which the humans returned again and again. Bone remains of a wide variety of animals were found on the site - elephants, cattle, elk, donkeys and more, which were used as food for the residents
Signs of dissection, cutting and shattering on limb bones of donkeys from Kesem Cave. Photo: Ruth Blasko

Man stored food long-term as early as 400 years ago

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A tiny splash from Ravadi's website: recreating the way the hand is held during use. Photo: Dr. Flavia Venditti and Prof. Ran Barkai

The first evidence of the use of tiny recycled tools in the Land of Israel half a million years ago was found

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Experimental archaeology: a tuber cutting experiment using a small recycled spatter. Above on the right, the way the sprayer was held in the hand during the experiment (credit: Flavia Venditti)

Researchers have identified remains of animals and plants from hundreds of thousands of years ago on tiny flint vessels

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Neanderthal man tries to hunt a mammoth. Illustration: shutterstock

Neanderthals and mammoths shared a genetic load of adaptation to cold conditions

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Modern man next to Neanderthal man. Illustration: shutterstock

Why was the thorax of the Neanderthal man different in structure from the modern man?

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Cut marks made with a flint tool on part of the flat face of a tortoise shell from Kesem Cave. Photography with a scanning electron microscope and a three-dimensional model with an electron microscope.

Researchers from Tel Aviv University found evidence of eating turtles 400 thousand years ago

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Findings of 400-year-old human teeth from Kesem Cave - credit Prof. Israel Hershkowitz

Another proof of the early use of fire: remains of coal and plant food in the tartar of human teeth from 400 thousand years ago

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An elephant's rib with cut marks on it, together with flint tools including a hand stone as found in the excavation at the Ravadi site. Photo: Dr. Ran Barkai, Tel Aviv University

Israeli researchers have found the earliest animal fat discovered so far on flint vessels half a million years old

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Magic Cave: A scan of a sanded "block" of earth excavated from the cave, showing burnt bones and fragments of limestone in a gray deposit of ash from the campfire. Photo: Weizmann Institute and Tel Aviv University

First evidence of regular use of fire in Kesem Cave from 300 thousand years ago

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Prof. Avi Gopher. Photo: Magic Cave Excavation Project

Researchers from Tel Aviv University have solved the mystery of the appearance of early modern man in Israel - as early as 400,000 years ago

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Photo of flint blades in Kesem Cave Photo: Pavel Shargo/The Institute of Archeology Tel Aviv University

Archaeologists from Tel Aviv University revealed that a modern man who lived in a magic cave 400-200 thousand years ago developed modern technologies for their time

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The oldest modern human teeth discovered in Kesem Cave. Photo: Israel Hershkovitz, Tel Aviv University

Why did the ancient man from the beginning of the eye cause a storm on the Internet?

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Jericho Tower during the excavations. Photo courtesy of the British School of Archeology in Jerusalem.

Researchers from Uni' Tel Aviv: We found evidence of power struggles surrounding the construction of the first skyscraper in human history in Tel Jericho

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The oldest modern human teeth discovered in Kesem Cave. Photo: Israel Hershkovitz, Tel Aviv University

The oldest modern human remains were discovered in a cave near Rosh Ha'Ain

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