Dr. Irit Zohar
Senior Lecturer
Academic Background
B.A. Archaeology, The Hebrew University
M.A. Maritime Archaeology, The University of Haifa
Ph.D. Zoology, Tel Aviv University
Selected publications
Zohar, I. Morales-Muñiz, A., Roselló-Izquierdo, E., Fernández-Jalvo, Y., Frontini, R., (2025). Taphonomy through fisheyes: an historical and methodological overview, Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 17, 128
Barzilai, O., Marder, O., Tejero, J.-M., Ayalon, A., Bar-Matthews, M., Abulafia, T., Lavi, R., Goder-Goldberger, M., Shemer, M., Edeltin, L., Wiegmann, A., Frumkin, A., Karasik, A., Yasur, G., Yeshurun, R., Zohar, I., Berna, F., Hans, M., Goldberg, J.S., McDermott, Y., Spurlock, L., Pokhojaev, A., Habashi, W., May, H., Sarig, R., Hershkovitz, I., (2024) Early human collective practices and symbolism in the Early Upper Paleolithic of Southwest Asia, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121, e2404632121.
Zohar, I., Alperson-Afil, N., Goren-Inbar, N., Prévost, M., Tütken, T., Sisma-Ventura, G., Hershkovitz, I., and Najorka, J. (2022) Evidence for the cooking of fish 780,000 years ago at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, Israel. Nature Ecology and Evolution. 6, 2016-2028
Spyrou, A.,Nobles, G., Hadjikoumis, A., Evin, A., Hulme-Beaman, A., Çakirlar, C., Ameen, C., Loucas, N., Nikita, E., Hanot, P., de Boer, N., Avgousti, A., Zohar, I, May, H., and Rehren, Th. (2022) Digital Zooarchaeology: State of the art, challenges, prospects and synergies. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 45, 103588.
Blevis, R., Bar Oz, G., Tepper, Y., and Zohar, I (2021) Fish in the desert: Identifying fish trade routes and the role of Red Sea parrotfish (Scaridae) during the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 36, 1-16.
Tütken, T., Weber, M., Zohar, I., Helmy, H., Bourgon, N., Lernau, O., Jochum, K.P., and Sisma-Ventura, G. (2020) Strontium and oxygen isotope analyses reveal Late Cretaceous shark teeth in Iron Age strata in the Southern Levant. Frontiers Ecology and Evolution 8 – 2020.
Fisher, E. Cawthra, H.C., Esteban, I., Jeradino, A., Neumann, F.H., Oertle, A., Pargeter, J., Saktura, R. B., Szabó, K., and Zohar, I. (2020) Coastal occupation and foraging during the Last Glacial Maximum and Early Holocene at Waterfall Bluff, eastern Pondoland, South African. Quaternary Research,1-41.
Sisma-Ventura G., Tütken T., Peters S., Bialik, O. M., Zohar I., and Pack A. (2019) Past aquatic environments in the Levant inferred from stable isotope compositions of carbonate and phosphate in fish teeth. Past aquatic environments in the Levant inferred from stable isotope compositions of carbonate and phosphate in fish teeth, PLoS ONE 14, e0220390.
Zohar I. and Cooke, R. (2019) The role of dried fish: A multivariate model for identifying fish long-term preservation in the past. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 26, 101864.
Teaching
Ichthyology, Fish Osteology, Vertebrates Anatomy and Evolution, Care and Management of Natural History Collections, The Flora and Fauna of Israel, Negev Field Trip