2011 Post Doc researcher, University of California, San Diego
Geosciences Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

2010 Ph.D. in anthropology (archaeology), University of California, San Diego
Ph.D. dissertation: Technology and Social Process: Oscillations in Iron Age Copper Production and Power in Southern Jordan

2008 M.A. in anthropology (archaeology), University of California, San Diego

2006 M.Sc. in geology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (summa cum laude)

2004 B.A. in archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (magna cum laude)

2003 B.Sc. in geology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Research Interests

•  Archaeometallurgy: copper production in the Ancient Near East

•  Geoarchaeology: application of geological techniques and methodologies in archaeology

•  Iron Age Archaeology of the southern Levant

•  Ancient technology and social change

•  Landscape archaeology

•  Archaeology and history of Jordan

Professional Memberships 

•  Society of American Archaeology (SAA)

•  Society of Biblical Literature (SBL)

•  American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR)

•  Israel Exploration Society (IES)

•  Israel Geological Society (IGS)

•  American Geophysical Union (AGU)

Current Archaeological Projects

•  Cyprus: Skouriotissa geomagnetic project (2011)

•  Timna, Site 30 (2009 – present)

•  Edom Lowland Regional Archaeology Project (ELRAP), Faynan, Jordan
   Directed by Prof. Tom Levy and Dr. Mohammad Najjar (2004, 2006 – present)

Publications

15. Ben-Yosef, E., (in press). A unique casting mold from the new excavations at Timna Site 30 (Israel): evidence of western influence?. in: Kassianidou, V. (Ed.), Eastern Mediterranean Metallurgy and Metalwork in the Second Millennium BC. Oxford: Oxbow Books.

14. Levy, T.E., Ben-Yosef, E., and Najjar, M., (in press). New Perspectives on Iron Age Copper Production and Society in the Faynan Region, Jordan. in: Kassianidou, V. (Ed.), Eastern Mediterranean Metallurgy and Metalwork in the Second Millennium BC. Oxford: Oxbow Books.

13. Shaar, R., and Ben-Yosef, E., 2010. Earth's magnetic field: new discoveries from archaeomagnetic study of copper slag (in Hebrew). Melach Haaretz Today (in press).

12. Shaar, R., Ben-Yosef, E., Ron, H., Tauxe, L., Agnon, A., and Kessel, R., 2010. Geomagnetic field intensity: How high can it get? How fast can it change? Constraints from Iron Age copper-slag from the southern Levant. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 301(2011):297-306.

11. Levy, T. E., Petrovic, V., Wypch, T., Gidding, A., Knabb, K., Hernandez, D., Smith, N. G., Schulz, J. P., Savage, S. H., Kuester, F., Ben-Yosef, E., Buitenhuys, C., Barrett, C. J., and DeFanti, T., 2010. On-Site Digital Archaeology 3.0 and Cyber-Archaeology: Into the Future of the Past - New Developments, Delivery and the Creation of a Data Avalanche. Pp. 135-153 in: Forte, M. (Ed.), Cyber-Archaeology .

10. Ben-Yosef, E., Levy, T.E., Smith, N.G., Higham, T., Najjar, M., and Tauxe, L., 2010. The beginning of Iron Age copper production in the southern Levant: new evidence from Khirbat al-Jariya, Faynan, Jordan. Antiquity 84(235): 724-746.

9. Ben-Yosef, E., Tauxe, L., and Levy, T.E., 2010. Archaeomagnetic dating of copper smelting site F2 in Timna Valley (Israel) and its implication on modeling ancient technological developments. Archaeometry 52(6): 1110-1121.

8. Ben-Yosef, E., 2010. Book Review: From Mine to Microscope - Advances in the Study of Ancient Technology. A.J. Shortland, I.C. Freestone, and T. Rehren (Eds.). Oxbow Books, Oxford (2009) Journal of Archaeological Science 37(4): 898-899.

7. Shaar, R., Ron, H., Tauxe, L., Kessel, R., Agnon, A., Ben-Yosef, E., and Feinberg, J.M., 2010. Testing the accuracy of absolute intensity estimates of the ancient geomagentic field using copper slag material. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 290(1-2): 201-213.

6. Ben-Yosef, E., Levy, T.E., and Najjar, M., 2009. Ras al-Miyah Fortresses: New Discoveries at One of the Gateways to the Iron Age Copper Production District of Faynan, Jordan. Pp. 823-841 in: Khraysheh, F. (ed.), Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan X .

5. Ben-Yosef, E., Tauxe, L., Levy, T.E., Shaar, R., Ron, H., and Najjar, M., 2009. Geomagnetic intensity spike recorded in high resolution slag deposit in southern Jordan. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 287(3-4): 529-539.

4. Ben-Yosef, E., Levy, T.E., and Najjar, M., 2009. New Iron Age Copper-Mine Fields Discovered in Southern Jordan, Near Eastern Archaeology , 72(2): 98-101

3. Levy, T.E., Higham, T., Ramsey, C.B., Smith, N.G., Ben-Yosef, E., Robinson, M., Munger, S., Knabb, K., Schulze, J.P., Najjar, M., and Tauxe, L., 2008. High-precision radiocarbon dating and historical biblical archaeology in southern Jordan, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science , 105: 16460-16465.

2. Ben-Yosef, E., Tauxe, L., Ron, H., Agnon, A., Avner, U., Najjar, M., and Levy, T.E.., 2008. A new approach for geomagnetic archaeointensity research: insights on ancient metallurgy in the Southern Levant, J. Archaeol. Sci . 35(11): 2863-2879.

1. Ben-Yosef, E., H. Ron, L. Tauxe, A. Agnon, A. Genevey, T. E. Levy, U. Avner, and M. Najjar, 2008. Application of copper slag in geomagnetic archaeointensity research, J. Geophys. Res ., 113(B08101)

Conference Presentations and Published Abstracts

The 6th International Symposium on Radiocarbon and Archaeology (ISRA VI) 2011, Pafos, Cyprus:

25. Levy, T.E., Ben-Yosef, E., Higham, T.F.G., and Najjar, M., 2011. New perspectives on Iron Age radiocarbon chronology of southern Jordan.

Israel Geological Society (IGS) Annual Meeting 2011, Mitzpe Ramon, Israel (two presentations)

24. Shaar, R., Ben-Yosef, E., Ron, H., Tauxe, L., Agnon, A., and Kessel, R., 2011. Geomagnetic field intensity: How high can it get? How fast can it change? Constraints from Iron Age copper-slag, in: Israel Geological Society Annual Meeting 2011, Mitzpe Ramon.

23. Shaar, R., Ben-Yosef, E., Ron, H., Tauxe, L., Agnon, A., Kessel, R., and Finkelstein, I., 2011. Archaeomagnetism for resolving chronological problems: Status and future potential, in: Israel Geological Society Annual Meeting 2011, Mitzpe Ramon.

American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting 2010, San Francisco (Three presentations, one Invited, December 2010)

22. Mitra, R., Tauxe, L., Tripathy, V., and Ben-Yosef, E., 2010. Indian archeointensity from 1000 BC to 1200 AD. in: EOS Trans. AGU, Fall Meeting Suppl.

21. Shaar, R., Ben-Yosef, E., Ron, H., Tauxe, L., Agnon, A., and Kessel, R., 2010. Geomagnetic field intensity: How high can it get? How fast can it change? Constraints from Iron Age copper-slag. in: EOS Trans. AGU, Fall Meeting Suppl.

20. (Invited) Shaar, R., Ron, H., Tauxe, L., Ben-Yosef, E., Agnon, A., Kessel, R., and Feinberg, J.M., 2010. Paleointensity Using Copper Slag Material: Extending Accuracy and Time Resolution of Geomagnetic Field Intensity Records. in: EOS Trans. AGU, Fall Meeting Suppl.

American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) Annual Meeting 2010, Atlanta (two presentations)

19. Ben-Yosef, E., Shaar, R., Tauxe, L., Ron, H., Agnon, A., and Levy, T.E., 2010. Timna 30 revisited: high resolution dating indicates intense Iron Age (11 th to 9 th c. BCE) copper production in the southern Negev.

18. Levy, T. E., Petrovic, V., Wypch, T., Gidding, A., Knabb, K., Hernandez, D., Smith, N. G., Schulz, J. P., Savage, S. H., Kuester, F., Ben-Yosef, E., Buitenhuys, C., Barrett, C. J., DeFanti, T., 2010. On-Site Digital Archaeology 3.0 and Cyber-Archaeology: Into the Future of the Past - New Developments, Delivery and the Creation of a Data Avalanche.

The 11 th International Conference on the History and Archaeology of Jordan (ICHAJ XI) 2010, Paris

17. Ben-Yosef, E., Levy, T.E., and Najjar, M., 2010. The Economy of Edom Revisited: Iron Age Copper Extraction Technologies and Resource Management in Faynan, Jordan In: Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan XI.


Israel Geological Society (IGS) Annual Meeting 2010, Kibbutz Eilot, Israel

16. Shaar, R., Ben-Yosef, E., Ron, H., Agnon, A., Kessel, R., and Tauxe, L., 2010. Rapid variations in the geomagnetic field intensity recorded by copper slag from Timna, Israel, in: Israel Geological Society Annual Meeting 2010 -Kibbutz Eilot.


American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting 2009, San Francisco

15. Ben-Yosef, E., Tauxe, L., Levy, T.E., Shaar, R., Ron, H., and Najjar, M., 2009. Geomagnetic archaeointensity spike recorded in high resolution slag deposit in southern Jordan. in: EOS Trans. AGU, Fall Meeting Suppl. 90(52).


The 14th Israel Materials Engineering Conference ( IMEC ) 2009, Tel-Aviv

14. Shaar, R., Ben-Yosef, E., Ron, H., Tauxe, L., Kessel, R., and Agnon, A., 2009. Archaeomagnetic study of Iron Age copper slag.


Seventh International Conference on The BEGINNINGS OF THE USE OF METALS AND ALLOYS (BUMA-VII) 2009, Bangalore (two presentations)

13. Ben-Yosef, E., Levy, T.E., and Najjar, M., 2009. New avenues for studying the Iron Age copper industry in the southern Levant.

12. Ben-Yosef, E., Tauxe, L., Levy, T.E., Ron, H., and Agnon, A., 2009. Geomagnetic archaeointensity of slag samples as a tool for dating slag deposits: examples from the southern Levant.


Theoretical Archaology Group (TAG) Annual Meeting 2009, Stanford

11. Ben-Yosef, E., 2009. Debunking the deterministic paradigm: Reflection of Bedouin folklore in the archaeological evidence in Faynan, Jordan.

The 35 th Archaeological Congress in Israel 2009, Jerusalem, Israel

10. Ben-Yosef, E., Levy, T.E., and Najjar, M., 2009. The Levantine Copper Industry in the Beginning of the Iron Age: New Discoveries in the Faynan Region (Jordan) and Results of First Excavation Season at Khirbat al-Jariya (in Hebrew).

Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) Annual Meeting 2008, Boston

9. Ben-Yosef, E., and Levy, T.E., 2008. Metal Production and Social Complexity in Iron Age Edom: Preliminary Results from Excavations in Faynan, Jordan.


American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) Annual Meeting 2008, Boston

8. Ben-Yosef, E., 2008. The Iron Age Roads to Busayra: A New Regional Survey in Edom, Jordan.


MedArchNet 2008
First International Workshop on Cyberinfrastructure for the Mediterranean Archaeology Network, Calit2, San Diego

7. Ben-Yosef, E., Knabb, K., Levy, T.E., and Najjar, M., 2008. Regional Iron Age Settlement Patterns and GIS for Edom, Jordan.


American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) Annual Meeting 2007, San Diego

6. Ben-Yosef, E., Ron, H., Tauxe, L., Agnon, A., Levy, T.E., Avner, U., and Najjar, M., 2007. Archaeological applications of new approach to archaeomagnetic paleointensity investigation.


The 10th International Conference on the History and Archaeology of Jordan (ICHAJ) 2007, Washington

5. Ben-Yosef, E., Levy, T.E., and Najjar, M., 2009. Ras al-Miyah Fortresses: New Discoveries at One of the Gateways to the Iron Age Copper Production District of Faynan, Jordan, In: Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan X.

The 32nd Archaeological Congress in Israel 2006, Jerusalem, Israel

4. Ben-Yosef, E., 2006. Is the installation in site 39B in Timna really the oldest smelting furnace in the world? New evidence from a study on the quality of slag as geomagnetic paleointensity recorder. (in Hebrew).

Israel Geological Society (IGS) Annual Meeting 2006, Beit-Shean, Israel

3. Ben-Yosef, E., Ron, H., Agnon, A., Tauxe, L., Levy, T.E., Avner, U., and Najjar, M., 2006. New Geomagnetic Paleointensity Data from Slag Deposits and an Archaeological Aspect, in: Israel Geological Society Annual Meeting 2006 -Beit-Shean.

American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting 2005, San Francisco

2. Ben-Yosef, E., Tauxe, L., Ron, H., Agnon, A., Levy, T.E., Avner, U., Kessel, R., Najjar, M., Holtzer, A., and Steindorf, J., 2005. The Intensity of the Geomagnetic Field During the Last 6 Millennia as Recorded by Slag Deposits From Archaeological Sites in the Southern Levant, in: EOS Trans. AGU, Fall Meeting Suppl. 86(52).

Israel Geological Society (IGS) Annual Meeting 2005, Mashabim, Israel

1. Ben-Yosef, E., Ron, H., Agnon, A., Tauxe, L., Levy, T.E., Avner, U., and Najjar, M., 2005. The Intensity of the Geomagnetic Field During the Last 6 Millennia - Recorded in Slag Deposits from Archaeological Sites in the Southern Levant, in: Israel Geological Society Annual Meeting 2005 - Mashabim. ed. Gardosh, M.