Research Laboratories

Dan David Laboratory for the Search and Study of Modern Humans

Prof. Israel Hershkovitz

The laboratory focuses on three main topics:

1. Searching for the origin of anatomically modern humans: The origin of anatomically modern Homo sapiens and the fate of the Neanderthals have been fundamental questions in human evolutionary studies for over a century. We are interested in answering fundamental questions in human paleontology such as: Where and when did modern humans first appear? and what were their routes of dispersal?
2. Medicine from evolutionary perspectives: We are studying common pathologies in the modern population from an evolutionary perspective in the effort to understand their development and suggest a therapeutic solution. For example: the etiology and pathophysiology of the sacro-iliac joint ankylosing, mal-orientation of the sacrum and its association with spinal deformities (i.e., spondylolisthesis, scoliosis, etc), pathophysiology of spinal stenosis, revealing variation in lumbar spinal curves, and understanding the 3-D structure and shape of the annulus fibrosus of the intervertebral ring via MRI.
3. Forensic anthropology: Developing methods for analyzing skeletal remains and reconstructing their cause of death. For example: the association between the pattern of fractures in the lower limb bones and the physical characteristic (size, velocity etc) of the impact.