Prof. Dafna Langgut

CURRENT POSITION

Lecturer at the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures

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Head of the Laboratory of Archaeobotany and Ancient Environments, Institute of Archaeology and The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History

 

 

Research Interests

• Reconstruction of Ancient Near Eastern vegetation and climate during prehistoric and historic periods.
• Interrelations between humans and the ancient environment, including, amongst others, the role of climate conditions in the dispersal of hominins Out-of-Africa, the onset of plant cultivation and natural vs. cultural landscapes.
• Archaeobotany – the identification of botanical remains from archaeological contexts (primarily pollen grains and wood-charcoal remains) for the reconstruction of: ancient agriculture, plant usage (construction, fuel, diet, medicinal and cultic purposes), ancient prestigious gardens, trade patterns and wooden implements.
• Archaeoparasitology – the study of health, diseases and epidemics in ancient human populations based on intestinal parasite remains (mainly eggs). 

Articles in peer-reviewed journals:

 

2023

Langgut D. and Finkelstein I. 2023. Environment, subsistence strategies and settlement seasonality in the Negev Highlands (Israel) during the Bronze and Iron Ages: The palynological evidence. PLoS ONE 18: e0285358.

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Shemer M., Boaretto E., Greenbaum N., Bar-Yosef D., Tejero J.M., Langgut D., Lokshin Gnezdilov D., Barzilai O., Marder O., Marom N. In Press. The Early Upper Paleolithic of Nahal Rahaf 2 rockshelter: new insights on the cultural composition of the southern Levant. Journal of Human Evolution 178: 103342.

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Mitchell P.D., Wang T., Billig Y.A., Gadot Y., Warnock P. and Langgut D. 2023. Giardia duodenalis and dysentery in Iron Age Jerusalem (7th–6th century BCE). Parasitology: 1-7.

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Ogloblin Ramirez I., Grono E., Zuckerman‐Cooper R., Langgut D., Galili E. and Friesem D.E. 2023. Microarchaeological approach to underwater stratigraphy of submerged settlements: A case study of Atlit‐Yam Pre‐Pottery Neolithic site, off the Carmel Coast, Israel. Geoarchaeology: 1-31.

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Vardi J., Yegorov D., Degen-Eisenberg D., Boaretto E., Langgut D., Avni Y., Caracuta V. 2023. The utilization and extinction of Juniper trees from the Negev desert (Israel) - Data from a late 6th–5th millennia site of Har Harif. Journal of Arid Enivronments 210: 104906.

 

2022

 

Finkelstein I., Gadot Y., Langgut D. 2022. The Unique Specialised Economy of Judah under Assyrian Rule and its Impact on the Material Culture of the Kingdom. Palestine Exploration Quarterly 153: 261-279.

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Cavanagh M., Ben-Yosef E., Langgut D. 2022. Fuel exploitation and environmental degradation at the Iron Age copper industry of the Timna Valley, southern Israel. Scientific Reports 12: 15434.

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Langgut D. and Garfinkel Y. 2022. 7000-year-old evidence of fruit tree cultivation in the Jordan Valley, Israel. Scientific Reports 12: 7463.

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Langgut D. 2022. Prestigious Early Roman gardens across the Empire: The significance of gardens and horticultural trends evidenced by pollen. Palynology 46: 1-17. ​

 

Heinzelmann M., Schöne Ch.A., Schröder A., Wozniok D., Jordan F., Erickson-Gini T., Kühn M., Langgut D., Lehnig S. In Press. Elusa: From Nabatean Trading Post to Late Antique Desert Metropolis. Results of the 2015—2020 Seasons. Archäologischer Anzeiger 1: 1-84.

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Fuks D., Melamed Y., Langgut D., Erickson-Gini T., Tepper Y., Bar-Oz G., Weiss E. 2022. Unprecedented yet gradual nature of first millennium CE intercontinental crop plant dispersal revealed in ancient Negev desert refuse. BioRxiv.

Langgut D. 2022. Mid-7th century BC human parasite remains from Jerusalem. International Journal of Paleopathology 35: 1-7.

 

Tepper Y. Porat N. Langgut D. Barazani O. Kumar Bajpai P. Dag A. Ehrlich Y. Boaretto E. Bar-Oz G. 2022. Relict olive trees at runoff agriculture remains in Wadi Zetan, Negev Desert, Israel. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 41: 103302 .

2021 

Langgut D. Cheddadi R. Sharon G., in press. Climate and environmental reconstruction of the Epipaleolithic Mediterranean Levant (22.0-11.9 ka cal. BP). Quaternary Science Reviews 270: 1-15.

 

Finkelstein, I., Gadot, Y. and Langgut, D., 2021. The Unique Specialised Economy of Judah under Assyrian Rule and its Impact on the Material Culture of the Kingdom. Palestine Exploration Quarterly 153. 1-19.

 

Galili E. Langgut D. Terral J. F. et al. 2021. Early Production of Table Olives at a mid-7th millennium BP Submerged Site off the Carmel Coast (Israel). Scientific Reports 11: 1-15.

 

Langgut D., Tepper Y., Benzaquen M., Erickson-Gini T., Bar-Oz G. 2021. Environment and horticulture in the Byzantine Negev Desert, Israel: sustainability, prosperity and enigmatic decline. Quaternary International. 593: 160-177.

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Dorchin, A., Shafir, A., Neumann, F.H., Langgut, D., Vereecken, N., Mayrose, I., 2021. Bee flowers drive macroevolutionary diversification in long-horned bees. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 288: 20210533.

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Ashkenazi, E., Tepper, Y., Zituni, R., Langgut, D., Dafni, A. and Bar-Oz, G., 2021. Poplar trees in Israel's desert regions: Relicts of Roman and Byzantine settlement. Journal of Arid Environments. 193: 104574.

 

Ashkenazi H. Langgut D. Lev-Yadun S. Weiss E. N. Liphschitz, G. Kahila Bar-Gal, Goren Y. 2021. Microhistory in archaeology and its contribution to the archaeological research: the burial from “The Cave of the Warrior” as a Test Case. Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies 9: 377-395.

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2020 

​Fuks D., Bar-Oz G. Tepper Y. Erickson-Gini T. Langgut D. Weissbrod L. Weiss E. 2020. The rise and fall of viticulture in the Late Antique Negev Highlands reconstructed from archaeobotanical and ceramic data. PNAS: Proceedings of the American National Academy of Sciences. 117: 19780-19791.

 

Langgut D. and Gleason K. 2020. Identification of the miniaturized garden of King Herod the Great: The fossil pollen evidence. Strata 38: 71-101. 

 

Sharon G. Grosman L. Allué E. Barash A. Mayer D.E.B.Y. Biton R. Bunin E. Langgut D., Melamed Y. Mischke S. Valletta F. Munro N. 2020. Jordan River Dureijat: 10,000 years of intermittent Epipaleolithic activity on the shore of Paleolake Hula. PaleoAnthropology. 2020: 34–64.

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Barrett, C., Gleason, K. Marzano, A., Langgut D. 2020. The Casa della Regina Carolina (CRC) project, Pompeii: preliminary report on 2018 and 2019 field seasons. FastiOnlineDocuments & Research.

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2019 

 

Langgut D., Cheddadi R. Carrión J.S. Cavanagh M. Colombaroli D. Eastwood W.J. Greenberg R. Litt T. Mercuri A.M. Miebach, A. Roberts N. Woldring H. Woodbridge J. 2019. The origin and spread of olive cultivation in the Mediterranean Basin. The Holocene 29: 902-922.

 

Sitry I. Langgut D. 2019. Wooden Objects from the Colt Collection – Shivta. Michmanim 28: 31-46. 

 

Bar-Oz G. Weissbrod L. Erickson-Gini T. Tepper Y. Malkinson D. Benzaquen M. Langgut D. Dunseth C.Z. Butler D.H. Shahack-Gross R. Roskin J. Fuks D. Weiss E. Marom N. Ktalav I. Blevis R. Zohar I. Farhi Y. Yan X. Boaretto E. 2019. Ancient trash mounds unravel urban collapse a century before the end of Byzantine hegemony in the southern Levant. PNAS: Proceedings of the American National Academy of Sciences 116: 8239-8248.

 

Benzaquen M. Finkelstein I. Langgut D. 2019. Vegetation History and Human Impact on the Environs of Tel Megiddo in the Bronze and Iron Ages (ca. 3,500-500 BCE): A Dendroarchaeological Analysis. Tel Aviv 46: 42-61.

 

Roth H. Gadot Y. Langgut D. 2019. Wood Economy in Early Roman Period Jerusalem. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (BASOR). 382: 71-87.​

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Dunseth Z.C. Fuks D. Langgut D. Weiss E. Melamed Y. Butler D.H. Yan X. Boaretto E. Tepper Y. Bar-Oz G. Shahack-Gross R. 2019. Archaeobotanical proxies and archaeological interpretation: a comparative study of phytoliths, pollen and seeds in dung pellets and refuse deposits at Early Islamic Shivta, Negev, Israel. Quaternary Science Reviews 211: 166-185.

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Palmisano A. Woodbridge J. Roberts N. Bevan A. Shennan S. Fyfe R. Cheddadi R. Greenberg R. Kaniewski D. Khater C. Langgut D. Leroy S.A.G. Litt T. Miebach A. 2019. Holocene Landscape Dynamics and Long-term Population Trends in the southern Levant. The Holocene 29: 708-727.

 

 

2018

 

Langgut D. Almogi-Labin A. Bar-Matthews M. Pickarski N. Weinstein-Evron M. 2018. Evidence for a humid interval at ~56–44 ka in the Levant and its potential link to modern humans dispersal out of Africa. Journal of Human Evolution 124: 75-90.

 

Finkelstein I. Langgut D. 2018. Climate, Settlement History and Olive Cultivation in the Iron Age Southern Levant. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (BASOR) 379: 153-169.

 

Galili E. Cvikel D. Benjamin J. Langgut D. McCarthy J. Cavanagh M. Sapir Y. Weinstein-Evron M. Chaim S. Rosen B. and Kolska Horwitz K. 2018. Coastal Paleoenvironments and Prehistory of the Submerged Pottery Neolithic Settlement of Kfar Samir (Israel). Paléorient 44: 113-132.

 

Langgut D.  2018. Late Quaternary Nile flows as recorded in the Levantine Basin: The palynological evidence. Quaternary International 464: 273-284.

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Greener A. Finkelstein I. Langgut D. 2018. Settlement oscillations along the desert fringes of the Southern Levant: impact of climate versus economic and historical factors. Ugarit-Forschungen 49: 195-226.

 

Davidovich U. Ullman M. Langford B. Frumkin A. Langgut D. Yahalom-Mack N. Abramov J. Marom N. 2018. Distancing the Dead: Late Chalcolithic burials in large maze caves in the Negev Desert, Israel. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (BASOR) 379: 113-152.

 

 

2017

 

 

Langgut D. 2017. The Citrus route revealed: from Southeast Asia into the Mediterranean. HortScience 52: 814-822.

 

Langgut D. Lipschits O. 2017. Dry Climate during the Babylonian and the Early Persian Period and its Impact on the Creation of Idumea. Transeuphraténe 49: 141-172.

 

Ben Yosef E. Langgut D. Sapir-Hen L. 2017. Beyond smelting: New insights on Iron Age (10th c. BCE) metalworkers community from excavations at a gatehouse and associated livestock pens in Timna, Israel. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 11: 411-426.

 

Finkelstein I. Langgut D. Meiri M. Sapir-Hen L. 2017. Egyptian Imperial Economy in Canaan: Reaction to the Climate Crisis at the End of the Late Bronze Age. Egypt and the Levant 27: 249-259.

 

Kisilevitz S. Turgeman-Yaffe Z. Ben-Ari N. Ilan D. Marom N. Weisbrod L. Nagar Y. Langgut D. 2017. New Insights into Burial Customs during the Middle Bronze Age in the Jerusalem Region, in Light of Recent Excavations at the Manaḥat Spur. New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and its Region 11: 38-63.

 

Langgut D. Yahalom-Mack N. Lev-Yadun S. Kremer E. Ullman M. Davidovich U. 2017. On Chalcolithic maceheads and spinning implements. Antiquity 91: 777-782.

 

Ashkenazi D. Cvikel D. Langgut D. Rosen B. Galili E. 2017. Artillery and rigging artefacts from the Megadim wreck-site, Israel. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 13: 1-16.

 

Faust, A., Katz, H., Sapir, Y., Avraham, A., Marder, O., Bar-Oz, G., ... & Vilnay, O. Langgut, D., Benzaquen M., 2017. The birth, life and death of an Iron Age house at Tel ‘Eton, Israel. Levant 49, 136-173.

 

Paz Y. Ackermann O. Avni Y.  Ben-Hur M. Birkenfeld M. Langgut D. Mizrahi S. Weiss E. Porat N. 2017. The Earliest Compost Pit? An Early Bronze Age Fertilized Agricultural Plot Discovered near Tel Yarmouth, Ramat Bet Shemesh, Israel. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 15: 226-234.

 

 

2016

 

Langgut D. Adams M.J. Finkelstein I. 2016. Climate, settlement patterns and olive horticulture in the southern Levant during the Early Bronze and Intermediate Bronze Ages (ca. 3600–1950 BCE). Levant 48: 117-134.

 

Weinstein-Evron M. Langgut D. Chaim S. Tsatskin A. Nadel D. 2016. Late Pleistocene palynological sequence from Ohalo II, Sea of Galilee, Israel. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa 70: 219-232.

 

Ashkenazi D. Inberg A. Langgut D. Hendler N. Cvikel D. 2016. Brass–iron couple and brass–iron–wood ternary system of metal objects from the Akko 1 shipwreck (Israel). Corrosion Science 110: 228-241.‏

 

Roth H. Zanton N. Langgut D. 2016. Prestige and splendor evident from the stepped street (Jerusalem): a dendroarchaeological evidence. New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and its Region, 10: 128-148 (Hebrew).

 

Langgut D. Yahalom-Mack N. Lev-Yadun S. Kremer E. Ullman M. Davidovich U. 2016. The earliest Near-Eastern wooden spinning implements. Antiquity 90: 973-990.

 

Langgut D. Shahack-Gross R. Arie E. Namdar D. Amrani A. Le Bailly M. Finkelstein I. 2016. Micro-archaeological indicators for identifying ancient cess deposits: an example from Late Bronze Age Megiddo, Israel. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 9: 375-385.

 

 

2015

 

Langgut D. Finkelstein I. Litt T. Neumann H.F. Stein M. 2015. Vegetation and climate changes during the Bronze and Iron Ages (~3600-600 BCE) in the southern Levant based on palynological records. Radiocarbon 57: 217-235.

 

Langgut D. 2015. Prestigious fruit trees in ancient Israel: First palynological evidence for growing Juglans regia andCitrus medica. Israel Journal of Plant Sciences 62: 98-110.

 

Langgut D. Yannai E. Taxel I. Agnon A. Marco S. 2015. Resolving a historical earthquake date at Tel Yavneh (central Israel) using pollen seasonality. Palynology 40: 145-159.

 

Yahalom-Mack N. Langgut D., Dvir O. Tirosh O. Eliyahu-Behar A. Erel Y. Langford B. Frumkin A. Ullman M. Davidovich, U. 2015. The Earliest Lead Object in the Levant. PloS ONE 10(12): e0142948.

 

Pickarski N. Kwiecien O. Langgut D. Litt T. 2015. Abrupt climate and vegetation variability of eastern Anatolia during the last glacial. Climate of the Past, 11: 1491-1505.‏

 

Nadel D. Bar-Oz G. Malkinson D.  Spivak P. Langgut D. Porat N. Khechoyan A. Nachmias A. Crater-Gershtein E. Katinaa A.  Bermatov-Paz G. Nahapetyan S. Gasparyan B. 2015. New Insights into Desert Kites in Armenia: The Fringes of the Ararat Depression. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 26: 120-143.

 

Langgut D. Gleason K. Burrell B. 2015. Pollen Analysis as Evidence for Herod's Royal Garden at the Promontory Palace, Caesarea. Israel Journal of Plant Sciences 62: 111-121.

 

Kagan E.J. Langgut D. Boaretto E. Neumann H.F. Stein M. 2015. Chronology of Dead Sea levels during the Bronze-Iron ages. Radiocarbon 57: 237-252.

 

 

2014

 

Langgut D. Neumann F.H. Stein M. Wagner A. Kagan E.J. Boaretto E. Finkelstein I. 2014. Dead Sea Pollen Record and History of Human Activity in the Judean Highlands (Israel) from the Intermediate Bronze into the Iron Ages (~2500-500 BCE). Palynology 38: 1-23.

 

Langgut D. Lev-Yadun S. Finkelstein I. 2014. The Impact of Olive Orchard Abandonment and Rehabilitation on Pollen Signature: An experimental approach to evaluating fossil pollen data. Ethnoarchaeology 6: 121-135.

 

Langgut D. Gadot Y. Lipschits O. 2014. "Fruit of goodly trees" - The beginning of citron cultivation in Israel and its penetration into Jewish tradition and culture. Beit Mikra 59: 38-55. (Hebrew).

 

Finkelstein I. Langgut D. 2014. Dry Climate in the Middle Bronze I and its Impact on Settlement Patterns in the Levant and Beyond: New Pollen Evidence. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 73: 219-234. 

 

 

2013

 

Langgut D. 2013. The Role of Pollen Analysis in Archaeology. Cathedra 150: 37-50 (Hebrew).

 

Langgut D. Finkelstein I. Litt T. 2013. Climate and the Late Bronze Collapse: New Evidence from the Southern Levant. Tel Aviv 40: 149-175.

 

Langgut D. Gadot Y. Porat N. Lipschits O. 2013. Fossil Pollen Reveals the Secrets of Royal Persian Garden at Ramat Rahel (Jerusalem). Palynology 37: 115-129.

 

Previous

 

Finkelstein I. Ben Dor Evian S. Boaretto E. Cabanes D. Cabanes M. Eliyahu A. Feigenbaum S. Gadot Y. Langgut D. Martin M. Meiri M. Namdar D. Sapir-Hen L. Shahack-Gross R. Shaus A. Sober B. Tofollo M. Yahalom-Mack N. Zapassky L. Weiner S. 2012. Reconstructing Ancient Israel: Integrating Macro- and Micro-archaeology1. Biblical History and Ancient Israel 1: 133-150.

 

Lipschits O. Gadot Y. Langgut D. 2012. The Riddle of Ramat Rahel: The Archaeology of a Royal Edifice from the Persian Periods. Transeuphraténe 41: 57-79.

 

Langgut D. Almogi-Labin A. Bar-Matthews M. Weinstein-Evron M. 2011. Vegetation and Climate changes in the South-Eastern Mediterranean during the Last Glacial-Interglacial cycle (86 ka): new marine pollen record.Quaternary Science Reviews 30: 3960-3972.

 

Waisel Y. Eshel A. Keynan N. Langgut D. 2009. Ambrosia: A New Impending Disaster for the Israeli Allergic Population. The Israel Medical Association Journal 10: 1-2.

 

Kadosh (Langgut) D. 2005. The Use of Pollen Grains in Climate Reconstruction: an example from Dor, Carmel Coast, Israel. Ofakim 64-65: 187-202 (Hebrew).

 

Kadosh (Langgut) D. Sivan D. Kutiel H. Weinstein-Evron M. 2004. Late Quaternary Paleoenvironments in Dor, Carmel Coastal Plain, Israel. Palynology 28: 143-157.

 

 

Books and Monographs:

 

Langgut D., 2008. Late Quaternary Palynological Sequences from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Monograph of the Geological Survey, Israel, GSI/16/08. The Israeli Geological Survey, Jerusalem.

 

Lev-Yadun. S. and D. Langgut. 2015. Israel Journal of Plant Sciences 2015‎ - special double issue in honor of Prof. D. )Zohary. (Guest Editor with S. Lev Yadun 

2022

Langgut D. 2022. Mid-7th century BC human parasite remains from Jerusalem. International Journal of Paleopathology 35: 1-7.

Tepper Y. Porat N. Langgut D. Barazani O. Kumar Bajpai P. Dag A. Ehrlich Y. Boaretto E. Bar-Oz G. 2022. Relict olive trees at runoff agriculture remains in Wadi Zetan, Negev Desert, Israel. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 41: 103302 .