Avi Gopher () is an Israeli archaeologist. He is a professor at the University of Tel Aviv.Estrin, Daniel., Archaeologists May Have Found the Earliest Evidence Yet for the Existence of Modern Man, Art Daily, Article from Associated Press, 27 December 2010.
Biography Avraham (Avi) Gopher completed his B.A. at Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1978, M.A. in 1981 and PhD in 1986.Prof. Avraham Gopher, Tel Aviv University He specialises in prehistoric Israel.
Archaeology career Gopher's work at Qesem with Ran Barkai and Israel Hershkovitz received considerable press coverage. The team claimed to have discovered the oldest homo sapiens remains ever found at the cave near Rosh HaAyin in central Israel. Their paper, published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, states that the human teeth they discovered are between 400,000 and 200,000 years old although it was impossible to definitely identify the particular species of human. In an interview, Gopher said "they definitely leave all options open. There's been a tendency for people to get so accustomed to the "out of Africa" hypothesis that they use it exclusively and explain any finding that doesn't fit it as evidence of yet another wave of migration out of Africa."
Gopher and agronomist Shahal Abbo of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have written a book that challenges the scientific consensus over the domestication of wild plants. They contend that the process of domestication was rapid, well-planned and organized, and that several plant species were domesticated in a single location.Israeli Researchers Trying to Force a Major Rethink of Prehistoric Agriculture in Area, Haaretz
Fieldwork
1977-1980 - Excavations with Prof. Ofer Bar-Yosef and Prof. Nigel Goring-Morris of projects in the southern Sinai such as Abu Madi. 1979 - Excavations at Qadesh Barnea 3 and Negev Highlands. 1977-1979 - Excavations at Hayonim Cave, Galilee, directed by Prof. Ofer Bar-Yosef. 1980-1981 - Excavations at Nahal Issaron, Uvda Valley, co-director with Prof. Nigel Goring-Morris. 1980-1981 - Excavations at Negev Highlands Project co- director with Prof. Nigel Goring-Morris. 1982 - Excavations at Ain Qadeis, co-director with Prof. S.A. Rosen and Prof. A. N. Goring-Morris. 1980-1986 - Netiv HaGdud, West Bank, co-director with Prof. O. Bar-Yosef. 1985 - Excavations at Mujahia, Golan Heights. 1985-1989 - Excavations at the Upper Galilee Project, Horvat Galil and Nahal Betzet I. 1986-1991 - Excavations at the Wadi Qana Cave, West Bank, co-director with Dr. T. Tsuk. 1987 - Excavations at Nahal Zehora I, Menashe Heights and Wadi Rabah. 1988-1990 - Survey and excavations at Palmahim. 1991-1993 - Excavations at Nahal Poleg 18 N. 1992 - Excavations at Neve Yarak (Lod), Shephelah. 1994-1996 - Excavations at Ain Darat, Judean Desert. 1997-1999 - Excavations at Nahal Hadera V, co-director with Dr. R. Barkai. 1997-1999 - Excavations at Qumran Cave 24, West Bank. 1997-2001 - Survey and excavations in the Central Dishon Valley, co-director with Dr. R. Barkai. 2001-2010 - Excavations at Qesem Cave, co-director with Dr. R. Barkai.
Published works
Books
Gopher, A., The flint assemblages of Munhata - final report. Les Cahiers Du Centre de Recherche Francais de Jerusalem, Vol. 4. Association Paléorient, Paris. 162 pp.; 59 Figs.; 8 Plates., 1989. Gopher, A., Arrowheads of the Neolithic Levant - A Seriation Analysis. ASOR - American Schools for Oriental Research Dissertation Series Vol. 10, Eisenbrauns, Winnona Lake, Indiana. 325 pp.; 101 Figs., 1994. Gopher, A. and Orrelle, E., The Groundstone Assemblages of Munhata, A Neolithic site in the Jordan Valley, Israel: A report. Les Cahiers Des Missions Archeologiques Francaises en Iserel, Vol. 7, Association Paléorient, Paris. 183 pp.; 47 Figs.; 10 Plates, 1995. Gopher, A. and Tsuk, T., The Nahal Qanah Cave, Earliest Gold in the southern Levant, Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology, Vol. 12. Tel Aviv University, Institute of Archaeology Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv. 250 pp.; 135 Figs.; 11 color Plates., 1996. Bar-Yosef, O. and Gopher, A., An Early Neolithic Village in the Jordan Valley, Part I: The Archaeology of Netiv Hagdud. American School of Prehistoric Research Bulletin 43, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography, Harvard University. 266 pp.; 165 Figs., 1997. Eisenberg, E., Gopher, A. and Greenberg, R., Tel Te'o – A Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age site in the Hula Valley. Israel Antiquities Authority Report Series no. 13. 250 pp.; 110 Figs.; 30 Plates., 2001. Bar-Yosef, O., Goring Morris, A. N. and Gopher, A. (eds.)., Gilgal: Early Neolithic Occupations in the Lower Jordan Valley: The Excvations of Tammar Noy . Oxbow Books, Oxford on behalf of the American School of Prehistoric Research. Gopher, A. Forthcoming. Village Communities of the Pottery Neolithic Period in the Menashe Hills, Israel, Archaeological Investigations at the Sites of Nahal Zehora.
Chapters in books, papers and articles
Gopher, A., Horvat Galil and Nahal Beset I: Two Neolithic Sites in the Upper Galilee . Mitekufat Haeven, Journal or the Israel Prehistoric Society Vol. 22: 82–92, 1989.
Gopher, A., Neolithic Arrowheads of the Levant: Results and Implications of a multidimensional seriation analysis. In: Aurench, O., Cauvin, M.C. and Sanlaville, P. (eds.) Préhistoire Du Levant - Processus des Changements Culturels. Association Paléorient, Paris, pp. 47–60, 1989. Gopher, A., Diffusion processes in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Levant: The case of the Helwan Point. In: Hershkovitz, I. (ed.) People and Culture in Change, Proceedings of the 2nd symposium on Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic populations in Europe and the Mediterranean basin. BAR International series 508, Oxford, pp. 91–105, 1989.
Gopher, A., Mujahia - An early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site in the Golan Heights. Tel Aviv, Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University vol. 17(2): 115–143. Hershkovitz, I. and Gopher, A. 1990. Paleodemography, burial customs and food-producing economy at the beginning of the Holocene: A perspective from the southern Levant. Mitekufat Haeven - Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society Vol. 23: pp. 9–47, 1990.
Goren, Y., Gopher, A. and Goldberg, P., The beginnings of pottery production in the southern Levant: technological and social aspects. In: Biran, A. and Aviram, J. (eds.) Biblical Archaeology today 1990, proceedings of the 2nd International congress on biblical archaeology, Jerusalem, June 1990, Pre-Congress Symposium: supplement. The Israel Exploration Society, Jerusalem, pp. 33–40, 1993.
Gopher, A., Pottery Neolithic 6th - 5th millennia B.C. industries of the Southern Levant seen through PPN glasses. In: Gebel, H.G. and Kozlowski, S. (eds.) Neolithic chipped stone industries of the Fertile Crescent Studies in Early Near Eastern Production, Subsistence and Environment No. 1, Berlin, Ex Oriente, pp. 563–567, 1994. Gopher, A., Goring-Morris, A.N. and Gordon, D., Nahal Issaron, the lithics of the later PPNB occupation. In: Gebel, H.G. and Kozlowski, S. (eds.) Neolithic chipped stone industries of the Fertile Crescent Studies in Early Near Eastern Production, Subsistence and Environment No. 1, Berlin, Ex Oriente, pp. 479–495, 1994. Goring-Morris, A.N., Gopher, A. and Rosen, S.A., The Neolithic Tuwailan cortical knife industry of the Negev, Israel. In: Gebel, H.G. and Kozlowski, S. (eds.) Neolithic chipped stone industries of the Fertile Crescent Studies in Early Near Eastern Production, Subsistence and Environment No. 1, Berlin, Ex Oriente, pp. 511–525, 1994. Gopher, A., Central and Southern Levant PPN cultural Sequences: time-space systematics through typological and stylistic approaches. In: Gebel, H.G. and Kozlowski, S. (eds.) Neolithic chipped stone industries of the Fertile Crescent Studies in Early Near Eastern Production, Subsistence and Environment No. 1, Berlin, Ex Oriente, pp. 387–393, 1994. Barkai, R., Burian, F., Friedman, E. and Gopher, A., 18-X - An Epipaleolithic collection from the Nahal Poleg area. Mitekufat Haeven - Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society. Vol. 26: 64–73, 1994–5. Gopher, A., Goring-Morris, A.N. and Rosen, S.A., Ein Qadis I: A Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Occupation in Eastern Sinai. Atiqot vol. XXVII: 15–33. Antiquities Authority of Israel, Jerusalem, 1995. Gopher, A., Ain Darat - A PPNA site in the Judean Desert, lithic assemblages of the 1994 season. Neo - Lithics 1/1995: 7–8, 1995. Gopher, A., Early Pottery - Bearing Groups in Israel - the Pottery Neolithic Period. In: Levy, T. A. (ed.) The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land. Leicester University Press, London, pp. 205–225, 1995. Goren, Y. and Gopher, A., The beginnings of pottery production in the Southern Levant: A model. In: Vincenzini, T. (ed.) The Ceramic Cultural Heritage, Techna Monographs in Materia and Society 2. Florence, pp. 21–28, 1995. Gopher, A. and Orrelle, E., New Data on Burials from the Pottery Neolithic Period (sixth-fifth Millennium BC ) in Israel. In Campbell, S. and Green, A. (eds.) The Archaeology of Death in the Ancient Near East. Oxbow Monograph 51, pp. 24–29, 1995.
Gopher, A. and Greenberg, R., The Pottery Neolithic Levels. In: Biran, A., Ilan, D. and Greenberg, R. (eds.) Dan I: A Chronicle of the Excavation, the Neolithic, the Early Bronze Age and the Middle Bronze Age Toombs. Hebrew Union College Annual Series, Jerusalem, pp. 67–81, 1996. Gopher, A., Infant burials in the Neolithic periods in the Southern Levant-Israel: A social view. In: Otte, M. (ed.) Nature et Culture, Actes du Colloque International, Liège, December 1993, pp. 913–918, 1996. Gopher, A., What happened to the Early PPNB? In: Kozlowski, S.K and Gebel, H.G. (eds.) Neolithic chipped stone industries of the Fertile Crescent and their contemporaries in adjacent regions. Studies in Early Near Eastern production, subsistence and environment 3, Berlin, ex Oriente, pp. 151–158, 1996. Gopher, A., A preliminary report on the flints from Ain Darat: a PPNA site in the Judean Desert. In: S. K. Kozlowski, S.K and Gebel, H.G. (eds.) Neolithic chipped stone industries of the Fertile Crescent and their contemporaries in adjacent regions. Studies in Early Near Eastern production, subsistence and environment 3, Berlin, ex Oriente, pp. 443–452, 1996. Gopher, A., Horvat Galil - An Early PPNB site in the Upper Galilee, Israel. Tel Aviv, Journal of the Institute of Archaeology Tel Aviv University 24 (2): 183–222, 1997. Gopher, A. and Barkai, R., Here are the microliths: a reply to "where are the microliths?" Neo-Lithics 1/97: 16–18, 1997. Barkai, R. and Gopher, A., Transversal burins from Nahal Zehora I, A Pottery Neolithic site in central Israel. Neo-Lithics 1/97: 20–23, 1997. Barkai, R., Gopher, A. and Friedman, E., Prehistoric occurrences in the western Samaria, the 1967-1968 survey. In: Finkelstein, I. and Lederman, Z. Highlands of many Cultures, The southern Samaria Survey, The Sites, pp. 857–881, 1997. Gopher, A. and Tsuk, T., Nahal Qanah Cave: a unique Chalcolithic burial Cave in West Samaria. In: Bansall, C. and Tolan-Smith C. (eds.) The Human Use of Caves, BAR International Series 667, Proceedings of the conference on the human use of caves, New Castle, July, 1993, pp. 167–174, 1997. Gopher, A., Burian, F. and Friedman, E., Prehistoric sites on the northern bank of Nahal Poleg: Site 18M revisited. Mitekufat Haeven - Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society Vol. 28: 81–104, 1998. Gopher, A. and Goring-Morris A. N., Abu Salem: A Pre Pottery Neolithic B camp in the Central Negev Highlands, Israel. Bulletin of the American School for Oriental Research 312: 1-20, 1998. Barkai, R. and Gopher, A., Reintroducing butt scrapers (racloire sur talon): another look at a non-formal tool type. Lithic Technology 23(1): 20–26, 1998.