About Us
Founded in 1944, the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science develops philanthropic support for the Weizmann Institute in Israel, and advances its mission of science for the future of humanity.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/blog/what-an-alien-can-teach-us-about-ourselves/
Apr 30, 2018...
We want to believe: “Ata,” a mummy found in Chile’s Atacama region, inspired theories and rumors.Credit: Bhattacharya, S. et al., 2018
It started the way some of the best mysteries do: a strange discovery in a remote and otherworldly place; rumors that spread through obscure corners of the world, occasionally flickering into view; and the resolution of the mystery, revealing that the truth is as curious as the rumors. (Well, almost.)
Sep 24, 1996...
REHOVOT, Israel—September 24, 1996—Prehistoric ashes can now be recognized and analyzed with precision for the first time, thanks to a discovery made by a Weizmann Institute of Science researcher.
The finding, reported in the September issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science, is expected to shed new light on the ways primitive humans used fire, and on their lifestyles and environment. While humans are believed to have first harnessed fire at least 500,000 years ago, ash—the most direct evidence of fire—is hard to find and even harder to recognize, because most of the minerals in it are highly reactive and unstable, and begin changing within days of a fire's going out.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/past-perfect/
Sep 21, 2009... The present can supply us with intriguing glimpses into the past. In geology, for example, long-term processes that continue to this day can shed light on those belonging to the distant past. The same principle guides ethno-archaeologists, who study today’s traditional societies to learn about the lifestyles of ancient cultures. Dr. Ruth Shahack-Gross, who began her research career as a geologist, became captivated by this approach when she turned to archaeology: “I was immediately fascinated by the idea of learning about the past from contemporary traditional lifestyles,” she says.
Sep 21, 2016...
From a charred Hebrew scroll, researchers resurrected one of the earliest known versions of the Old Testament using a new digital reconstruction technique that may prove invaluable in revealing words from other previously unreadable finds, said scientists who plan to make the imaging software freely available.
In research published in Science Advances Wednesday, computer analysts at the University of Kentucky in Lexington detailed the technology they used to reveal text within a roll of parchment reduced to charcoal in a burning synagogue 1,500 years ago, “virtually unwrapping” the scroll without ever actually touching the artifact.
Jan 11, 2012... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—January 11, 2012—When did modern humans arrive in Europe and Asia? At what rate have cultural changes spread from one region to another throughout history? How did Neanderthal teeth and bones differ from ours? These are examples of topics to be investigated at the new Max Planck – Weizmann Institute of Science Center in the Field of Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology.
Oct 13, 2015...
Charred 10,000 year-old fava beans. An amount like that would have been extremely difficult to gather from wild plants, indicating the legume had been domesticated. Credit: Jacob Vardi, Israel Antiquities Authority
Israelis mix them into their hummus. Egyptians eat them mashed for breakfast. It turns out both are following a proud tradition: A new study strongly suggests that humans living in the Galilee first domesticated fava beans more than 10,000 years ago, eating them as a staple well before grain began to be cultivated in the area.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/oldest-use-of-flowers-in-grave-lining/
Jul 10, 2013... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—July 10, 2013—When did people first begin to express their feelings with flowers? It turns out that in prehistoric times, Mount Carmel residents in what today is northern Israel buried their dead on a literal bed of fragrant wild flowers, such as Judean sage, as well as blooming plants of the mint and figwort families. Assuming they had the same positive associations with flowers that we do today, these ancient humans must have sought to ensure for the deceased a pleasant passage from the world of the living.
Dec 05, 2017...
Archaeologists working at the Shubayqa 1 site. Credit: University of Copenhagen
UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN - FACULTY OF HUMANITIES—New research by a team of scientists and archaeologists based at the Weizmann Institute of Science and the University of Copenhagen suggests that the 15,000-year-old ‘Natufian Culture’ could live comfortably in the steppe zone of present-day eastern Jordan - this was previously thought to be either uninhabitable or only sparsely populated.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/jerusalem-tower-younger-than-thought/
Jun 16, 2017...
Recently uncovered remains of a massive stone tower built to guard Gihon Spring – a vital water supply just downhill from the ancient city of Jerusalem
Gihon Spring, just downhill from the ancient city of Jerusalem, was crucial to the survival of its inhabitants, and archaeologists had uncovered the remains of a massive stone tower built to guard this vital water supply. Based on pottery and other regional findings, the archaeologists had originally assigned it a date of 1,700 BCE. But new research conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science provides conclusive evidence that the stones at the base of the tower were laid nearly 1,000 years later. Among other things, the new results highlight the contribution of advanced scientific dating methods to understanding the history of the region.
Aug 10, 2012...
An archaeological dig in Tel Tzafit, the hometown of biblical giant Goliath. Photo by Richard Whiskin
Gath, the capital city of the Bible's bad guys as well as the hometown of Goliath, is known today as Tel Tzafit. Not far from Kiryat Gat, Tel Tzafit has been excavated for 16 years now by Prof. Aren Maeir of Bar-Ilan University.
But while thousands of artifacts and vessels have been unearthed, including a four-horned altar, as well as just this year, huge fortifications, doctoral candidate Yotam Asher of the Weizmann Institute is concentrating on a few faded white patches of rock.
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