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 benefit of humanity.
Jan 28, 2014...
An arrow points to the Qesem Cave hearth, where hominins may have tended to fires as early as 300,000 years ago. WEIZMANN INSTITUTE
A newly discovered hearth full of ash and charred bone in a cave in modern-day Israel hints that early humans sat around fires as early as 300,000 years ago — before Homo sapiens arose in Africa.
In and around the hearth, archaeologists say they also found bits of stone tools that were likely used for butchering and cutting animals.
Aug 05, 2019...
JERUSALEM, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) – Researchers from Israel, China, the United States and Switzerland have found that water accumulated in an ancient aquifer in the south part of the Israel is 360,000 years old, the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS), located in central Israel, reported on Sunday.
The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), help expose global climate change processes.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/in-search-of-the-wild-fava-bean/
Dec 07, 2016...
14,000-year-old faba seeds contain clues to the timing of the plants’ domestication.
Like all food crops, the faba, or fava, bean – a nutritious part of the diets of many cultures – had a wild ancestor. Wild faba is presumed to be extinct, but Weizmann Institute of Science researchers have now identified 14,000-year-old remains of seeds that offer important clues as to the time and place that this plant grew naturally. Understanding the ecology of the wild plants’ environment and the evolution they underwent in the course of domestication is crucial to improving the biodiversity of the modern crop. The findings were reported in Scientific Reports.
Jun 19, 2017...
The Spring Citadel was excavated in the City of David National Park by dozens of researchers led by Professor Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa and Eli Shukrun of the Israel Antiquities Authority and dated to 3,800 years ago. (City of David)
A new Weizmann Institute study has discovered radiocarbon-dating evidence of the First Temple period under a tower in Jerusalem’s City of David that was previously dated to the Canaanite period. The findings, based on soil samples taken from under a seven-meter thick walled tower, shave nearly a thousand years from previous archaeological dating of the structure, which placed it c. 1700 BCE — and contradict a presumed biblical linkage to the site.
Sep 11, 2019...
Three fragments from the Temple Scroll, one the Dead Sea Scrolls, is displayed at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in Beachwood, Ohio, March 28, 2006. (AP Photo/Jamie-Andrea Yanak, File)
Among the thousands pieces of parchment found in caves above the Dead Sea, the one known as the Temple Scroll has stood out for its shape, color and fairly unblemished text compared to the rest of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Aug 10, 2018...
(Credit: Martin M303/Shutterstock)
Scientists may have miscalculated the age of an olive branch that has served as a key piece of evidence in dating the Santorini eruption, according to a new study.
The findings cast doubt on the accuracy of an analysis of the millennia-old branch, suggesting it may predate by several decades the natural disaster that fundamentally altered the political landscape of the Mediterranean and has been used to anchor much of the chronology of ancient history.
Jan 08, 2014...
Evidence of ancient habitation at Mashabei Sadeh, 4,500 years ago, but what did they live on? Photo by Zach Dunseth
The Negev has been inhabited for thousands of years, sometimes quite thickly. Archaeological evidence has shown there were sudden population explosions in the desert highlands. Some lasted longer than others, but all receded back into the desert sand — but just how did any of them survive in the deep desert?
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-march-2015/
Mar 02, 2015...
Manot Cave cranium
A partial human skull unearthed in 2008 in northern Israel may hold some clues as to when and where humans and Neanderthals might have interbred. The key to addressing this, as well as other important issues, is precisely determining the age of the skull. A combination of dating methods, one of them performed by Dr. Elisabetta Boaretto, head of the Weizmann Institute’s D-REAMS (DANGOOR Research Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) laboratory, has made it possible to define the period of time that the cave was occupied and, thus, the skull’s age. The combined dating provides evidence that Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis could have lived side by side in the area.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/uncovering-varied-pathways-to-agriculture/
Dec 06, 2017...
Prof. Elisabetta Boaretto and Dr. Tobias Richter. In the foreground is a Natufian hearth at Shubayqa, Jordan
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—December 6, 2017— Around 15,000 years ago, the Natufian culture appeared in what is today’s Middle East. This culture, which straddled the border between nomadic and settled lifestyles, had diverse, complex origins – much more than researchers had assumed. This finding arises from new research by a team of scientists and archaeologists from the Weizmann Institute of Science and the University of Copenhagen.
Sep 02, 2019...
A view of Earth from space. Two billion years ago the planet would have looked very different. Researchers have now found evidence of a massive die-off event from this time. NASA/GSFC
Scientists have discovered a mass die-off that took place two billion years ago—with up to 99.5 percent of life on Earth disappearing. The massive die-off saw more of the planet’s biosphere vanish than when the dinosaurs were wiped off the face of the planet 65 million years ago, researchers say.
©2023 American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science
FOR THE FOURTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR
