Nitzan Mekel-Bobrov
Ph.D. Student
Near Eastern Archaeology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Chicago
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Education:
- BA in Biological Anthropology and Classical Archaeology, Brandeis University, 2000
MA in Social Sciences, University of Chicago, 2001
Advisor:
- Shannon Hackett, Ph.D.
Awards:
- University Scholar Award in Social Sciences, Brandeis University
Leon Levy Expedition Research Grant, Harvard University
Research Interests:
- I am interested in topics related to conservation biology, biogeography, spatial ecology and the evolution of Neotropical amphibians.
Current Research:
- In the past decade the field of ancient DNA analysis has made great progress, such that the isolation and analysis of genetic material from skeletal remains has become increasingly routine in spite of the inherent difficulties. Consequently, large-scale analysis has become feasible and for the first time it is possible to address population-level questions using molecular remains. My research project is a reconstruction of kinship patterns in the Bronze Age Levant, through an interdisciplinary approach, combining both the genetic and archaeological datasets. Specifically, I’m comparing the amount of variation found at the mtDNA Hypervariable Segments I, II and II, with that found at several Y-chromosome microsatellite loci, in order to ascertain the dominant kinship pattern, and trying to retrace the movement of specific lineages through the region.
The interdisciplinary study of kinship in antiquity has both archaeological and evolutionary implications. On the one end, much of the archaeological investigation of Bronze Age Levantine culture has rested on the assumption of specific kin-based ideologies, the biological foundation of which can only be tested through the analysis of ancient DNA. On the other end, the evolutionary effects of kin-based behaviour on the genetic structure of a population may be exceedingly important and requires further investigation.
Publications:
- Bone Sampling for Ancient DNA Analysis: A Systematic Study of the Effects of Bone Morphology on Biomolecular Preservation. Essays from The 6th International Meeting on Ancient DNA and Associated Biomolecules. Tel Aviv, 2002.
Results of Ancient DNA Analysis of Human Remains from Middle Bronze Age Tombs at Ashkelon. In Ashkelon Excavation Report Vol. III.
Oral and Poster Presentations:
- Bone Sampling for Ancient DNA Analysis: A Systematic Study of the Effects of Bone Morphology on Biomolecular Preservation. The 6th International Meeting on Ancient DNA and Associated Biomolecules. Tel Aviv, 2002.
The Biological Investigation of Ancient Ethnicities. Theoretical Archaeology Group Conference. Dublin, 2001.
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