Personal profile
Research interests
My research focuses on early societies of the southern Levant; I study the later pre-historic and early proto-historic periods, a time of extensive transformations in human evolution, such as the transition from mobile hunter-gatherers to settled agriculturalists and the development of complex, hierarchical societies. Methodologically, I specialize in computer applications, ameliorating and enhancing ‘traditional’ archaeological methods with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and other Digital Humanities methods and technologies.
Through the study of human activities within their contexts, I explore socio-economic and cultural processes. My research attempts the synergy of my two areas of expertise; I believe that exploring the subtle relationships between human action and space at various scales of reference (from intra- to inter-site and from the single activity to the regional and supra-regional scales) enables the necessary breadth and depth needed to investigate complex human processes. To do so I employ long-established archaeological methods, augmented with spatial statistics and cutting-edge computerized methods, specifically GIS, remote sensing and 3D digital recording and analyses.
In recent years, my research has focused on the Early eolithic of the southern Negev Desert. The human encounter with the arid environment resulted in very distinct adaptations, and different ways of exploiting and manipulating the natural world. Through the study of Neolithic activity and its organization within the broader geographic and social contexts, I search for a systemic understanding of Neolithic socio-economic and ritual systems and how they were structured and integrated within the extreme environment of the region.
Keywords
- GF Human ecology. Anthropogeography
- desertification
- human resilience
- Geoinformatics
- GIS
- CC Archaeology
- Prehistory
- Neolithic
- Digital Archaeology
- GIS
- Computer applications
- Spatial archaeology
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Procurement of Senonian Flint for Bladelets Production at the Early PPNB Site of Nahal Zahal in the Northern Negev Established for the First Time Using Chemical Composition Analysis
Finkel, M., Birkenfeld, M., Abulafia, T., Weiss-Sarusi, K., Berlin, O. & Ben Dor, Y., 1 Jan 2026, (Accepted/In press) In: Archaeometry.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Reassessing Rujm el-Hiri: Aerial imagery and stone circles in the proto-historic Southern Levant
Birkenfeld, M., Khabarova, O., Eppelbaum, L. V. & Berger, U., 1 Mar 2026, In: PLOS ONE. 21, 3 March, e0339952.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Desert journeys: Papers on the prehistory and protohistory of the arid Southern Levant in Honour of Steven A. Rosen
Abadi-Reiss, Y., Eisenberg-Degen, D., Birkenfeld, M. & Horwitz, L. K., 1 Aug 2025, In: Journal of Arid Environments. 229, 105334.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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התקופה הנאוליתית הקדומה בארץ-ישראל, מאה שנים של מחקר ואתגרים עתידיים
בירקנפלד, מ., 2025, In: קדמוניות: כתב-עת לעתיקות ארץ-ישראל וארצות המקרא. נ"ח, 170, p. 49-56 8 p.Translated title of the contribution :The Early Neolithic Period in the Land of Israel - 100 Years of Research and Future Challenges Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Advancing archaeo-geophysics through integrated informational-probabilistic techniques and remote sensing
Eppelbaum, L. V., Khabarova, O. & Birkenfeld, M., 1 Aug 2024, In: Journal of Applied Geophysics. 227, 105437.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
8 Scopus citations -
Discussion Points of the Remote Sensing Study and Integrated Analysis of the Archaeological Landscape of Rujm el-Hiri
Khabarova, O., Birkenfeld, M. & Eppelbaum, L. V., 1 Nov 2024, In: Remote Sensing. 16, 22, 4239.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access2 Scopus citations -
Nahal Zahal, an Early PPNB Site in the Northern Negev: A Preliminary Report on the First Excavation Season
Birkenfeld, M. & Abulafia, T., 2024, In: Paléorient. 49, 2, p. 65-82Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
The Early PPNB of Amqa (Upper Galilee, Israel) from a Regional Perspective
Shemer, M., Brailovsky Rokser, L. & Birkenfeld, M., 2024, In: Paléorient. 49, 2, p. 43-64Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
To Be or not to Be: An Introduction to the Origins, Nature and Chronology of the EPPNB in the Southern Levant
Birkenfeld, M., Borrell, F., Purschwitz, C. & Rokitta-Krumnow, D., 2024, In: Paléorient. 49, 2, p. 1-4Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial
Open Access -
To Be or not to Be: The Early PPNB of the southern Levant
Birkenfeld, M. (Editor), Borrell, F. (Editor), Purschwitz, C. (Editor) & Rokitta-Krumnow, D. (Editor), 2024, In: Paléorient. 49, 2Research output: Contribution to journal › Special Issue › peer-review
Open Access
Equipment
Projects
- 1 Finished
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Into the Desert: Biq'at Uvda and the Neolithic of the hyper-arid Negev desert
Birkenfeld, M. (PI)
1/01/21 → 31/12/23
Project: Research