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Anna Belfer-Cohen

Anna Belfer-Cohen is an Israeli archaeologist and paleoanthropologist, Professor Emeritus at the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, known for her study of the Natufian culture.

born 1949Research on the Natufian cultureExcavations at Hayonim and Kebara cavesPaleolithic research in Georgia

Born: 3 November 1949, Rivne
Occupation: archaeologist

Anna Belfer-Cohen was born in 1949 in Rivne

Anna Belfer-Cohen was born in 1949 in Rivne, Ukraine, to Halina (Ala) and Yehuda Belfer. The family moved to Israel in 1956. She finished high school in Petah Tikva.

She studied archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, earning an MA in 1981 and a PhD in 1988. As a student she joined digs in Israel, Cyprus and Sinai. Her doctorate, supervised by Ofer Bar-Yosef, dealt with the Natufian remains at Hayonim Cave.

She excavated prehistoric sites in Israel such as Hayonim and Kebara caves and Nahal Ein Gev. In her MA work she analyzed Aurignacian tools from Hayonim Cave and helped define the Levantine Aurignacian. In Georgia she directed a joint project at the caves of Dzudzuana, Kotias Klde and Satsurblia on the Paleolithic sequence of the Caucasus.

She became a full professor in 2002 and headed the Institute of Archaeology from 2005 to 2009. From 2014 to 2018 she headed the university's Authority for Research Students. She has published hundreds of papers, is married with two children and lives in Jerusalem.