Scienceמרדכי כסלו

Mordecai Kislev

Mordechai Kislev is an Israeli botanist and emeritus professor at Bar-Ilan University who specializes in archaeological botany.

born 1937Archaeological botany researchFounding Bar-Ilan's archaeobotanical labStudies on the origins of agricultureArchaeological entomology

Born: 8 May 1937, Haifa
Occupation: botanist
Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Mordecai Kislev was born in 1937 in Haifa

Mordechai Kislev was born in Haifa on 8 May 1937 to a secular family named Weichselfisch. The family moved to Nahalal, where he went to kindergarten and school. He attended high school in Kiryat Tiv'on and was a member of the HaNoar HaOved youth movement.

At 17 he began studying agriculture at the Hebrew University. In 1955 he enlisted in the Nahal and helped found Kibbutz Ein Gedi. He later earned an M.Sc. in botany, studied Hebrew language and Talmud, and received his Ph.D. in botany in 1972 with a thesis on pollination of desert plants.

From 1971 to 1973 he did postdoctoral work in archaeobotany in Groningen and London. He then joined Bar-Ilan University and in 1974 founded its archaeobotanical lab. He became a full professor in 1998 and also taught at Michlalah-Jerusalem College for 20 years.

His research covers the origins of agriculture, ancient landscapes, archaeological entomology, and Torah and Science. In 1979 he identified an extinct wheat species, and in 2006 his team found an early domesticated fig in the Jordan Valley. He retired as emeritus professor in 2006.

He became religious before marrying Rachel Eliezerov, daughter of Rabbi Dov Ber Eliezerov. The couple has 3 sons.

Milestones in Mordecai Kislev's life

1937
Born in Haifa.
1955
Enlisted in the Nahal.
1972
Received a Ph.D. in botany from the Hebrew University.
1974
Founded the archaeobotanical lab at Bar-Ilan University.
1979
Identified an extinct wheat species, Triticum parvicoccum.
1985
Found charred horse bean seeds from the 7th millennium B.C.
1998
Became a full professor.
2006
Retired as emeritus professor; his team reported an early domesticated fig.