What Can Fossils Tell Us About Ourselves?

Prof. Israel Hershkovitz, Professor Emeritus at the Gray School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, discusses the excitement of discovering human fossils, what ancient bones can reveal, and the connection between human evolution and modern medicine.

A cave excavation, a bone emerging from the rocks, and suddenly a new clue to our evolutionary past comes to light. For Prof. Israel Hershkovitz, these are some of the most exciting moments in scientific research.

In a video produced by the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Tel Aviv University, Prof. Hershkovitz shares his experience searching for rare human fossils that can reveal how our ancestors evolved, lived, and adapted to different environments.

Human fossils, he explains, are extremely difficult to find. Even a promising cave may yield no discoveries, while a small rock shelter on a mountainside can unexpectedly reveal important evidence about our past. A well-preserved fossil can provide valuable information about the anatomy of early humans and offer new insights into human evolution.

Studying the past also helps us understand the present. Anthropology reconstructs human biological history and examines how changes in our bodies over time have influenced our behavior and way of life. According to Prof. Hershkovitz, this evolutionary perspective is also important for understanding the prevalence of certain diseases in modern populations.

From fieldwork to scientific research, each discovery adds another piece to our understanding of who we were, how we evolved, and what our past can teach us about ourselves today.