Joseph Yellin is Professor Emeritus at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He received his PhD in experimental Physics from the University of California, Berkeley and Bachlors’ degrees in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Delaware. He is the author of 100 scholarly articles in physics and archaeological science. He has been visiting Professor/Scholar at UCLA, UC-Berkeley, Harvard and Columbia. His current research is centered on the use of nuclear science methods to determine the origin of ancient pottery from archaeological excavations in Israel.

Research Interests

Archaeological Science, Neutron Activation Analysis, Pottery/Obsidian origin studies.

Graduate Students

Sharon, I., 1990, Statistical Methods to Clarify the Compositional Analysis of Ceramics, M.A. thesis. Current position Professor Hebrew University.

Boas, A., 1991, A Provenience Study of Some Fine Table Wares Imported into the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, M.A. thesis. Current position Professor Haifa University.

Gilboa, A., 1992, Pottery of Dor under Assyrian rule, M.A. thesis. Current position Professor Haifa University.

Frachtenberg, F., 1993, Analysis of Prehistoric Flint Products and Sources in Israel by Neutron Activation, M.A. thesis.

Maeir, A., 1997, Provenience of Pottery from the Jordan Valley in the Late Bronze Age, Ph.D. thesis. Current position Professor Bar Ilan University.

Salmon, Y., 2001, Collared-rim Jars from the Coastal Site of Tel Nami at the End of the Late Bronze Period, M.A. thesis, Haifa University.

Selected Publications

INAA and Material Analysis, Joseph Yellin in: SAS Encyclopedia of Archaeological Science, Sandra Lopez Varela and Jullian Thomas (editors), Wiley (2018).

Minimizing Sample Sizes While Achieving Accurate Elemental Concentrations in Neutron Activation Analysis of Precious Pottery, S. Landsberger and J. Yellin, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 20, pp 622-625 (2018).

The Origin of Tel Batash-Timna Pottery of the Late Bronze Age, Joseph Yellin

In: Tell it in Gath: Studies in the History and Archaeology of Israel Essays in Honor of A. M. Maeir on the Occasion of his Sixtieth Birthday, edited by Itzhaq Shai, Jeffrey R. Chadwick, Louise Hitchcock, Amit Dagan, Joe Uziel and Chris McKinny. Ägypten und Altes Testament 90. Zaphon: Munster (2018).

Provenience of LBA II Pottery from the Cultic Repository of Tel Qashish, Joseph Yellin, Matthew T. Boulanger  and Michael D. Glascock, Atiqot (in press).

A Commentary on Two Scientific Studies of the RUMA (רומא) Jar from Qumran, Joseph Yellin, Dead Sea Discoveries 22, pp 147-161 (2015).

The Origin of Egyptian-Style Ceramics from Deir El-Balaḥ: Conclusions from Neutron Activation Analysis, Chapter 3, pp 57-75, Joseph Yellin and Ann E. Killebrew in: Deir El-Balah: Excavations in 1977-1982 In The Cemetery and Settlement, Trude Dothan and Baruch Brandl, Qedem 50 (2010).

Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis of Two Vessels from Tel Yin'am, Harold Liebowitz and Joseph Yellin, Leiden Journal of Pottery Studies 25, 103-118 (2009).

Four Decades of Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis and its Contribution to the Archaeology of the Ancient Land of Israel, J.Yellin and A.M. Maeir, Israel Journal of Earth Science 56, pp 123-132 (2007).

Instrumental Neutron Activation Based Provenance Studies at The Hebrew University Of Jerusalem, With a Case Study on Mycenaean Pottery from Cyprus, Joseph Yellin, Archaeometry 49, 2, pp. 271-288 (2007).

Rosette Stamped Handles: Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis, Joseph Yellin and Jane M. Cahill, Israel Exploration Journal 54, no. 2, pp 191-213 (2004).

Pottery from Qumran and Ein Ghuweir: The First Chemical Exploration of Provenience, Joseph Yellin, Magen Broshi and Hanan Eshel, BASOR, 321, pp. 65-78 (2001).

Neutron Activation Analysis, Joseph Yellin, in: The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology of the Near East, p. 130, Eric M. Meyer, Editor, Oxford University Press (1997).

New Evidence on Prehistoric Trade Routes: The Obsidian Evidence from Gilat, Joseph Yellin, Thomas E. Levy and Rowan York, Journal of Field Archaeology 23, 361-368 (1996).

Trace Element Characteristics of Central Anatolian Obsidian Flows and its Relevance to Pre-History, Joseph Yellin, Israel Journal of Chemistry 35, 175-190 (1995).

On the Provenience of the Lmlk Jars, H. Mommsen, I. Perlman and J. Yellin, J. Israel Exploration Society 34, 89-113 (1984).

Gamma-ray Spectral Map of Standard Pottery, Part 1, J. Yellin, Radiochimica Acta 35, 107-119 (1984).

High Precision Trace Element Analysis in Tektites and Crater Glasses-Th, U and K, J. Yellin, I. Perlman, W. Gentner and O. Muller, J. Radioanalytical Chemistry 76, 35-47 (1983).

Comparison of Neutron Activation Analysis from the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and The Hebrew University, J.  Yellin, I. Perlman, F. Asaro, H. V. Michel and D. F. Mosier, Archaeometry 20, 95-100 (1978).