Tiki Steiner is a doctoral student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She received her M.A. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2016.
Tiki is a zooarchaeologist whose work aims to reconstruct faunal exploitation patterns, economic activity related to animals and investigate taphonomic signals on bone surfaces to better understand modes of consumption. Tiki has analyzed multiple faunal assemblages from salvage excavations in Israel, ranging from the Chalcolithic through the Byzantine periods, as well as being an excavation area manager at the Nesher-Ramle quarry salvage excavations from 2016-2020. Her Master’s thesis was a faunal analysis of a complete, water-logged Epipaleolithic brush hut from Ohalo II (c. 23kya) encompassed identification, measurements, taphonomic observation and spatial analysis and examination of possible burnt bones using FTIR. She is interested in the connection between climatic fluctuation and subsistence choices and the human ability to adapt in different ways to different ecosystems. The Wall project will focus on zooarchaeology of pastoral nomads in medieval Mongolia and China, combining “classic” zooarchaeological techniques with micro-archaeological analyses to identify signatures of herd management and climatic, ecological and social data.
Ongoing project: A detailed faunal analysis of Nahal Mahanayim Outlet (NMO), a Middle Paleolithic (c. 60 kya), open-air hunting site in the Hula Valley, Israel, characterized by the presence well preserved, complete aurochs bones.