Zohar Amar

Zohar Amar (Hebrew: זוהר עמר; born 1960) is a professor in the Department of Land of Israel Studies at the Bar-Ilan University, whose research specialties are: natural history in ancient times; the identification of the flora of the Land of Israel and identification of the fauna of the Land of Israel according to descriptions in classical Jewish sources; the material culture and realia of daily life in the Middle Ages as reflected in agriculture and commerce; the history of medicine and ethno-pharmacology. His research integrates diverse fields of knowledge, including branches of natural science, history, archaeology, linguistics, and Judaic studies. Notable research in recent years: Documents from the Cairo Genizah as a source of information about medicine in the Middle East in medieval times; pigments in ancient textiles; the early papermaking industry; kermes oak coccid as the source of the Biblical scarlet dye; purple dye; the balsam plant; traditional medicinal drugs in the land of Israel; documentation of traditions regarding the kashrut of various animals.