Name Surname : Prof. Jak Yakar
Parents’ Names : Renée, Moiz Yakar
Date and place of Birth : 1943, Istanbul
Date of Aliya : 1970
Education : Taksim Aydın primary school; Yeni Kolej high school.
Graduated from Istanbul University in 1965. Received his M.A. in 1966 and Ph. D in 1968 from the Department of Mediterranean Studies at Brandeis University, Massachusetts, USA.
Profession: Professor of archaeology at Tel Aviv University, Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies (Starting as Lecturer in 1970 and retiring as professor emeritus in 2011).
CV
Prof. J. Yakar studied classical, pre-classical and prehistoric archaeology at Istanbul University. Upon graduation he received the International Wien Scholarship. This allowed him to study Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations including ancient history and languages such as Hittite and Akkadian in the Department of Meditteranean Studies at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA.
His academic background combined with field experience allowed him to specialize in Anatolian Prehistory and Pre-Classical Anatolian Civilization.
In 1970, a few days after his discharge from military service in Turkey, he made his aliya to Israel. Immediately upon arrival he took his teaching position, initially as a visiting a lecturer, at Tel Aviv University. During his long career he was elected to Chair the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures. He occupied this post for 9 years. In his career of 41 years, he pursued continuous field research in Turkey on behalf of the Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology. In 1990 he was appointed the chairman of this Institute for a total of three terms.
He started his field survey pojects in 1963 in Anatolia. Later on, starting in the early 1970s and for almost four decades representing Tel Aviv University, he concentrated on archaeological and ethnoarchaeological research in different regions of Turkey, including different parts of Greece and some Greek Islands. His research goal was to investigate the socio-economics of rural settlement modes as models for reconstructing the stucture of ancient societies by comparing their cultural records.
In 2001, he researched the ancient local traditions and beliefs in various countries of South America.
Works, publications: His publications include six books focusing on prehistoric Anatolia, its ancient history and cultures including ethnoarchaeology. He has published numerous articles and chapters in books on these and related topics.
Institutions established, supported:
In 1990 he chaired the Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology for a number of years. During his first term as chairman he established the renowned Publication Department of the Institute and became the executive editor of its internationally recognized Monograpgh Series.
Outstanding and Permanent contribution /reasons for nomination:
Prof. Yakar has been a valuable scholar and a lecturer whose books and other publications contributed to the elevation of the international standing of Tel Aviv University in the research projects of ancient Anatolia. He shared his vast professional knowledge and findings with students and colleagues alike and represented Israel on the international arena, including major universities in Turkey.