An archaeologist by training, Joséphine Lesur studies the relationship between humans and animals in Africa from bone remains found in archaeological sites. One of his main research themes concerns the origin and distribution of domestic animals. She also works on the evolution of fauna diversity and environments over the last ten millennia and the characterization of human societies in their relationship to the animal world.

Participating in the work on Tell el-Iswid since 2008, she is studying all the animal remains found on this site. To date, more than 17,000 bones have been analyzed. They mainly include fish remains, including different species of catfish, but also tilapia and Nile perch. Domestic animals, mainly pork, are also an essential component of the meat diet of the inhabitants of the site. In general, these data, still in the process of being acquired and analyzed, illustrate the characteristics of animal exploitation during the 4th millennium BC and the relationships between humans and their environment, whether domestic or wild.