Profile

Biography

I completed my BA in Geography (Oxford) followed by a NERC funded MSc in Geoarchaeology (Reading).  My PhD (Reading) was jointly funded by Reading and an industrial sponsor (CEMAS), and focused on the integration of thin section micromorphology with phytolith and chemical analyses (GC-MS and FTIR) to characterise midden formation processes at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Following this I worked for 2 years as a research assistant for the Central Zagros Archaeological Project and Catalhoyuk Project, before moving to York in 2010 as an AHRC research associate on the Feeding Stonehenge Project, where I am carrying out organic residue analysis of ceramics to study consumption patterns at Durrington Walls.

Since 2007 I have also held a part time position as an associate lecturer in World Archaeology for the Open University. I am also involved in other projects as a geoarchaeology specialist, including Boncuklu (Turkey), Kamiltepe (Azerbaijan), the Syrio-Hungarian project at the crusader castle of Margat (Syria), and the Ecology of Crusading project in the Baltic. I am interested in the applications of analytical chemistry and micromorphology to the study of finely stratified deposits, to investigate human activity and diet at high resolution timescales, and human-environment interactions.

Research

Overview

Lisa-Marie Shillito is an archaeological scientist who specialises in geoarchaeology, the application of earth science methods and techniques to archaeology, and bioarchaeology, with a particular focus on integrating organic geochemistry, phytolith analysis and thin section micromorphology. Her interests are in the investigation of human-environment relationships, resource use and diet in the past. Her research has focused on key prehistoric sites in the Near East, and more recently has expanded to include other geographic regions.

Current projects

Feeding Stonehenge: provisioning henges and households in southern Britain in the 3rd millenium BC

Catalhoyuk - a Neolithic town in Anatolia

The Ecology of Crusading

CZAP - The Central Zagros Archaeological Project

 

 

 

 

 

Publications

Selected publications

Shillito, L.-M., and Matthews, W. (in press). A geoarchaeological investigation of midden formation processes at Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Geoarchaeology: an International Journal.

Shillito, L-M. (in press). Preliminary Microstratigraphic Observations of Ash Deposits and Architectural Materials at Kamiltepe, Azerbaijan. In Ancient Kura 2010–2011. The First Two Seasons of Joint Fieldwork in the Southern Caucasus. Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran und Turan 43. S. Hansen, B. Helwing, and B. Lyonnet. (eds)

Shillito, L-M. (in press). Grains of truth or transparent blindfolds? A review of current debates in archaeological phytolith analysis. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany  pdf

Shillito, L-M., Bull, I.D., Matthews, W. Almond, M.J, Williams, J. and Evershed, R.P. (2011) Biomolecular and micromorphological analysis of suspected faecal deposits at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey Journal of Archaeological Science 38: 1869 - 1877 pdf

Shillito, L-M. (2011) Taphonomic observations of archaeological wheat phytoliths from Neolithic Çatalhöyük , Turkey, and the use of conjoined phytolith size as an indicator of water availability Archaeometry 53 (3): 631 - 641 pdf

Shillito, L-M., Matthews, W. Bull, I.D. and Almond, M.J. (2011) The microstratigraphy of middens: capturing daily routine in rubbish at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey Antiquity  85 (329): 1024 - 1038 pdf

Full publications list

Shillito, L-M (2011) Simultaneous thin section and phytolith observations of finely stratified deposits from Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey: implications for paleoeconomy and Early Holocene paleoenvironment  Journal of Quaternary Science 26 (6) 576 - 588 pdf

Shillito, L-M. (2011) Çatalhöyük: Neolithic diets and debris under the microscope World Archaeology Magazine issue 47 online preview

Shillito, L-M. (2011) Daily activities, diet and resource use at Neolithic Çatalhöyük Archaeopress, BAR S2232

Pluskowski, A., Brown, A., Shillito, L-M., Seetah, K., Makowiecki, D., Marc Jarzebowski, M., Kļaviņš, K. and Kreem, J. (2011) The Ecology of Crusading project: new research on medieval Baltic landscapes Antiquity vol 85 issue 328 proj gall link

Shillito, L-M and Almond, MJ (2010) Comment on: Fruit and seed biomineralization and its effect on preservation by E. Messager et al.; in: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 2:25–34. pdf

Matthews, W, Shillito, L-M, Almond, M, Walker, G, Bowen, J., Anderson, E. and Koromila, G. (2010) Integrated micro-contextual approaches: micromorphology and sub-surface terahertz imaging of architectural materials and paintings, and organic residue, phytolith, and geochemical analysis of middens. Çatalhöyük Archive Report 132-148. pdf

Shillito, LM (2009) Interdisciplinary microanalysis of depositional cycles and activities in middens, and analysis of phytoliths and organic residues in human coprolites Çatalhöyük Archive Report p. 152-155. pdf 

Shillito, L.-M, Almond, MJ, Nicholson, J, Pantos, M, and Matthews, W (2009) Rapid characterisation of archaeological midden components using FT-IR spectroscopy, SEM-EDX and micro XRD. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy 73 (1): 133-9. pdf

Shillito, L.-M, Almond, MJ, Wicks, K, Marshall, L and Matthews, W (2009) The use of FT-IR as a screening technique for organic residue analysis of archaeological samples Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy 72 (1): 120 - 125 pdf

Shillito, L-M. (2006) Microanalysis and organic residues of middens Çatalhöyük Archive Report  295-298. pdf

Matthews, W., Shillito, L.-M. and Almond, M. J. (2004) Micromorphology: investigation of Neolithic social and ecological strategies at seasonal, annual and life-cycle timescales Çatalhöyük Archive Report. link

Teaching

External activities

Memberships

Visiting Research Associate,  School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University

Associate Lecturer Panel member, The Open University, South Region

Member of the British Institute of Persian Studies

Member of British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology

Member of the Society for Phytolith Research

Member of the European Geosciences Union

Invited talks and conferences

Invited talks:

June 2011: Archaeological Society of Central Oregon.  Çatalhöyük under the microscope.

30th March 2011: University of California, Berkeley, Archaeological Research Facility. Çatalhöyük under the microscope.

September 2010. University of Glasgow. Polluting the Environment in Antiquity: Polluting Neolithic Çatalhöyük?

4th-6th Sept 2009: European Science Foundation Exploratory workshop, Malbork Castle: The Ecology of Crusading. Potential applications of Geoarchaeology and Geochemistry.

Conference papers:

14th - 18th September 2011, EAA Annual Meeting, Oslo. Between river and forest: geoarchaeological investigations of environmental exploitation at the Medieval Polish/Prussian frontier

30th March – 3rd April 2011, SAA 76th Annual Meeting, Sacramento. Feeding Stonehenge: biomolecular and isotopic analysis of pottery from Durrington Walls.

12th– 16th April 2010, International conference of the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (ICAANE), London. Daily activities, resource use and diet at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey: microstratigraphic and biomolecular evidence from middens.

2nd – 7th May 2010, European Geosciences Union General Assembly, Vienna. Microstratigraphic analysis of midden formation processes at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey.

1st – 5th September 2010, EAA Annual Meeting, Den Haag. Daily activities, resource use and diet at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey: microstratigraphic and biomolecular evidence from middens.

Conference posters:

29th June – 4th July 2008, World Archaeological Congress 6, Dublin. Evidence for diet and resource use at Fiji’s earliest Lapita settlement, Bourewa, through chemical analysis of pottery residues and midden deposits.

29th June – 4th July 2008, World Archaeological Congress 6, Dublin. Micromorphology of Çatalhöyük middens as an indicator of formation processes and human activity

29th June – 4th July 2008, World Archaeological Congress 6, Dublin. The use of FT-IR in the analysis of archaeological pottery residues and coprolites.

1st-2nd April 2007: BANEA (British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology) Annual Conference, Birmingham. Poster presentation.

19th-20th April 2007: DIG conference (Developing International Geoarchaeology) Cambridge. Poster presentation: Chemical and microanalytical analysis of midden deposits from Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey.

28th November 2006: AHRC and CCLRC conference: Looking Forward to the Past: Science and Heritage, London. Poster presentation: Microanalytical and chemical analysis of midden deposits at Neolithic Çatalhöyük as an indicator of seasonality and cyclicity.