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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Lisa-Marie ShillitoORCiD
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The integration of thin section micromorphology with geochemistry and other complementary techniques is now well established as a means of understanding site formation processes, and has been applied successfully at several sites to understand complex deposits (e.g. Çatalhöyük; see Shillito et al. 2011). A new project at the Ness of Brodgar, Orkney, is developing a programme of micro-archaeological research to understand subsistence strategies and resource use in this island landscape. By targeting ashy deposits in middens, a comprehensive picture of fuel use from wood and non-wood sources can be constructed. Such analysis offers a complementary perspective on a finer scale to pollen analysis, which provides a broad, landscape-scale picture of environmental change. Targeting different areas of the site will enable us to assess the variability of activities, providing a more nuanced understanding of subsistence activities, but also a better understanding of the formation processes of intentionally constructed middens. Comparison with complementary analyses of hearths and occupation surfaces within buildings will enable the reconstruction of the pathways of movement of material from use to deposition.
Author(s): Shillito L-M, McKenzie J, Card N, Pike S, Chan B
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Antiquity
Year: 2015
Volume: 348
Pages: proj gall
Acceptance date: 01/11/2015
Publisher: Durham University
URL: http://journal.antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/shillito348
