Staff Profile:Dr Wendy Matthews

Name:

Dr Wendy Matthews

Job Title:

Associate Professor

Responsibilities:

• Director of Postgraduate Research Studies, Department of Archaeology
• Convenor Undergraduate Dissertations

Areas of Interest:

• Near Eastern Archaeology
• Early sedentism and urbanism
• Soil micromorphology and Geoarchaeology
• Ethnoarchaeology and Experimental Archaeology
• Environmental Archaeology and Ecology

Postgraduate supervision:

Wendy currently supervises/co-supervises two research students:

• Guido Guarducci: The Lands of Nairi: social and material culture networking among the communities of Eastern Anatolia during the late Bronze and Iron Ages.
• Monica Palmero-Fernandez: The role and significance of goddesses in Mesopotamia during the 3rd millennium B.C. (Early Dynastic. Akkadian. Ur III periods).

Previous student topics have included:

• Neolithic ecology and settlement networks at Çatalhöyük and Pınarbası, Turkey (Aroa Garcia-Suarez);
• Micromorphological investigation of early animal management in the Central Zagros of Iraq and Iran (Sarah Elliott); 
• Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement histories and microstratigraphy in Greece (Stella Kyrillidou);
• Contextual analysis of Bronze Age networks in Cyprus and Bahrain, including pXRF analysis of stone artefacts (Helen McGauran);
• A geoarchaeological study of Neolithic open spaces in N. Greece (Georgia Koromila)
• Architecture and urbanisation in Cyprus: local and regional innovation in materials, technology and social representation (Marialucia Amadio).

Many of these research projects are interdisciplinary and jointly supervised by staff with additional expertise in the School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science.

Wendy is happy to discuss proposals for postgraduate and postdoctoral research in any area of: Neolithic and Bronze Age Near Eastern Archaeology and Geoarchaeology, in particular: early agricultural and urban settlement, ecology and landscapes; material engagement; and micromorphological, experimental and interdisciplinary approaches. For further information contact: Dr Wendy Matthews

Research groups / Centres:

• Objects, Materials and People Research Cluster
• Landscape, Climate and Lived Environment Research Cluster
• Soil Research Centre

Key Facts:

Dr. Wendy Matthews joined the Department staff in October 2000. She has considerable experience in Near Eastern Archaeology and soil micromorphology. Her research focuses on ecology and the built environment in early agricultural and urban landscapes and settlements. She has conducted research in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Bahrain. Her research interests include site formation processes and taphonomy, life-histories of buildings and communities, ecology, and interdisciplinary analysis of architectural materials and archaeological sediments.

Wendy is Co-Director of the Central Zagros Archaeological Project and AHRC funded research which is investigating Sedentism and Resource Management in the Neolithic of the Central Zagros in Iraq and Iran, in collaboration with Prof Roger Matthews, Kamal Rasheed Raheem Director General of Antiquities and Heritage, Sulaimaniyah and Dr Yaghoub Mohammadifar, Bu Ali Sina University, Hamedan. The sites investigated were situated in fertile valleys on major east-west route ways through the Zagros Mountains that later became part of the Silk Road and Great Khorasan Highway. She Dr Wendy Matthews has published articles in journals such as Quaternary International and World Archaeology and in, books on Geoarchaeology, Environmental Archaeology and major archaeological sites, including Çatalhöyük and Tell Brak. She is Co-Editor of the interdisciplinary volume on the Central Zagros Archaeological Project: The Earliest Neolithic of Iran: 2008 Excavations at Sheikh-E Abad and Jani (2013).

Wendy is a member of the Scientific Committee for the International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East; the Steering Committee for the Çatalhöyük Research Project; and the Steering Committee for the British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology. She was Chair of the British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology 2005-7 and a founder of the new Themes from the Ancient Near East BANEA Publication Series (Oxbow Books).

Publications:

Y

Jump to: 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003

Number of items: 34.

2019

• Webber, H., Heyd, V., Horton, M., Bell, M., Matthews, W. and Chadburn, A. (2019) Precision farming and archaeology. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 11 (2). pp. 727-734. ISSN 1866-9565 doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-017-0564-8

2018

• Whitlam, J., Bogaard, A., Matthews, R., Matthews, W., Mohammadifar, Y., Ilkhani, H. and Charles, M. (2018) Pre-agricultural plant management in the uplands of the central Zagros: the archaeobotanical evidence from Sheikh-e Abad. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 27 (6). pp. 817-831. ISSN 0939-6314 doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-018-0675-x
• Garcia-Suarez, A., Portillo, M. and Matthews, W. (2018) Early animal management strategies during the Neolithic of the Konya Plain, Central Anatolia: integrating micromorphological and microfossil evidence. Environmental Archaeology: the Journal of Human Palaeoecology. ISSN 1461-4103 doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14614103.2018.1497831
• Matthews, W. (2018) Creating settled life: Micro-histories of community, ritual and place - the Central Zagros and Çatalhöyük. In: Hodder, I. (ed.) Religion History and Place: The Origins of Settled Life. University of Colorado, Denver. ISBN 9781607327363 doi: https://doi.org/10.5876/9781607327370.C002

2017

• Flohr, P., Fleitmann, D., Zorita, E., Sadekov, A., Cheng, H., Bosomworth, M., Edwards, L., Matthews, W. and Matthews, R. (2017) Late Holocene droughts in the Fertile Crescent recorded in a speleothem from northern Iraq. Geophysical Research Letters, 44 (3). pp. 1528-1536. ISSN 1944-8007 doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL071786
• Matthews, R. and Matthews, W. (2017) A palace for the king of Eres? Evidence from the Early Dynastic City of Abu Salabikh, south Iraq. In: Heffron, Y., Stone, A. and Worthington, M. (eds.) At the dawn of history. Ancient Near Eastern studies in honour of J. N. Postgate. Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, pp. 359-367. ISBN 9781575064710

2016

• Matthews, W. (2016) Humans and fire: changing relations in early agricultural and built environments in the Zagros, Iran, Iraq. The Anthropocene Review, 3 (2). pp. 107-139. ISSN 2053-020X doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/2053019616636134
• Godleman, J., Almond, M. J. and Matthews, W. (2016) An infrared microspectroscopic study of plasters and pigments from the Neolithic site of Bestansur, Iraq. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 7. pp. 195-204. ISSN 2352-409X doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.04.013
• Flohr, P., Fleitmann, D., Matthews, R., Matthews, W. and Black, S. (2016) Evidence of resilience to past climate change in Southwest Asia: early farming communities and the 9.2 and 8.2 ka events. Quaternary Science Reviews, 136. pp. 23-39. ISSN 0277-3791 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.06.022
• Bendrey, R., Whitlam, J., Elliott, S., Rauf Aziz, K., Matthews, R. and Matthews, W. (2016) 'Seasonal rhythms' of a rural Kurdish village: ethnozooarchaeological research in Bestansur, Iraq. In: Broderick, L. G. (ed.) People with Animals. Perspectives and Studies in Ethnozooarchaeology. Oxbow Books, Oxford, pp. 42-56. ISBN 9781785702471
• Matthews, R., Matthews, W., Raheem, K. R. and Aziz, K. R. (2016) Current investigations into the early Neolithic of the Zagros foothills of Iraqi Kurdistan. In: Kopanias, K. and MacGinnis, J. (eds.) The Archaeology of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Adjacent Regions. Archaeopress, Oxford, pp. 219-228. ISBN 9781784913939

2015

• Banerjea, R. Y., Fulford, M., Bell, M., Clarke, A. and Matthews, W. (2015) Using experimental archaeology and micromorphology to reconstruct timber-framed buildings from Roman Silchester: a new approach. Antiquity, 89 (347). pp. 1174-1188. ISSN 0003-598X doi: https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2015.108
• Banerjea, R. Y., Bell, M. G., Matthews, W. and Brown, A. D. (2015) Applications of micromorphology to understanding activity areas and site formation processes in experimental hut floors. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 7 (1). pp. 89-112. ISSN 1866-9565 doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-013-0160-5

2014

• Anderson, E., Almond, M. and Matthews, W. (2014) Analysis of wall plasters and natural sediments from the Neolithic town of Çatalhöyük (Turkey) by a range of analytical techniques. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 133. pp. 326-334. ISSN 1386-1425 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2014.04.072
• Anderson, E., Almond, M. J., Matthews, W., Cinque, G. and Frogley, M. D. (2014) Analysis of red pigments from the Neolithic sites of Çatalhöyük in Turkey and Sheikh-e Abad in Iran. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 131. pp. 373-383. ISSN 1386-1425 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2014.03.126

2013

• Shillito, L.-M., Bull, I. D., Matthews, W., Almond, M. and Evershed, R. P. (2013) Integrated geochemical and microscopic analysis of human coprolites, animal dung and organic remains in burials. In: Hodder, I. (ed.) Catalheoyeuk Excavations: Humans and Landscapes of Catalheoyeuk Excavations. Catalhoyuk Research Project Volume 8. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara. ISBN 9781898249306
• Shillito, L.-M. and Matthews, W. (2013) Geoarchaeological investigations of midden-formation processes in the early to late Neolithic levels at Catalhoyuk, Turkey ca. 8550-8370 cal BP. Geoarchaeology, 28 (1). pp. 25-49. ISSN 1520-6548 doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21427
• Matthews, W., Almond, M., Anderson, E., Wiles, J. and Stokes, H. (2013) Biographies of architectural materials and buildings: integrating high-resolution micro-analysis and geochemistry. In: Hodder, I. (ed.) Substantive technologies at Çatalhöyük: reports from the 2000-2008 seasons: Çatal Research Project vol. 9. British Institute at Ankara Monograph. Oxbow Books/ British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, Oxford. ISBN 9781898249313
• Shillito, L.-M., Matthews, W. and Almond, M. (2013) Ecology, diet and discard practices: new interdisciplinary approaches to the study of middens – integrating micromorphological, phytolith and geochemical analyses. In: Hodder, I. (ed.) Çatalhöyük excavations: Humans and Landscapes of Çatalhöyük excavations: Çatal research project. BIAA Monograph, 8 (47). British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, London. ISBN 9781898249306
• Walker, G. C., Bowen, J. W., Matthews, W., Roychowdhury, S., Labaune, J., Mourou, G., Menu, M., Hodder, I. and Jackson, J. B. (2013) Sub-surface terahertz imaging through uneven surfaces: visualizing Neolithic wall paintings in Çatalhöyük. Optics Express, 21 (7). 8126-8134 . ISSN 1094-4087 doi: https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.21.008126
• Matthews, R., Matthews, W. and Mohamadifar , Y., eds. (2013) The earliest Neolithic of Iran: 2008 excavations at Sheikh-E Abad and Jani. CZAP Report , 1. British Institute of Persian Studies and Oxbow Books, Oxford, pp224. ISBN 9781782972235

2012

• Matthews, W. (2012) Defining households: micro-contextual analysis of early Neolithic households in the Zagros, Iran. In: Parker, B. J. and Foster, C. P. (eds.) Household archaeology: new perspectives from the Near East and beyond. Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, pp. 183-216. ISBN 9781575262525
• Matthews, W. (2012) Household life-histories and boundaries. In: Tringham, R. and Stevanovic, M. (eds.) Last House on the Hill: BACH Area Reports from Çatalhöyük, 1997-2003. Monumenta Archaeologica (27). Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press and British Institute at Ankara, Los Angeles, pp. 205-224. ISBN 9781931745666

2011

• Shillito, L.-M., Bull, I. D., Matthews, W., Almond, M., William, J. M. and Evershed, R. P. (2011) Biomolecular and micromorphological analysis of suspected faecal deposits at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Journal of Archaeological Science, 38 (8). pp. 1869-1877. ISSN 0305-4403 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2011.03.031
• Shillito, L.-M., Matthews, W., Almond, M. J. and Bull, I. D. (2011) The microstratigraphy of middens: capturing daily routine in rubbish at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Antiquity, 85 (329). pp. 1024-1038. ISSN 0003-598X

2010

• Matthews, W. (2010) Geoarchaeology and taphonomy of plant remains in early urban environments in the Ancient Near East. Quaternary International, 214 (1-2). pp. 98-113. ISSN 1040-6182 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2009.10.019

2009

• Shillito, L. M., Almond, M. J., 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). pp. 133-139. ISSN 1386-1425 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2009.02.004
• Shillito, L. M., Almond, M. J., Wicks, K., Marshall, L. J. R. 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). pp. 120-125. ISSN 1386-1425 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2008.08.016

2006

• Matthews, W., Wiles, J. and Almond, M. (2006) Micromorphology and microanalysis of architectural surface materials and and residues: investigation of source materials and the life-cycle of buildings. Çatalhöyük Archive Report 2006. pp. 285-294.

2005

• Marshall, L. J. R., Williams, J. R., Almond, M. J., Atkinson, S. D. M., Cook, S. R., Matthews, W. and Mortimore, J. L. (2005) Analysis of ochres from Clearwell Caves: the role of particle size in determining colour. Spectrochimica Acta Part a-Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 61 (1-2). pp. 233-241. ISSN 1386-1425 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2004.03.041
• Matthews, W. (2005) Life-cycle and life-course of buildings. In: Hodder, I. (ed.) Catalhoyuk Perspectives: Themes from the 1995-9 Seasons. McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, Cambridge.

2004

• Mortimore, J. L., Marshall, L. J. R., Almond, M. J., Hollins, P. and Matthews, W. (2004) Analysis of red and yellow ochre samples from Clearwell Caves and Catalhoyuk by vibrational spectroscopy and other techniques. Spectrochimica Acta Part a-Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 60 (5). pp. 1179-1188. ISSN 1386-1425 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2003.08.002
• Matthews, W. (2004) Micromorphological and microstratigraphic traces of uses and concepts of space. In: Hodder, I. (ed.) Inhabiting Catalhoyuk: Reports from the 1995-1999 Seasons. McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, Cambridge.

2003

• Matthews, W. (2003) Microstratigraphic sequences: indications of uses and concepts of space. In: Matthews, R.J. (ed.) Excavations at Tell Brak. Vol. 4. Exploring an Upper Mesopotamian Regional Centre, 1994-96. McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and British School of Archaeology in Iraq, Cambridge, pp. 377-388.

This list was generated on Wed Mar 20 09:30:25 2019 UTC.

Qualifications:

MA, Edinburgh; PhD, Cambridge