James Taylor

Profile
Research
Publications & Conferences

I am a lecturer in the Department of Archaeology at the University of York and director of the MA in Field Archaeology. As well as delivering a range of masters level and undergraduate teaching, including contributing to the core teaching on the Digital Archaeology and Digital Heritage MSc programmes (directed by Dr Colleen Morgan and Dr Peter Schauer), I currently act as the Departmental Ethics Representative and am the Departmental International Coordinator.

I have active research interests in Neolithic Archaeology, the Prehistory of Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa and the Near East, Theory and Method in Archaeology and Digital Methods in Archaeology (especially Applied GIS, Critical GIS and the impact of the 'Digital Turn' on archaeological practice) - see also my ResearchGate Profile. I am Co-Director of the Toumba Serron Research Project, an archaeological investigation centred on a Neolithic village in Greek Macedonia.

From 2012 to 2019 I was Co-Field Director of the Çatalhöyük Research Project, an important long term research project studying settlement on a Neolithic Tell site in Southern Anatolia. In this role I helped to coordinate and direct the excavation and general site logistics, management of excavators, development and implementation of excavation methods and post-excavation work.

Prior to this I worked as a professional archaeologist since 1998 and spent several years in the UK commercial sector, working first for Birmingham Archaeology (then B.U.F.A.U., 1999-2000) and then Pre-Construct Archaeology (London, 2000-2004). From 2004 I worked freelance for various large research projects; this gave me the opportunity to work extensively in Italy, Iceland, Turkey, Egypt and the Middle East.

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The Toumba Serron Research Project

This project is centred around the excavation of the Late Neolithic village site of Toumba (Τούμπα) Serron (c.5300-4500 B.C.), at Toumba village, Central Macedonia, Greece (c.100 km North-East of Thessaloniki). The site may have multiple phases of occupation and the project seeks to understand the material and social life of a Final Neolithic community through excavation and situate this Neolithic community within its broader social and physical landscape, and compare its mode of material engagement with other prehistoric communities nearby.

The site was first identified during a field survey by Michaelis Fotiadis as part of a research project conducted in 1980-1981. Subsequent survey of site was begun by the Greek Archaeological Service (Ephoreia) in 2019, followed by a first official collaboration between the Greek Ministry of Culture, National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan) and the University of York, in October 2021. The site is situated 300m North of the modern village of Toumba, in the Serres Regional Unit, near the Strymon River which connects the northern Aegean Sea with the Balkan hinterland and the project will form a hub for a range of complimentary archaeological and ethnographic research.

'The Matrix': connecting and re-using digital records and archives of archaeological investigations

The Matrix is an AHRC funded Leadership Fellow project (2020-2022) led by Keith May (Historic England), in collaboration with The Hypermedia Research Group (Ceri Binding) University of South Wales and Sheffield University

It investigates how digital data from archaeological excavations can be more consistently recorded, analysed, disseminated and archived in a way that is Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-useable (FAIR). In particular, the work addresses the lack of standardised approaches to the digital archiving and reuse of archaeological stratigraphic and phasing data.

The Hypermedia Research Group (Ceri Binding) is responsible for developing an exploratory Phasing Analysis tool taking advantage of previous research collaborations (STAR, SENESCHAL) with Keith May and current semantic approaches

Aide Memoire

I am a co-investigator on the Aide Memoire Project which investigates the intersections of analogue and digital methods of recording archaeology, specifically seeking to form a holistic understanding of drawing as a method of recording in archaeology within the context of the 'Digital Turn' in field methods.

CAA Special Interest Group: 3D Spatial Analysis

#CAASIG3DSA

The ability to gather spatial data of three-dimensional objects, excavations, and landscapes is changing archaeology’s underlying methodological approaches to recording. As these technologies gain wider adoption the discipline will look to the Digital Specialists for methods to analyse such data. While approaches have begun to develop they have been piecemeal, the CAA’s SIG format seeks to bring together specialists in the field to consider and discuss the methodological and theoretical procedures and problems associated with this topic.

The Çatalhöyük Research Project

The Çatalhöyük Research Project (1993-2017), was an important long term research project studying settlement on a Neolithic Tell site in Southern Anatolia. Çatalhöyük has been the subject of investigation for more than 50 years. Researchers from around the world have travelled to the site over the past half-century to study its vast landscape of buildings, remarkable ways of life, and its many exquisite works of art and craft. Since 1993, the Çatalhöyük Research Project recruited an international group of specialists to pioneer new archaeological, conservation and curatorial methods on and off site. Simultaneously, it aimed to advance our understandings of human life in the past.

PhD: Making Time for Space at Çatalhöyük: GIS as a tool for exploring the spatiotemporality of complex stratigraphic sequences.

Supervisors: Julian Richards & Steve Roskams

Using data from the well known Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük, Turkey, my research examined the process of intra-site spatio-temporal analysis of complex stratigraphy. In particular I focused upon the visualisation and analysis of the temporal element, using GIS and related technologies to examine the way in which we structure, model, use and query temporal aspects of our excavation data. It also examined the close relationship between spatial and temporal data.

Publications

(Journal Articles & Book Chapters)

Twiss, K.C., Bogaard, A., Haddow, S., Milella, M., Veropoulidou, R., Taylor, J., Pearson, J., Tsoraki, C., Kay, K., Busacca, G., Mazzucato, C., Knüsel, C.J. & Pochron, S. (2024) '“But some were more equal than others:" Exploring inequality at Neolithic Çatalhöyük.' Journal of Anthropological Archaeology.

May, K. & Taylor, J.S (2024) 'Resurrecting, Re-interpreting and Re-Using Stratigraphy. An Afterlife for Archaeological Data.' Antiquity.

May, K., Taylor, J.S. & Binding, C. (2023) 'Stratigraphic Analysis and The Matrix: connecting and reusing digital records and archives of archaeological investigations.' Internet Archaeology 61. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.61.2.

Farid, S., Hodder I. & Lukas D. with contributions by Taylor, J. (2023) ‘Chapter 2: Excavation, recording and sampling methodologies.’ in I. Hodder (ed.) Çatalhöyük Excavations: The 2009-2017 Seasons, Çatalhöyük Research Project Series, Volume: 12. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara.

Farid, S., Hodder, I., Taylor, J. & Tung, B. (2022) ‘Chapter 3: Chronology and overall phasing of North and South Areas.’ in I. Hodder (ed.) Çatalhöyük Excavations: The 2009-2017 Seasons, Çatalhöyük Research Project Series, Volume: 12. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara.

Taylor, J. (2023) ‘Chapter 6: Building 7 and associated spaces: the “Shrine 8 Annex Sequence” (Space 470, Space 487 andSpace 492) and spaces to the west including Buildings 100 and 104.’ in I. Hodder (ed.) Çatalhöyük Excavations: The 2009-2017 Seasons, Çatalhöyük Research Project Series, Volume: 12. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara.

Taylor, J. (2023) ‘Chapter 7: Building 17 and Spaces 628 and 620.’ in I. Hodder (ed.) Çatalhöyük Excavations: The 2009-2017 Seasons, Çatalhöyük Research Project Series, Volume: 12. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara.

Taylor, J. (2023) ‘Chapter 8: Buildings 162, 161, 160, 43 and Space 559 open area.’ in I. Hodder (ed.) Çatalhöyük Excavations: The 2009-2017 Seasons, Çatalhöyük Research Project Series, Volume: 12. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara.

Taylor, J. (2023) ‘Chapter 9: Building 76.’ in I. Hodder (ed.) Çatalhöyük Excavations: The 2009-2017 Seasons, Çatalhöyük Research Project Series, Volume: 12. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara.

Taylor, J. (2023) ‘Chapter 10: Building 79.’ in I. Hodder (ed.) Çatalhöyük Excavations: The 2009-2017 Seasons, Çatalhöyük Research Project Series, Volume: 12. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara.

Taylor, J. (2023) ‘Chapter 11: Building 80.’ in I. Hodder (ed.) Çatalhöyük Excavations: The 2009-2017 Seasons, Çatalhöyük Research Project Series, Volume: 12. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara.

Taylor, J. (2023) ‘Chapter 12: Building 87 and Building 85.’ in I. Hodder (ed.) Çatalhöyük Excavations: The 2009-2017 Seasons, Çatalhöyük Research Project Series, Volume: 12. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara.

Taylor, J. (2023) ‘Chapter 13: Building 86, Space344, Space 367 and Space329.’ in I. Hodder (ed.) Çatalhöyük Excavations: The 2009-2017 Seasons, Çatalhöyük Research Project Series, Volume: 12. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara.

Taylor, J. (2023) ‘Chapter 14: Building 89.’ in I. Hodder (ed.) Çatalhöyük Excavations: The 2009-2017 Seasons, Çatalhöyük Research Project Series, Volume: 12. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara.

Taylor, J. (2023) ‘Chapter 15: Building 96.’ in I. Hodder (ed.) Çatalhöyük Excavations: The 2009-2017 Seasons, Çatalhöyük Research Project Series, Volume: 12. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara.

Taylor, J. (2023) ‘Chapter 16: Buildings 97 and 130.’ in I. Hodder (ed.) Çatalhöyük Excavations: The 2009-2017 Seasons, Çatalhöyük Research Project Series, Volume: 12. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara.

Taylor, J. (2023) ‘Chapter 17: Building 118 and Space 583.’ in I. Hodder (ed.) Çatalhöyük Excavations: The 2009-2017 Seasons, Çatalhöyük Research Project Series, Volume: 12. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara.

Taylor, J. (2023) ‘Chapter 18: Spaces553 and 581.’ in I. Hodder (ed.) Çatalhöyük Excavations: The 2009-2017 Seasons, Çatalhöyük Research Project Series, Volume: 12. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara.

Morgan, C. , Petrie, H., Wright, H. & Taylor, J.S. (2021) ‘Drawing Archaeology: The Aide Memoire Project’. Journal of Field Archaeology.

Hacıgüzeller, P., Taylor, J. & Perry, S. (2021) ‘On the Emerging Supremacy of Structured Digital Data in Archaeology: A Preliminary Assessment of Information, Knowledge and Wisdom Left Behind’. Open Archaeology, 7(1).

Taylor, J. & Dell’Unto, N. (2021) Skeuomorphism in digital archeological practice: A barrier to progress, or a vital cog in the wheels of change? Open Archaeology, 7(1), pp.482–498. https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2020-0145.

Sadarangani, F., Taylor, J.S., Boraik, M., Eissa, R., El-Laithy, A.M., Mahmoud, H.M.M. & Shihab, E.M. (2021) ‘Excavations in the Khalid Ibn El-Waleed Garden Luxor: Avenue of the Sphinxes.’ Annales du Service de Antiquités de l’Égypte (ASAE) 88, 81-144 Cairo: Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Taylor, J. (2020) ‘Space and Time’ in Gillings, M., Hacıgüzeller, P. & Lock, G. (eds.) Archaeological Spatial Analysis: A Methodological Guide. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing.

Perry, S. & Taylor, J.S. (2018) ‘Theorising the Digital: A Call to Action for the Archaeological Community’. in M. Matsumoto & E. Ulleburg (eds.) Oceans of Data: Proceedings of the 44th Annual Conference on Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology. Oxford: Archaeopress. 11-22. Open Access digital publication.

Taylor, J., Issavi, J., Berggren, Å, Lukas, D., Mazzucato, C., Tung, B., Dell’Unto, N. (2018) ‘‘The Rise of the Machine’: the impact of digital tablet recording in the field at Çatalhöyük’. Internet Archaeology 47. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.47.1.

Taylor, J., Bogaard, A., Carter, T., Charles, M., Haddow, S., Knüsel, C.J., Mazzucato, C., Mulville, J., Tsoraki, C., Tung, B. & Twiss, K. (2015) ‘‘Up in Flames’: A Visual Exploration of a Burnt Building at Çatalhöyük in GIS.’ in: I. Hodder and A. Marciniak (eds.) Assembling Çatalhöyük, 1: 128-149. Leeds: Maney Publishing.

Berggren, Å., Dell’Unto, N., Forte, M., Haddow, S., Hodder, I., Issavi, J., Lercari, N., Mazzucato, C., Mickel, A. & Taylor, J.S. (2015) ‘Revisiting reflexive archaeology at Çatalhöyük: integrating digital and 3D technologies at the trowel’s edge.’ Antiquity 89 (344) 433-448. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2014.43.

Regan, R. w. contributions by Taylor, J. (2014) ‘The Sequence of Buildings 75, 65, 56, 69, 44 and 10 and External Spaces 119, 129, 130, 144, 299, 314, 319, 329, 333, 339, 367, 371 and 427.’ in: I. Hodder. Çatalhöyük Excavations: The 2000-2008 seasons., 35-52. Los Angeles: British Institute at Ankara & The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA.

Brown, G. & Taylor, J. (2010) ‘Medieval embankment and post-medieval development at Bermondsey Wall West’, Surrey Archaeological Collections, Vol. 95.

Taylor, J. (2008) ‘Area AA Preliminary Phasing’, in (eds. M. Lehner, M. Kamel & A. Tavares) Giza Plateau Mapping Project Season 2006 Preliminary Report, Giza Occasional Papers3, AERA (Cairo).

Taylor, J., Gisladóttir, G.A., Harðardóttir A. and Lucas, G. (2005) ‘Eyri in Skutulsfjörður’, Archaeologia Islandia, Vol. 4, pp.68-80 Fornleifastofnun Íslands, Reykjavík.

Sadarangani, F. & Taylor, J. (forthcoming): “From Excavation to Publication”, in (eds. M. Lehner, M. Kamel & A. Tavares) Giza Plateau Mapping Project Season 2011-2012 Preliminary Report, Giza Occasional Papers 6, AERA (Cairo).

Taylor J.S. (forthcoming) ‘Çatalhöyük: Excavations at a Prehistoric ‘Town’ on the ‘Road’ to Urbanism.’ in T. Birch, M. Blömer & F. Sulas (eds.) High-Definition Approaches to the Archaeology of Urbanism, Routledge.

I have authored extensive grey literature for clients in commercial archaeology, including technical stratigraphic summaries, assessment reports and evaluation reports.

Conference Sessions Organised

Taylor, J.S. & Dell’Unto, N. (2023) 'Where do you draw your lines? Mapping transformation
of archaeological practice in the digital age' session organised at 50th Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA) “50 Years of Synergy” Conference, 3rd -6th April, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Nobles, G., Jansen, A.C.Q., Taylor, J.S. & Katsianis M. (2023) 'Synergies in 3D Spatial Analysis' session organised at 50th Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA) “50 Years of Synergy” Conference, 3rd -6th April, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Jansen, A.C.Q., Nobles, G., Taylor, J. & Gavryushkina, M. (2021) ‘Exploring the possibilities of 3D Spatial Analysis’ Session organised at 43rd Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA) “Digital Crossroads” Conference, 14th - 18th June, online (originally Limassol, Cyprus).Taylor, J.S. & Perry, S. (2016) ‘digiTAG 2: Archaeological Storytelling and the ‘Digital Turn’’ session organised at the Theoretical Archaeology Group’s annual UK conference in Southampton, 19th-21nd December, 2016

Taylor, J.S., Perry, S., Berggren, Å & Dell’Unto, N. (2016) ‘Theorising the Digital: Digital Theoretical Archaeology Group (digiTAG) and the CAA.’ session organised at the 44th Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA) “Exploring Oceans of Data” Conference 29th March - 2nd April, Oslo, Norway.

Taylor, J.S. & Dell’Unto, N. (2015) ’Towards a Theory of Practice in Applied Digital Field Methods.’ session organised at 43rd Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA) “KEEP THE REVOLUTION GOING” Conference, 30th March - 1st April, Siena, Italy.