Professor Alexandra Bayliss

Professor

Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA

Professor Alexandra Bayliss

Contact details

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http://www.stir.ac.uk/people/alexandrabayliss

About me

Award

British Archaeological Awards Best Book
Council for British Archaeology

Whittle, A, Healy, F, and Bayliss, A, 2011 Gathering time: dating the early Neolithic enclosures of southern Britain and Ireland, Oxford (OxBow)

Shanghai Archaeological Forum Research Award
English Heritage and Cardiff University

"The Times of Their Lives: towards precise narratives of change in the European Neolithic through formal chronological modelling" (ERC Advanced Investigator Grant 2012-16 (Whittle/Bayliss))

Research

My research focuses on the construction of precise chronologies for archaeological sites, environmental records, and aspects of material culture. I combine disparate strands of evidence --- stratigraphy, typology, seriation, lithology, radiocarbon dates, coin dates, and many others – in formal, Bayesian statistical models.

Chronology is fundamental to our understanding of the past. In the words of Claude Lévi-Strauss (1966, 258) in The Savage Mind, ‘there is no history without dates’. Fundamentally, the aim of my research is to rescue archaeology from the mire of fuzzy chronology to which visual inspection of calibrated radiocarbon dates consigns us, and to reclaim ‘time of the middling sort’ for our, particularly prehistoric, narratives.

Archaeology is good at the long-term, indeed it has carved a niche within the academy as the discipline with a long reach back into time. Archaeology is also good at the short-term, at the few hours one afternoon when a person in the past sat by a fire and knapped out a flint tool. What Bayesian statistics give us is the human time in the middle – generations, lifetimes, ‘that time that granny told me about when she was a girl’ – and the ability to create narratives of people in the past.

Outputs (74)

Outputs

Article

Narratives for Lengyel funerary practice

Regenye J, Bánffy E, Demján P, Ebert J, Osztás A, Bronk Ramsey C, Dunbar E, Friedrich R, Bayliss A, Beavan N, Gaydarska B & Whittle A (2020) Narratives for Lengyel funerary practice. Bericht der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission, 97 2016 (2020), pp. 5-80. https://doi.org/10.11588/berrgk.2016.0.76630

Article

Opening the woods: towards a quantification of Neolithic clearance around the Somerset Levels and Moors

Farrell M, Bunting MJ, Sturt F, Grant M, Aalbersberg G, Batchelor R, Brown A, Druse D, Hill T, Hollinrake A, Jones J, Tinsley H, Bayliss A, Marshall P, Richer S & Whittle A (2020) Opening the woods: towards a quantification of Neolithic clearance around the Somerset Levels and Moors. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 27 (2), pp. 271-301. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-019-09427-9

Article

Island questions: the chronology of the Brochtorff Circle at Xagħra, Gozo, and its significance for the Neolithic sequence on Malta

Malone C, Cutajar N, McLaughlin TR, Mercieca-Spiteri B, Pace A, Power RK, Stoddart S, Sultana S, Bronk Ramsey C, Dunbar E, Bayliss A, Healy F & Whittle A (2019) Island questions: the chronology of the Brochtorff Circle at Xagħra, Gozo, and its significance for the Neolithic sequence on Malta. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 11 (8), pp. 4251-4306. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-019-00790-y

Article

Collecting the dead: temporality and disposal in the Neolithic hypogée of Les Mournouards II (Marne, France)

Chambon P, Blin A, Bronk Ramsey C, Kromer B, Bayliss A, Beavan N, Healy F & Whittle A (2018) Collecting the dead: temporality and disposal in the Neolithic hypogée of Les Mournouards II (Marne, France) [Zusammenfassung: Die Toten vereinen: Temporalität und Organisation des neolithi-schen Hypogäums von Les Mournouards II (Marne, France)]. Germania, 95, pp. 93-143. https://doi.org/10.11588/ger.2017.49475

Book Chapter

What kind of history in prehistory?

Bayliss A & Whittle A (2018) What kind of history in prehistory?. In: Souvatzi S, Baysal A & Baysal E (eds.) Time and history in prehistory. Abingdon: Taylor & Francis (Routledge), pp. 123-146.

Article

Assembling the dead, gathering the living: radiocarbon dating and Bayesian modelling for Copper Age Valencina de la Concepcion (Seville, Spain)

Garcia Sanjuan L, Vargas Jimenez JM, Caceres Puro LM, Costa Carame ME, Diaz-Guardamino-Uribe M, Diaz-Zorita Bonilla M, Fernandez Flores A, Hurtado Perez V, Lopez Aldana PM, Mendez Izquierdo E, Panjuela Pando A, Rodriguez Vidal J, Wheatley D, Bronk Ramsey C, Delgado-Huertas A, Dunbar E, Mora Gonzalez A, Bayliss A, Beavan N, Hamilton D & Whittle A (2018) Assembling the dead, gathering the living: radiocarbon dating and Bayesian modelling for Copper Age Valencina de la Concepcion (Seville, Spain). Journal of World Prehistory, 31 (2), pp. 179-313. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10963-018-9114-2

Article

The resilience of postglacial hunter-gatherers to abrupt climate change

Blockley S, Candy I, Matthews I, Langdon P, Langdon C, Palmer A, Lincoln P, Abrook A, Taylor B, Conneller C, Bayliss A, MacLeod A, Deeprose L, Darvill C, Rebecca K, Beavan N, Staff R, Bamforth M, Taylor M & Milner N (2018) The resilience of postglacial hunter-gatherers to abrupt climate change. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2 (5), pp. 810-818. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0508-4

Article

Maps from mud – using the Multiple Scenario Approach to reconstruct land cover dynamics from pollen records: a case study of two Neolithic landscapes

Bunting MJ, Farrell M, Bayliss A, Marshall P & Whittle A (2018) Maps from mud – using the Multiple Scenario Approach to reconstruct land cover dynamics from pollen records: a case study of two Neolithic landscapes. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 6, Art. No.: 36. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2018.00036/abstract; https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2018.00036

Conference Paper (published)

Informing Conservation: towards 14C wiggle-matching of short tree-ring sequences from medieval buildings in England

Bayliss A, Marshall P, Tyers C, Bronk Ramsey C, Cook G, Freeman S & Griffiths S (2017) Informing Conservation: towards 14C wiggle-matching of short tree-ring sequences from medieval buildings in England. In: volume 59. 22nd International Radiocarbon Conference, Dakar, Senegal, 16.11.2015-20.11.2015. Cambridge University Press for University of Arizona, pp. 985-1007. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/radiocarbon/article/informing-conservation-towards-14c-wiggle-matching-of-short-tree-ring-sequences-from-medieval-buildings-in-england/60EF0A626DCA57B00254220B270A233E; https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2016.61

Book Chapter

Rings of fire and Grooved Ware settlement at West Kennet, Wiltshire

Bayliss A, Cartwright C, Cook G, Griffiths S, Madgwick R, Marshall P & Reimer PJ (2017) Rings of fire and Grooved Ware settlement at West Kennet, Wiltshire. In: Bickle P, Cummings V, Hofmann D & Pollard J (eds.) The Neolithic of Europe: papers in honour of Alasdair Whittle. Oxford and Philadelphia: Oxbow, pp. 249-277. http://www.oxbowbooks.com/oxbow/the-neolithic-of-europe.html

Article

Peopling the past: creating a site biography in the Hungarian Neolithic

Bayliss A, Beavan N, Hamilton D, Köhler K, Nyerges ÉÁ, Bronk Ramsey C, Dunbar E, Fecher M, Goslar T, Kromer B, Reimer PJ, Bánffy E, Marton T, Oross K, Osztás A, Zalai-Gaál I & Whittle A (2016) Peopling the past: creating a site biography in the Hungarian Neolithic. Bericht der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission, 94, pp. 23-91.

Article

Midlife changes: the Sopot burial ground at Alsónyék

Oross K, Osztás A, Marton T, Köhler K, Gábor Ódor J, Szécsényi-Nagy A, Bánffy E, Alt KW, Bronk Ramsey C, Kromer B, Bayliss A, Hamilton D & Whittle A (2016) Midlife changes: the Sopot burial ground at Alsónyék. Bericht der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission, 94, pp. 151-178.

Article

Coalescent community at Alsónyék: the timings and duration of Lengyel burials and settlement

Osztás A, Zalai-Gaál I, Bánffy E, Marton T, Nyerges ÉÁ, Köhler K, Somogyi K, Gallina Z, Bronk Ramsey C, Dunbar E, Kromer B, Bayliss A, Hamilton D, Marshall P & Whittle A (2016) Coalescent community at Alsónyék: the timings and duration of Lengyel burials and settlement. Bericht der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission, 94, pp. 179-282. https://doi.org/10.11588/berrgk.1938.0.37154

Article

Die Zeit der großen Gräben: Modelle zur Chronologie des Michelsberger Fundplatzes von Heilbronn-Klingenberg „Schlossberg“, Stadtkreis Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg

Seidel U, Stephan E, Stika H, Dunbar E, Kromer B, Bayliss A, Beavan N, Healy F & Whittle A (2016) Die Zeit der großen Gräben: Modelle zur Chronologie des Michelsberger Fundplatzes von Heilbronn-Klingenberg „Schlossberg“, Stadtkreis Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg. Praehistorische Zeitschrift, 91 (2), pp. 225-283. https://doi.org/10.1515/pz-2016-0022

Article

Settlement duration and materiality: formal chronological models for the development of Barnhouse, a Grooved Ware settlement in Orkney

Richards C, Jones AM, MacSween A, Sheridan A, Dunbar E, Reimer PJ, Bayliss A, Griffiths S & Whittle A (2016) Settlement duration and materiality: formal chronological models for the development of Barnhouse, a Grooved Ware settlement in Orkney. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 82, pp. 193-225. https://doi.org/10.1017/ppr.2016.6

Article

Between the Vinča and Linearbandkeramik worlds: the diversity of practices and identities in the 54th–53rd centuries cal BC in south-west Hungary and beyond

Jakucs J, Bánffy E, Oross K, Voicsek V, Bronk Ramsey C, Dunbar E, Kromer B, Bayliss A, Hoffmann D, Marshall P & Whittle A (2016) Between the Vinča and Linearbandkeramik worlds: the diversity of practices and identities in the 54th–53rd centuries cal BC in south-west Hungary and beyond. Journal of World Prehistory, 29 (3), pp. 267-336. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10963-016-9096-x

Article

Refining the Chronology of the Neolithic Settlement at Pool, Sanday, Orkney: Implications for the Emergence and Development of Grooved Ware

MacSween A, Hunter J, Sheridan A, Bond JM, Bronk Ramsey C, Reimer PJ, Bayliss A, Griffiths S & Whittle A (2015) Refining the Chronology of the Neolithic Settlement at Pool, Sanday, Orkney: Implications for the Emergence and Development of Grooved Ware. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 81, pp. 283-310. https://doi.org/10.1017/ppr.2015.12

Article

Vinča-Belo Brdo, Serbia: the times of a tell

Tasić N, Marić M, Bronk Ramsey C, Kromer B, Barclay AJ, Bayliss A, Beavan N, Gaydarska B & Whittle A (2015) Vinča-Belo Brdo, Serbia: the times of a tell. Germania, 93, pp. 1-75. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-ger-323162

Book Chapter

Chapter 3: Chronology and the Radiocarbon Dating Programme

Marshall P, Barclay AJ, Bayliss A, Bronk Ramsey C, Cook G, Grootes PM, Meadows J & van der Plicht J (2014) Chapter 3: Chronology and the Radiocarbon Dating Programme. In: McKinley J, Leivers M, Schuster J, Marshall P, Barclay A & Stoodley N (eds.) Cliffs End Farm, Isle of Thanet, Kent: a mortuary and ritual site of the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Anglo-Saxon period. Wessex Archaeology Report, 31. Salisbury: Wessex Archaeology, pp. 65-92. http://www.wessexarch.co.uk/publications/cliffs-end-farm-isle-thanet-kent

Article

Radiocarbon dating, in 'Bogs, bodies and burnt mounds: visits to the Soar wetlands in the Neolithic and Bronze Age' (by S Ripper and M Beamish) (article pp173–206)

Bayliss A, Marshall P, Meadows J, Bronk Ramsey C, Cook G & van der Plicht J (2012) Radiocarbon dating, in 'Bogs, bodies and burnt mounds: visits to the Soar wetlands in the Neolithic and Bronze Age' (by S Ripper and M Beamish) (article pp173–206) [Bayliss, Alex, Marshall, Peter D, Meadows, John, Bronk Ramsey, Chris, Cook Gordon, and van der Plicht, Johannes]. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 78, pp. 180-187. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0079497X00027158

Article

IntCal09 and Marine09 radiocarbon age calibration curves, 0-50,000 years cal BP

Reimer PJ, Baillie MGL, Bard E, Bayliss A, Beck JW, Blackwell PG, Bronk Ramsey C, Buck CE, Burr GS, Edwards RL, Friedrich M, Grootes PM, Guilderson TP, Hajdas I & McCormac G (2009) IntCal09 and Marine09 radiocarbon age calibration curves, 0-50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon, 51 (4), pp. 1111-1150. https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/3569

Article

Building for the Dead: Events, Processes and Changing Worldviews from the Thirty-eighth to the Thirty-fourth Centuries cal. BC in Southern Britain

Whittle A, Barclay A, Bayliss A, McFadyen L, Schulting R & Wysocki M (2007) Building for the Dead: Events, Processes and Changing Worldviews from the Thirty-eighth to the Thirty-fourth Centuries cal. BC in Southern Britain. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 17 (S1), pp. 123-147. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0959774307000200

Conference Paper (published)

Dating a burnt mound and its beakers at Northwold, Norfolk

Crowson A & Bayliss A (1999) Dating a burnt mound and its beakers at Northwold, Norfolk. In: Evin J, Oberlin C, Daugas J & Salles J (eds.) Actes du 3eme congres international: Archaeologie et 14C, Lyon, 6-10 Avril 1998 Revue d'Archeometrie Suppl 1999 et Soc Prehist Fr Memoire. Mémoires de la Société préhistorique française, 26. 14C et archeologie: 3eme congres international, Lyon, 06.04.1998-10.04.1998. Lyon, France: Society Prehistorique Francaise, pp. 243-248.