Person

• Color Symbolism in the Aegean Bronze Age (research leader)

The switch from stone to metal in Greece was initially mainly a change in material, but as soon as bronze production was invented problems arose as tin is not indigenous to Greece. Where did the tin used on Crete and the mainland come from? What were the mechanisms involved? How did the trade system work? Did the sources change diachronically and what were the implications? To solve this, it was necessary first to establish which tin-ore sources were used in the BA through finding a materials-analytical method to provenance-determine tin, tin ores and tin in bronzes as there are no written records. Several methods were tried, primarily trace element analysis and isotope identification. Trace elements were inconclusive, isotope analyses seemed better. We determined that (contrary to the previous belief in homogeneity)Sn isotopes varied geographically from place to place. However, we also determined that tin ores in a single site could also vary internally, which eliminates 'fingerprinting' an ore site and matching it to isotopes in tin or bronze objects. Research is ongoing--when and if this initial step is resolved, then the results can be applied to the Aegean Bronze Age to answer questions of contact and trade. This second step is contingent on an understanding of trade theory and mechanisms. Thus concomitantly an indepth study of the social structures and economic factors in the source societies and the receiver societies through time is necessary and is also ongoing.

Books (3)

• Gillis, C. (2007). An introduction to ancient Greece. The Aegean and its neighbors c. 7000-700 B.C. Eisenbrauns.
• Gillis, C., Olausson, D. & Vandkilde, H. (2004). Dawn of Europe. Report Series, 88. Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Lund University.
• Gillis, C. (2003). An Introduction to Ancient Greece. The Aegean and its Neighbors c. 7000-700 B.C. Institutionen för arkeologi och antikens historia, Lunds universitet.

Editorships (4)

• Hildebrandt, B. & Gillis, C. (2018). (Eds.) Silk : Trade and exchange along the silk roads between Rome and China in antiquity. Ancient textiles series, 29. Oxbow Books.
• Gillis, C. & Sjöberg, B. (2008). (Eds.) Trade and Production in Premonetary Greece: Crossing Borders. Proceedings of the 7th-9th International Workshops, Athens, 1997-9. SIMA Pb, 173. Paul Åströms förlag.
• Gillis, C. & Nosch, M.-L. (2007). (Eds.) Ancient textiles: Craft, production and society. Oxbow Books.
• Gillis, C. & Nosch, M.-L. (2007). (Eds.) First aid for the preservation of textiles in the field. Oxbow Books.

Articles (2)

• Haustein, M., Gillis, C. & Pernicki, E. (2010). Tin Isotopy- A New Method for Solving Old Questions. Archaeometry, 52, 816-832. John Wiley and Sons.
  • External full text (Restricted access)
• Clayton, R., Andersson, P., Gale, N., Gillis, C. & Whitehouse, M. (2002). Precise determination of the isotopic composition of Sn using MC-ICP-MS. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, 17, 1248-1256. Royal Society of Chemistry.
  • External full text (Restricted access)

Book chapters (10)

• Gillis, C. (accepted/in press). Colorful Asine. [Host publication title missing].
• Gillis, C. & Holmer, A. (2012). SI and the Lund experience. In Gärdebo, J. & Wiggberg, M. (Eds.) Students, the university ́s unspent resource: revolutionising higher education through active student participation (pp. 45-60). Uppsala: Report series from the Division for Development of Teaching and Learning.
  • External full text
• Gillis, C. (2010). The Color Purple. In Faegersten, F., Wallensten, J. & Östenberg, I. (Eds.) Tankemönster En festskrift till Eva Rystedt (pp. 84-91).
• Gillis, C. (2008). Teaching and Learning, Leading and Following: Who Does What?. In Bommenel, E. & Irhammar, M. (Eds.) Osynligt och självklart? En antologi med exempel på ledarskap i undervisning och lärande i högre utbildning (pp. 83-92). Lunds universitet, Centre for Educational Development (CED).
• Gillis, C. (2008). Tin and the Aegean in the Bronze Age. In Tzachili, I. (Ed.) Aegean Metallurgy in the Bronze Age (pp. 133-142). Ta Pragmata Publ.
• Gillis, C. (2004). The use of color in the Aegean Bronze Age. In Cleland, L. & Stears, K. (Eds.) Color in the ancient Mediterranean world (BAR International Series) (pp. 56-60), 1267.
• Gillis, C., Clayton, R. & Pernicka, E. (2003). Tin in the Aegean Bronze Age. In Foster, K. & Laffineur, R. (Eds.) Metron. Université de Liège.
• Gillis, C., Clayton, R., Pernicka, E. & Gale, N. (2003). Tin in the Bronze Age. In Polinger Foster, K. & Laffineur, R. (Eds.) Metron: measuring the Aegean Bronze Age (pp. 103-110), 24.
• Gillis, C., Clayton, R., Andersson, P., Gale, N. & Whitehouse, M. (2002). A diachronic study of metals from Asine: Provenances and implications. In Wells, B. (Ed.) New research on old material from Asine and Berbati in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Swedish Institute at Athens (Skrifter utgivna av Svenska Institutet i Athen) (pp. 71-84), 17. Swedish Institute at Athens.
• Gillis, C., Clayton, R., Pernicka, E. & Gale, N. (2002). Feasibility criteria for the use of tin isotopes in provenance studies. Acts of the 33rd Archaeometry Conference, Amsterdam, April 2002.

Conference contributions (10)

• Gillis, C. (accepted/in press). Color for the dead, status for the living. Aegaeum : annales d'archéologie égéenne de l'Université de Liège. Université de l'État à Liège.
• Gillis, C. (2016). "Color, Materiality, Sensory Experience and Late Bronze Age Burials in the Argolid". In Aslaksen, O. C. (Ed.) Papers and Monographs from the Norwegian Institute at Athens, Local and global perspectives on mobility in the eastern Mediterranean (pp. 191-230), 5. Norwegian Institute of Athens.
• Gillis, C. (2015). A colorful death : A study of the social life of colors in Late Bronze Age grave goods. In Schallin, A.-L. & Tournavitou, I. (Eds.) Skrifter utgivna av Svenska institutet i Athen, 4°, Mycenaeans up to date : The archaeology of the northeastern Peloponnese―current concepts and new directions (pp. 515-529), 56.
• Gillis, C. & Wallette, A. (2011). Essay SI - Taking SI to a Higher Level.
• Gillis, C. & Bryngfors, L. (2009). Heightening Learning with SI. In Sonesson, A. & Amnér, G. (Eds.) [Host publication title missing] (pp. 150-154). Lund University (Media-Tryck).
• Gillis, C. & Bryngfors, L. (2009). Heightening student learning with SI. In Sonesson, A. & Amnér, G. (Eds.) Proceedings Utvecklingskonferens Lunds universitet 2009 (pp. 150-154). Lednings- och kompetensutveckling/CED.
• Gillis, C. (2004). The Use of Color in the Aegean Bronze Age. In Cleland, L. & Stears, K. (Eds.) Colour in the ancient Mediterranean world (pp. 56-60). Hedges.
• Gillis, C., Clayton, R. & Andersson, P. (2002). High precision measurement of Sn isotopes by multicollector ICPMS; towards a better understanding of a measurement protocol.
• Gillis, C. (2001). "Status and Prestige in the Late Bronze Age". Acts of the 8th Cretological Congress, 1996, 509-519.
• Gillis, C. (2001). "Tin-covered Pottery and Chemical Analyses: a Summary". In Bassiakos, Y., Aloupi, E. & Facorellis, Y. (Eds.) Archaeometry Issues in Greek Prehistory and Antiquity (pp. 451-458).

Reviews (2)

• Gillis, C. (2018). Review of Social Change in Aegean Prehistory, Wiersma (C.W.) and Voutsaki (S.) (eds.). Journal of Hellenic Studies, 138, 283-286. Cambridge University Press.
  • External full text (Restricted access)
• Gillis, C. (2005). Review of L. Hakulin, Bronzeworking on Late Minoan Crete. American Journal of Archaeology, 109, 576-578. Archaeological Institute of America.