Michael Schillaci

Michael Schillaci
Professor
Telephone number
(416) 287-7328
Building HL 310

Michael Schillaci joined the Department of Anthropology in 2003 after completing his PhD in Biological Anthropology from the University of New Mexico, where his doctoral research examined morphological variation and growth and development in hybrid macaques from Sulawesi, Indonesia. More recently Dr. Schillaci’s research has covered a variety of different topics within the subfields of bioarchaeology, archaeology, primate evolution, and medical anthropology.  His current research focuses on the prehistory of the American Southwest, and combining bioarchaeological, archaeological, and historical linguistic data sets to investigate culture history.

Teaching Interests

Biological Anthropology (undergraduate UTSC, ANT B14)
Human Osteology (undergraduate UTSC, ANT C47)
Medical Anthropology (undergraduate UTSC, ANT D17, ANT D25)
Quantitative Methods (graduate, ANT1099)
Evolutionary Perspectives on Growth and Development (graduate,   ANT3041)

Graduate Students

Chris Kendall (PhD Program)

Research Interests

Bioarchaeology: craniometric variation, growth, quantitative genetics, paleopathology
Archaeology: American Southwest, culture history, use of linguistic data, cultural affiliation
Primate Evolution: Macaca, growth, hybridization, morphology, evolutionary history
Medical Primatology: bidirectional pathogen transmission, radiography

Selected Recent Publications

2022 - Schillaci MA, Schillaci ME. Sample size and accuracy: estimating the probability that the sample variance is within a specified fraction of the population variance for a normal distribution. Journal of Human Evolution 171:103230

2022 - Reid MJC, Switzer WM, Alonso SK, Lowenberger CA, Schillaci MA. Evolutionary history of
orangutan plasmodia revealed by phylogenetic analysis of complete mtDNA genomes and new
biogeographical divergence dating calibration models. American Journal of Primatology
84:e23298

2021 - Schillaci MA, Sutton LD, Wichmann S, Lopez-Torres S. Linguistic clues to Kiowa-Tanoan prehistory. Journal of the Southwest 63(2):255-368.

2021 - Schillaci MA. Another Look at Tewa Origins: The Biological Evidence. Kiva 87(2):190-219.            

2021 - O’Donnell L, Schillaci MA. Inferring the relationships of the Gallina and Pottery Mound populations using craniometrics and dental morphological biodistance. Kiva 87(1): 97-128