eNewsletters
Volume 20 February 2008
1. Executive News
This is going to be a big year for WAC. This is the year in which we hold our banner event, WAC-6, This is the year that we hold elections for Council members. This is the year in which we appoint a new Executive. And this is the year in which you—whoever you may be—could decide to be more active in WAC. One of the wonderful things about WAC’s structure is that it is designed to facilitate change from the bottom. This can be done through standing as a representative of your region on the WAC Council, or through putting forth a motion at the Plenary session at WAC-6, or becoming a member of a WAC committee, or simply through voicing your views on the WAC list. There are many venues for being active in WAC, and I hope you chose to take up one or more of these routes to helping WAC to address the issues that are important to you.
WAC-6 will be held in at University College Dublin, in Ireland from 29th June to 4th July. It is going to be a fantastic event. It is well planned, well organised and clearly going to be something that is culturally specialand, and I would like to encourage everyone who can do so to attend this Congress.
One of the benefits of being a member of WAC is significantly reduced registration fees at WAC-6. WAC membership fees are used to cover the cost of the journal, with a small contribution to projects such as the Global Libraries program, which sends books and journals to archaeological libraries in economically disadvantaged countries through. If you have any doubts about your membership status, please check this with the WAC Treasurer, Ines Domingo Sanz, Ines.Domingo@uv.es.
WAC Congresses are very special events. Because we go to so much trouble to facilitate participation from people from all around the world, and especially Indigenous people, WAC Congresses have an intellectual richness that you simply do not find in other events. All countries have excellent minds, and all countries also have seriously diverse histories, experiences and, sometimes, values. It is only at WAC Congresses that these things are brought together, and this fantastic diversity generates totally new understandings of the world. When you put a wide range of different experiences and knowledge systems into the same forum you get outcomes that you could not have imagined from the perspectives of any of the separate parts. It is no exaggeration to say that WAC Congresses are life changing. This was certainly my own experience when I attended my first WAC Congress, WAC-3, in New Delhi, India. So if you can manage to attend, please do. Major WAC Congresses occur every four years, and they are not an experience that can be picked up next year, or the year after.
Submissions for travel awards for WAC-6 closed on 22nd February. There were more than 300 submissions. We hope to support as many people as possible. The announcement of successful applicants will be made as soon as possible in March.
Finally, I would like to apologise to you, and particularly to Suzanne Nugent and Sean Ulm, who put together this newsletter, for the fact that the newsletter is going out late. My mother, Annette Smith, passed away on 2nd February, 2008. The lateness of my contribution to this newsletter is testament not only to my own dependence on family, but also to how much each one of us depends on the people around them to find the motivation and means to do what we do.
All the best,
Claire Smith, President
2. WAC News
Call for nomination to the Council of the World Archaeological Congress
Notice is hereby given of the call for nomination for a number of places as regional representatives, identified below, on the Council of WAC.
The Council is the main governing body of WAC between meetings of the WAC Assembly (the Assembly only meets during major WAC Congresses). Full details of the role, responsibilities, and make-up of the Council are given in Article 9 of the Statutes which is appended here for information.
The usual practice is that one representative from each of WAC’s fourteen (14) regions steps down every four years. However, owing to a variety of different situations in regions there are slightly more nominations required than normal.
Nominations are required therefore for the following positions:
Senior Representative, Central Africa (Cameroon)
Junior Representative, Central Africa (Gabon)
Junior Representative, Eastern and Southern Africa (Botswana)
Senior Representative, North Africa (No representative at present)
Junior Representative, North Africa (c/o Luxemburg)
Senior Representative, Western Africa (Nigeria)
Senior Representative, Central America and the Caribbean (Curacao, Netherlands Antilles)
Junior Representative, Central America and the Caribbean (No representative at present)
Senior Representative for Northern America (USA)
Junior Representative, Southern America (Argentina)
Junior Representative, Eastern Asia (Peoples’ Republic of China)
Senior Representative, Southeastern Asia and the Pacific (Thailand)
Senior Representative, Southern Asia (Bangladesh)
Junior Representative, Southern Asia (India)
Senior Representative, Western Asia (Jordan)
Senior Representative, Central & Eastern Europe & Central Asia (Russia)
Junior Representative, Central & Eastern Europe & Central Asia (Bulgaria)
Senior Representative, Northern Europe (UK)
Junior Representative, Southern Europe (Spain)
Nominations should be sent by email or post to Catherine Todd at the address indicated on the nomination form (see below) by no later than Monday 21 April 2008. By that time the following also need to have been received:
- a short CV of the nominee
- a nomination seconder form
- An acceptance of nomination form
All forms follow below.
In cases where more than one person has been nominated for a position an election will be held in accordance with Statute 9.4 (reproduced below). Present members of Council whose positions are listed above are eligible for re-nomination. Please note especially Statute 9.4 [d] that states:
“within each Regional Electoral College, members shall only be eligible for nomination to the Council if they are not from the same country as the continuing incumbent Regional Representative on the Council.”
Countries of existing members of Council are placed in brackets after the vacant positions above.
The new Council will meet for the first time on Friday 4 July 2008 during WAC-6.
ARTICLE 9: The Council
9.1 The Council shall be the main governing body of WAC between meetings of the Assembly and shall carry into effect the policies established by the Assembly, including the receipt of annual reports from international organising committees. It is hoped that the Council will be able to meet annually.
9.2 The members of the Council shall be:
a] the Officers of WAC;
b] two representatives from each Regional Electoral College, a Senior Representative and a Junior Representative.
(To be eligible for election as a Senior Representative a person shall at that time have been in permanent employment within archaeology or a related discipline for a period of more than five years. To be eligible for election as a Junior Representative a person shall not at that time have been in permanent employment within a
rchaeology or a related discipline for a period of more than five years.)
c] eight representatives of Indigenous peoples/the Fourth World to be appointed by organisations such as the World Council of Indigenous Peoples, and the International Indian Treaty Council for a limited period as determined from time to time by the Council.
9.3 Each member of the Council shall have one vote.
9.4 The Regional Representatives shall be elected by secret postal ballot of the individual members within each Regional Electoral College. The ballot shall be conducted as follows:
a] there shall be a separate list of candidates for the position of Senior Representative and for that of Junior Representative;
b] the ballot for each position shall be by the single transferable voting system;
c] where there are three or more candidates for election, and the two sexes are represented, a member’s vote shall be valid only if three votes have been cast in rank order, at least one of which must be for a female and one for a male;
d] within each Regional Electoral College, members shall only be eligible for nomination to the Council if they are not from the same country as the continuing incumbent Regional Representative on the Council.
9.5 Members of the Council other than Officers of WAC (whose term on the Council shall be determined by their period in office) shall be elected for a term of eight years. Half the Council shall retire every four years and a new Council will take office immediately after each International Congress (i.e. at a Council meeting convened immediately following the last Assembly meeting during a Congress).
9.6 Members of the Council shall be eligible to serve for more than one period of office.
9.7 The Council shall administer the affairs of WAC in accordance with these Statutes and the decisions and policy of the Assembly. The Council will have full power to take any decisions which may be necessary or desirable in the interests of WAC, including the waiver or modification of particular subscriptions, as well as any termination of membership. Meetings of the Council shall take place at such times and places as it shall decide. Members of the Council who are unable to attend meetings may vote in all matters arising at any meeting by post or by duly authorised proxy. To enable such members to consider the issues properly the Secretary shall circulate to all members of the Council the agenda for each meeting at least 1 month before the date of the meeting.
9.8 The Council shall prepare and present a report to each Assembly on all matters of concern to WAC which have occurred since the previous meeting of the Assembly.
9.9 In the event of there being a vacancy on the Council, for whatever reason, the Executive shall decide whether and how to fill it but in no case shall the term of a member of the Council selected pursuant to this clause exceed that remaining of the vacancy to be filled.
WORLD ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONGRESS
ELECTION TO COUNCIL
Completed forms should be returned by post or email (no later than Monday 21 April 2008) to:
Catherine Todd
WAC Nominations
ICCHS, Bruce Building,
Newcastle University,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
NE1 7RU, UK
email: wacelections08@ncl.ac.uk
Fax: +44 191 222 5564
WORLD ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONGRESS
ELECTION TO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Completed forms should be returned by post or email (no later than Monday 21 April 2008) to:
Catherine Todd
WAC Nominations
ICCHS, Bruce Building,
Newcastle University,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
NE1 7RU, UK
email: wacelections08@ncl.ac.uk
Fax: +44 191 222 5564
2. (a) WAC-6 News
WAC-6 Registration Fees
Dear all,
There has been some discussion on the WAC list about registration
rates at WAC-6. For every major Congress, these rates are set in
close consultation with the WAC Executive. The rates for this
Congress are about the same as for WAC-5, which were about the same
as for WAC-4.
However, the registration fees for major WAC Congresses are always
high in comparison to the registration rates of annual or regional
meetings of national archaeological associations. The reasons that
our registrations are high are:
1) They include lunch, morning and afternoon teas and some major
receptions, over a period of 5 days.
2) They are used to subsidise the attendance of people from
Indigenous groups and economically disadvantaged countries.
WAC is about to announce the travel subsidies for people to get to
WAC-6. Over 300 people applied for support, and around 250 people
have received support. In all, we will be distributing in excess of
$250,000 as partial support to our colleagues from Indigenous groups
and economically disadvantaged countries. While a large part of this
funding comes from sponsor organisations, a substantial proportion
also comes from WAC members, through a donation built into
registration costs. In this way each of us is able to contribute
towards redressing the economic imbalances of the world in which we
all share a common love of archaeology.
The registration fees directly translate into the diversity we all
enjoy at a WAC Congress. At WAC-5, we had people from 75 countries,
and we expect the same diversity at WAC-6. A WAC Congress is not just
another conference, that you can pick up next year, if you miss out
this year. It occurs once every four years and is a unique
opportunity to truly find out what is happening in our discipline
globally.
I hope this explains why registration fees at major WAC Congresses
are high – and I’d like to thank everyone for supporting their
colleagues on this. And I’d particularly like to thank Gabriel
Cooney for his part in the substantive funding raising involved in
getting archaeologists from all parts of our inter-connected world to
WAC-6.
all the best,
Claire
SIXTH WORLD ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONGRESS (WAC-6), DUBLIN, JUNE 29-JULY 4 2008
Dear Colleagues,
The WAC-6 Organising Committee warmly invites you to join us in Dublin this summer for what promises to be an exciting Congress! The main venue for the academic programme is the campus of University College Dubin and the social events and tours will take in some of Ireland’s fantastic historic venues and outstanding archaeological monuments and landscapes. There is a wide-ranging programme of cutting-edge themes and sessions to which participants can contribute, and whose organisers alone represent over 50 different nations around the world. Themes will cover diverse issues including: the archaeology of art, identity, indigenous communities, the human body, migration, landscapes, islands, wetlands, heritage tourism, museums, the politics of archaeology, and the ethics of archaeological practice, for example working with communities and in areas impacted by war, infrastructural developments and changing ecosystems.
Please see the WAC-6 WEBSITE www.ucd.ie/wac-6 for the following information:
CALL FOR PAPERS AND POSTERS
Paper and poster proposals can be submitted using the electronic forms on our website. Papers can be submitted for particular Sessions or Themes, and posters will also be linked to each of the broad Themes of the Programme. Abstracts
for Themes and Sessions are listed in full on the website.
REGISTRATION – NOW OPEN! (see Register Tab at www.ucd.ie/wac-6)
Register by 26th MARCH to take advantage of the early fee! Fees are detailed on the Registration Fee page. We would strongly encourage participants who are not already members of the World Archaeological Congress (WAC) to consider joining, as the WAC-6 registration fee is significantly lower for WAC members. You can join WAC online at www.worldarchaeologicalcongress.org/site/join.php.
WAC-6 TRAVEL SUPPORT GRANTS – due 22th February
In line with WAC’s aim to make its meetings as globally representative as possible we are delighted to offer support in the form of free registration and accommodation, and travel support to participants from economically disadvantaged countries and indigenous communities. Please see the travel support application form on the Grants page of the WAC-6 website.
TOURS, EXHIBITIONS, SOCIAL PROGRAMME
Participants are invited to experience Ireland’s rich archaeological heritage during the mid-Congress (2 July) tours, with 5 varied tour options to choose from. There is also a selection of post-Congress archaeological (5-7 July) tours. The academic programme will be enriched by exhibitions, multimedia installations and video art, experimental archaeology demonstrations, performances, and a major art exhibition, Ábhar agus Meon / Materials and Mentalities. Furthermore, Ireland’s rich cultural and social life will undoubtedly be a major highlight for many! The formal events of the social programme will be held in some of Dublin’s spectacular historic venues, and there will be time to experience the ‘real Irish Pub’ in its true cultural context!
For enquiries about the academic programme please email wac6programme@ucd.ie, or for poster queries, wac6posters@ucd.ie. For queries about registration, accommodation, and Irish visa requirements please contact wac6@ucd.ie.
We look forward to seeing you in Dublin!
Gabriel Cooney, Academic Secretary, on behalf of the WAC-6 Organising Committee
3. News from WAC Members
In November 2007 a four-day workshop entitled Heritage Values: The Past in Contemporary Society, organized by George S. Smith, Phyllis Mauch Messenger and Hilary A. Soderland, took place at Cumberland Island National Seashore in the US. The workshop focused on how contemporary society values the past. The workshop brought together an international panel representing the heritage sector that included archaeology (university professors and governmental, private sector, and public archaeologists), law, economics, historic preservation, education, tourism, and indigenous populations. Discussion centred on how the past is valued and how such values can be defined, measured, and applied to public policy, spending, management, education (at all levels), education and training of heritage sector professionals, economic and sustainable development as well as how services relating to a collective heritage can be delivered in a manner that is accountable and includes public involvement. Participants included: Jeffrey Altschul, Lilia Lizama Aranda, Brenda Barrett, Ian Baxter, Susan Bruning, Elizabeth Chilton, Joelle Clark, Kate Clark, Suzanne Coping, Karina Croucher, Arlene Fleming, Roy Graham, Megg Heath, Israel Herrera, Cornelius Holtorf, Thanik Lertcharnrit, Randall Mason, David Morgan, Nancy Morgan, Katsuyuki Okamura, Ian Russell, Chen Shen, Neil Silberman, Claire Smith, and Pei-Lin Yu. A book based on the results of the workshop is underway.
The Heritage Values workshop received letters of support from 13 universities and organizations around the world and four professional societies including the World Archaeological Congress, Society for American Archaeology, European Association of
Archaeologists, and the Society for Historical Archaeology.
Jean-Michel Chazine, Maison Asie-Pacifique/CNRS-Marseille, France, was recently invited to visit some rock art sites previously observed by a group of divers at an eco-resort associated with a protected area South of Misool Island, in the Rajah Empat Archipelago, North West of Indonesian Papua New Guinea. Amongst the artwork, he was surprised to discover a stencilled motif that looks like a replica of the logo chosen in the 1960’s by the women’s liberation movement.
The shape is elaborate, depicting the opposed thumbs and forefingers of two hands (see picture on http://pacific-credo.fr/index.php?page=photographies-et-images&hl=fr/chazine) creating an explicit sexual representation (like a yoni). Wondering where and when such a motif first appeared, Jean-Michel asks if any colleagues have observed similar motifs in archaeological context?
In addition, some 50cm above these stencils (covered by a calcite veil), there are some circular figures and another hand, deciphered as being feminine (using a ©kalimain program). The main other paintings are mostly representing sea creatures (tuna, dolphins, dugongs etc) that are almost all in vertical position. They do not appear to be related to the hand motifs and could be some millennia old.
4. New publication by WAC member
José Farrujia de la Rosa, PhD, Department of Culture and Historical and Archaeological Heritage, Town Council of La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, has published a book titled:
Arqueología y franquismo en Canarias. Política, poblamiento e identidad (1939-1969)
Archaeology and Franco’s dictatorship in the Canary Islands. Politics, human colonization and identity (1939-1969)
The book, written in Spanish, deals, among other aspects, with:
– The theoretical and methodological guidelines of Spanish archaeology during Franco’s regime
– The administrative functioning of Spanish archaeology during that historical period
– The nationalization of Canarian archaeology
– The study of the hypothesis developed by nationalist archaeologists to explain the ancient colonization of the Canary Islands
– The re-invention of the Guanches’ identity (ancient inhabitants of the Canary Islands) during Franco’s dictatorship, and
– The close relationship between power and the generation of scientific knowledge.
5. New publications
New From Left Coast Press, WAC members receive a 20% discount on hardcovers and a 30% discount on paperbacks (insert discount code L187 at checkout)
From the One Word Archaeology Series sponsored by the World Archaeological Congress
This title may be ordered online and will also be available at WAC-6 in Dublin
Living under the Shadow: Cultural Impacts of Volcanic Eruptions
John Grattan and Robin Torrence, eds.
AVAILABLE NEXT MONTH! Expected publication March 2008, 416 pages, $79.00 Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-59874-268-9
Popularist treatments of ancient disasters like volcanic eruptions have grossly overstated their capacity for death, destruction, and societal collapse. Contributors to this volume– from anthropology, archaeolo
gy, environmental studies, geology, and biology — show that human societies have been incredibly resilient and, in the long run, have often recovered remarkably well from wide-scale disruption and significant mortality. They have often used eruptions as a trigger for environmental enrichment, cultural change, and adaptation. These historical studies are relevant to modern hazard management because they provide records for a far wider range of events and responses than have been recorded in written records, yet are often closely datable and trackable using standard archaeological and geological techniques.
6. News Items
Excavations in the prehistoric site of CASTANHEIRO DO VENTO (HORTA DO DOURO – VILA NOVA DE FOZ CÔA – NE OF PORTUGAL) JULY/AUGUST 2008
About the region and the site – please visit the page:
http://www.architectures.home.sapo.pt
Period :
6 July – 2 August 2008
REGISTER FROM NOW UNTIL THE 15TH JUNE 2008
CONDITIONS of participation:
* real motivation and interest in archaeology and the ability to work in a team
* send a brief cv and personal data (name, address, email etc) to Ana Vale ana.m.vale@gmail.com
* directors of the excavation: Prof. Vítor Oliveira Jorge (Univ. do Porto), João Muralha Cardoso (University of Porto), Ana Margarida Vale (University of Porto), Gonçalo Leite Velho (University of Porto) and Bábara Carvalho, in collaboration with Dr. Ângela Carneiro and archaeologists from the UK.
Kind of work:
Open air excavation with daily transport from and to the village of Freixo de Numão. Some workers may be required to work under the directors of excavation and Ângela Carneiro
on a rotational basis at the local museum of Freixo de Numão (Prehistoric section), sorting, washing, and labelling previously recovered artefacts.
For further details, including accommodation facilities and costs, contact:
ana.m.vale@gmail.com
7. Excerpts from other archaeological associations’ newsletters (used with permission)
(a) SALON
Editor: Christopher Catling
Salon 184: 17 March 2008
Obituary: Francesca Romana Serra Ridgway
Francesca Romana Serra Ridgway, wife of David Ridgway, died on 7 March 2008 after a long illness. She will be remembered as a distinguished colleague and mentor to many Etruscan archaeologists in Italy, the UK and elsewhere in Europe and in the USA. A brief account of her academic work can be found on the website of the University of London’s Institute of Classical Studies.
Palaeolithic hand axes found off Great Yarmouth coast
An assemblage of twenty-eight flint hand-axes has been found in gravel from a marine aggregate dredging area 13km off Great Yarmouth. The find was made by the Dutch archaeologist, Jan Meulmeester.
English Heritage and the Dutch National Service for Archaeology, Cultural Landscape and Built Heritage are now evaluating the finds to determine their date and possible origin. Bones and teeth were also recovered along with the axes.
British Archaeological Awards 2008
The British Archaeological Awards is looking for nominations for the 2008 round of awards. Nomination forms are on the BAA’s website and close on 31 May, 2008. Prizes will be awarded at a ceremony on Monday 10 November at the British Museum.
Salon 183: 3 March 2008
Europa Nostra protests against Florentine trams and Turkish dam building
Protests have taken place this month in Florence to voice opposition to the construction of a tram line through the historic centre of Florence, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982. Europa Nostra is also organising opposition to plans by the Republic of Turkey to flood areas of the country’s historic landscapes. For further information, see the Europa Nostra website.
London is named the world’s museums capital
London has seven of the top forty most-visited museums and art galleries in the world – more than any other city. Rival capitals Paris and Madrid each have three of the world’s most popular museums, while Washington, Chicago, Barcelona and Moscow have two.
Paris takes the top two spots for individual museums: the Louvre recorded 8.3 million visits last year, followed by the newly renovated Pompidou Centre (5.5 million). Tate Modern, with almost 5.2 million visitors, is the world’s third most popular, followed by the British Museum at fourth (4.8 million) and the National Gallery at eighth (4.1 million). The other London institutions in the top forty are the Victoria and Albert Museum (twelfth, with 2.4 million visitors), the National Portrait Gallery (twenty-second, with 1.6 million), Tate Britain (twenty-third, with 1.6 million) and the Royal Academy (thirty-seventh, with 955,000).
Salon 182: 18 February 2008
The XXIst International Limes (Roman Frontiers) Congress at Newcastle upon Tyne, 2009
The XXIst Congress will be held in Newcastle upon Tyne, at the invitation of Tyne and Wear Museums, Newcastle, on 17 to 23 August 2009.
There will be a one-day Pre-Congress excursion to York on 16 August, and the Thirteenth Pilgrimage of Hadrian’s Wall will take place in the preceding week (8 to 14 August).
There will also be a three-day post-congress excursion along Hadrian’s Wall for those unable to join the Pilgrimage, with an alternative excursion to Roman Scotland. During the Congress itself, the main excursions will be to Roman sites in Cumbria, Durham and Yorkshire, rather than to sites on Hadrian’s Wall. Expressions of interest in the Congress can be registered on the Congress website.
Salon 181: 4 February 2008
‘Hobbits’ not a different species
Scientists working on the human genome have identified a gene (MOPD II) that causes a rare growth condition in which the people affected have a small brain and body size but near-normal intelligence. Unlike dwarfism, where the head is normal but the body small, carriers of this gene have the same head, limb and body proportions as normal people, but scaled down to half normal size. Reporting on the discovery of the gene in the journal Science, Dr Anita Rauch of Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen, Germany, and colleagues contribute to the long-running debate about the 18,000-year-old remains of Homo floresiensis (aka ‘the hobbit’) by suggesting that these ancient people were not an unusual species of human but modern humans with the MOPD II growth disorder.
An earlier paper pointed out that the wrist bones of the hobbit are shaped differently compared to those of both humans and of Neanderthals, leading them to conclude that they do represent a different human species, but Dr Rauch points out that people who carry this mutation also have bony hand and wrist anomalies.
Understanding the DNA of the Pacific islands
An extensive new study of ‘The Genetic Structure of Pacific Islanders’, published in the January issue of the journal PLoS Genetics, looks at the origins of the peoples of three different Pacific island groups and has found that the ancestors of today’s Polynesians and Micronesians have little genetic relationship to the indigenous peoples of Melanesia.
The findings support a scenario whereby the islands of Melanesia, in the western Pacific (including modern Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia), were colonised first and early: the study reveals
the people of these islands to be among the most genetically diverse people on the planet, consistent with the settlement of these islands by H Sapiens early in prehistory, up to 50,000 years ago. That genetic diversity is reflected in the islands’ cultural complexity: New Guinea alone has some 900 languages, the highest density of language differential per square mile in the world.
By contrast, the people of Polynesia and Micronesia, further out in the Pacific, appear to be descended from East Asians and aboriginal Taiwanese, the so-called Lapita people, who migrated between 3,000 and 3,500 years ago, and whose genome suggests that they incorporated very few genes from the people of Melanesia, or Near Oceania, as if they had stayed for three or four hundred years before moving on to explore the central Pacific islands.
Evidence that they did spend some time in Melanesia and did intermix to some degree with the indigenous populations – at least at the cultural and linguistic level – comes from the pottery styles and crops that were adopted by the Lapita and from some shared linguistic patterns. Comparisons of the mitochondrial DNA evidence – which is passed down from females – with the Y-chromosome, or male, evidence suggests different male and female migration patterns.
Andean crops cultivated 10,000 years ago
A paper in the journal Science published by archaeologist Tom Dillehay of Vanderbilt University reveals that the squash seeds found in ancient storage bins on the lower western slopes of the Andes in northern Peru are almost 10,000 years old, evidence that the domestication of crops in the Old And New Worlds were close to contemporaneous. Dillehay also found evidence of cotton and peanut farming, tools that could have been used as hoes and irrigation canals. The paper asks why the people of the Nanchoc Valley, living close to a forest filled with nutritious foods, developed farming, and suggests that the motives were social and ceremonial involving conspicuous consumption on a scale that required larger quantities of food than could be obtained by hunting and gathering.
Human impact brings dawn of new epoch
The Holocene is over – welcome to the Anthropocene era. That at least is the message from Jan Zalasiewicz and Mark Williams, geologists at the University of Leicester, who believe that human impact on the Earth’s weather, erosion and sedimentation patterns and ocean acidification are now so comprehensive that we have entered a new geological and climatic epoch, which began with the start of the Industrial Revolution. ‘These change will leave traces in the layers of sediment being laid down today that will identify them long into the future, just as geological layers had indicated the dates and nature of previous eras’, said Dr Zalasiewicz, who is chairman of the Stratigraphy Commission of the Geological Society of London. The Anthropocene was first proposed as a name for the new era by the chemist Paul Crutzen in 2000. The name recognises that human activity has become the driver of most of the major changes in the Earth’s topography and climate.
Salon 180: 21 January 2008
Looking for Harvard’s Indian College
In his archaeological column in The Times, Norman Hammond recently reported on the Harvard Yard Archaeology Project, which has located remains from Harvard Indian College, built around 1655 as a place to train Native American students within Harvard. According to our Fellow Bill Fash, Director of the Harvard Peabody Museum, ‘the Indian College is of special interest as the first university-level institution in the Americas focused on Native people’.
A ground-penetrating radar survey of the conjectured location of the college, at the south-west corner of Harvard Yard, suggested a high concentration of artefacts and a possible foundation. Excavations showed, however, that this was debris from the construction of Matthews Hall in 1871. Slightly further east the project team had better luck: they found eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries middens whose contents included re-deposited seventeenth-century material.
Among the midden deposits were five pieces of printer’s lead type which Harvard Yard Archaeology Project Director Dr Christina Hodge says could have come from the Harvard printing presses, the first in the colonies. ‘Harvard printed the first books in North America, including a Bible in the local Algonquian language’, she said. The presses are known from historical records to have been housed in the College President’s House and at the Indian College.
Roof tiles, glass and lead from leaded windows were also found, as well as domestic rubbish, including pottery, glass bottles, a pipe stem and animal bones. All seem to date from around the time that the Old College and Indian College were dismantled at the end of the seventeenth century. One intriguing find was a fragment from an Iberian maiolica vessel, which, according to Dr Hodge ‘raises questions of illicit trade, as British colonists’ trade with countries other than England was heavily restricted at that time’.
The sixth biennial University Museums in Scotland conference will be held in Aberdeen on 20 and 21 November 2008; a call for papers (of 30 minutes duration) has gone out with a submission deadline of 29 February (further details from Neil Curtis, Senior Curator, Marischal Museum, University of Aberdeen). The conference title – ‘The Contentious Museum’ – reflects the fact that museums have increasingly become contentious places, engaging with debates on issues such as repatriation, genocide, slavery, censorship, power and the treatment of human remains. This conference will discuss how responding to such challenges enables museums to depart from tradition and embrace different ways of thinking, working and developing new audiences.
Salon 179: 7 January 2008
Obituary: Mats Peterson Malmer
Mats Peterson Malmer was elected an Honorary Fellow on 6 January 1983. The In Memoriam section of the Antiquity website records that he studied humanities after war service, was inspired by his teachers to study archaeology and was appointed head of the Stone and Bronze Age division of the Museum of National Antiquities in Stockholm in 1959. From 1970 he worked as a professor of archaeology, first in Lund until 1973 and then in Stockholm until 1987. He was a brilliant field archaeologist and theoretician, greatly influenced by analytical philosophy, not least Wittgenstein, as is plain from his doctoral thesis, a study of the Neolithic Battle Axe Culture of Sweden and Norway and its European connections in which he argued that what lay behind different material expressions was the diffusion of ideas about material culture and varying local conditions. But the doctoral thesis was equally a methodological attack on what Malmer called ‘impressionism’ in archaeology, that is, the lackadaisical way in which many archaeologists classified their material. He demanded clear definitions of basic categories such as time, space and typology. Thus he set the stage for a theoretical and methodological debate that would later be named the New Archaeology in the Anglo-American tradition.
Oxford University Continuing Education events 2008
For a brochure detailing the full year’s programme, send an email to ppdayweek@conted.ox.ac.uk.
ICOMOS Australia
Australia ICOMOS E-Mail News No. 328
ICOMOS 16th General Assembly news: Online Registration now available
The website of the 16th General Assembly has received various updates. It is now possible to register online for the event.
Online registration: http://www.conferium.com/Clients/icomos/en/03_tarifs.htm
You can reserve a hotel room at the moment of your registration. A list of the available hotels can be consulted on the Assembly website.
Hotel reservation: http://www.conferium.com/Clients/icomos/en/08_hebergement.htm
The organising committee has also concluded an agreement with Star Alliance for special prices for participants of the General Assembly. You can get up to 20% discount with the Star Alliance network following the instructions on the Website.
Air transportation:
APPEAR Guide on Managing archaeological remains in towns and cities now online
The APPEAR (Accessibility Projects for the Sustainable Preservation and Enhancement of Urban Sub-soil Archaeological Remains) Guide on Managing archaeological remains in towns & cities, of which ICOMOS is a project partner, is now available online.
Website
The Website of the APPEAR Guide can be accessed at
http://www.in-situ.be/A_appearguide.html
Download the APPEAR Guide
PDF, 236 Pages, English: http://www.in-situ.be/guide_en.pdf
PDF, 245 Pages, French: http://www.in-situ.be/guide_fr.pdf
Call for Proposals: ESF Exploratory Workshops 2008
Each year the European Science Foundation (ESF) awards funding for some 50-60 Exploratory Workshops across all scientific domains. With their small format, the Exploratory Workshops are a privileged venue for the articulation of emerging research needs in the Humanities.
Workshop proposals should show that convenors want to use them to open up new questions and directions in research or to explore emerging research fields. Proposals should demonstrate the potential for initiating follow-up research activities and/or developing future collaborative actions.
Interdisciplinary topics and topics related to the building and use of research infrastructures are also eligible.
Awards of up to max. 15 000 EUR are intended to cover costs for small, interactive and output-oriented discussion meetings of maximum 30 participants to be held between 1 February and 31 December 2009.
Deadline
The deadline for the receipt of proposals is 29 April 2008 (16:00 CET). Full details and contact information can be consulted at http://www.esf.org/workshops .
Australia ICOMOS E-Mail News No. 327
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts: Media Release – Protection for HMAS Sydney and Hsk Kormoran Shipwrecks
A provisional declaration under the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 has been made over the HMAS Sydney II and German raider HSK Kormoran, discovered in Western Australian waters.
HMAS Sydney II sank after a fierce battle with the HSK Kormoran on 19 November 1941. All 645 crew were tragically lost in what was Australia’s worst naval disaster. Over 80 German sailors also died.
For more information about the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 visit
http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/shipwrecks/shiplaw.html
For more information about and high resolution sonar images of the wrecks visit
http://presspass.findingsydney.com/
Australia ICOMOS E-Mail News No. 326
Montreal College of Art and Design: Summer 2008 activities
International Summer School of Heritage
The International Summer School of Heritage Conservation will take place in Montreal from 30 June 30 to 25 July, 2008. It will be an occasion for participants to learn about the most recent theories, techniques and ideas concerning heritage conservation.
Study Trip to Brazil
A Study Trip to Brazil will be held from May 3rd to 18th, 2008. This 2 week trip is offered at a very beneficial rate and will be an incredible opportunity for participants to discover the rich historical and modern heritage of the country.
Information
http://www.mocad.ca
Contact
Julie Boucher
Email: boucherj@mocad.ca
Tel.: 514.847.3636
Australia ICOMOS E-Mail News No. 325
18th Biennial Pacific History Association Conference, 2008
The PHA Conference will take place in Suva, Fiji from 8–12 December 2008.
The venue is the University of the South Pacific and Pacific Theological College, Suva.
Conference Convenors
Morgan Tuimaleali’ifano: tuimalealiifano_m@usp.ac.fj
Kambati Uriam: principal@tangintebu.edu.ki
A Special Announcement:
A symposium on Pacific Roots: Heritages and Identities will be held from Monday 1st to Friday 5th December, preceding the PHA Conference.
PHA Conference website will carry updates of both Events. www.pacifichistoryassociation.com
Please direct web enquiries to Agnes Hannan: agnes.hannan@jcu.edu.au
Oceanic Art Symposium – final date for Registration
Organised by the Pacific Islands Museums Association (PIMA) and the Vanuatu Cultural Centre (VKS)
Port Vila, Vanuatu, 6–8 May 2008
Final date for Registration Monday 14 April 2008
Please see http://www.culturepacific.org for further details of the Symposium program, discounted accommodation and flight options, the Field Trip, and links to Vanuatu Sand Drawing. Registration forms in Word or PDF format are available online at http://www.culturepacific.org/en/bm/whats_on/
Australia ICOMOS E-Mail News No. 324
A word from the ICOMOS Canada President
It is with great pleasure that we hope to welcome you in Quebec City for the 16th General Assembly of the International Council on Monuments and Sites that will take place from 29 September to 4 October 2008. The preparations for this important event are moving along very well and I wish to share with you the latest details through this E-Newsletter. Do not hesitate to share a copy with your members and other professi
onals and organizations in your region that have an interest in heritage conservation.
I invite you to consult regularly the special web site that we have created for the event at: http://quebec2008.icomos.org . This is where you will find the most recent information concerning the program, the call for papers, registration fees, accommodation, post-conference study tours and especially, the Forum for young researchers and professionals that we are organizing just before the General Assembly.
I would like to remind you that Quebec City, a World Heritage Site, celebrates its 400th anniversary this year. It is in the context of this anniversary’s celebrations that we invite you to join us and your colleagues from all over the world to participate to the ICOMOS General Assembly and the international Scientific Symposium.
Michel Bonnette,
President
ICOMOS Canada
VIIIth Conference on Military Monuments – call for papers and registration
THEME: “Sea Coast Fortification: from the onset to modern times”
27-29 November 2008, The Algarve University, Faro, Algarve, Portugal
For information, visit http://www.amigosdoscastelos.org.pt/tabid/125/language/en-US/default.aspx .
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts: Media Release – Heritage Honour for Stone Hatchet Quarry
An ancient Aboriginal stone hatchet quarry of immense importance to Central Victoria’s Wurundjeri people has been given the nation’s highest heritage honour – inclusion in the National Heritage List.
Australia ICOMOS E-Mail News No. 321
Built cultural heritage in the Asia/Pacific region – an opportunity to contribute
A new volume dealing with the conservation and preservation of built cultural heritage in the Asia/Pacific region is being produced. This volume has officially been accepted for publication by Springer Press, a major international publisher. The volume will be edited by Mark Diab (Institute of History and Anthropology, Tsukuba University, Japan) and Ghafar Ahmad (of the University Sains Malaysia), with a projected publication date of late 2008.
For further information concerning this project (including guidelines for contributors), email Mark Diab at asiapacvol@mail.com. The first deadline for contributions is 1 May 2008.
ICOM / ICMAH Annual Conference 2008 – “Museums and Disasters”
12-16 November, 2008, New Orleans
Organized by:
· ICOM’s International Committee of Museums and Collections of Archaeology and History (ICMAH)
· The Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans/ USA
· The Historic New Orleans Collection
Theme
This conference will explore the various ways in which museums document and interpret the direct and indirect effects on society of natural, economic, and military disasters. It will be held in a city that suffered a devastating flood in 2005 that killed 1,464 people and where recovery has been painfully slow. Special emphasis at the conference will be on recent history/contemporary events. Speakers will address four interrelated themes to explore the conference topic.
Contact
Marie-Paule Jungblut
c/o Musée d’Histoire de la Ville de Luxembourg
L-2090 Luxembourg
Tel: +352 4796-4562
Fax: +352 47 17 07
E-mail: m.jungblut@musee-hist.lu
David Kahn
Director
Louisiana State Museum
P.O. Box 2448
New Orleans, La. 70176
Tel: +1 504-568-6967
E-mail: dkahn@crt.state.la.us
International Symposium on Conservation of Ancient Sites 2008 (ISCAS-2008) 22-24 September 2008, Dunhuang, China
Symposium Objectives
There are a great number of grottoes and ancient earthen historical sites located in northwest China. During the past 10 years, Chinese scholars have not only achieved a great deal of scientific research and engineering practice on the conservation of ancient sites, but also cooperated with many international organizations. The aim of the symposium is to demonstrate the latest improvements and achievements in the field of international conservation of ancient sites, and to provide a discussion forum for the participants of this symposium.
Symposium Themes
– Environment and conservation of ancient sites.
– Geological engineering and conservation of ancient sites.
– Research on main geological damages and mechanism of ancient sites.
– Research on materials and technologies for conservation of ancient sites.
– Research on deformation monitoring and stability analysis of ancient sites.
– Typical case histories relating consolidation engineering of ancient sites.
A PDF containing detailed information on the conference as well as the registration form can be requested at the contact address given below.
Ma Jianhong, Guo Qinglin
Dunhuang Academy, Mogao Grottoes
Dunhuang
China 736200
Tel.: +86 937 886 91 03
Fax: +86 937 886 91 03
Mobile: +86 130 859 629 76 (Guo Qinglin)
+86 093 738 869 81 (Ma Jianhong)
E-Mail: gqinglin@yahoo.com.cn (Guo Qinglin),
miajianhong@163.com (Ma Jianhong)
Website: http://www.csrme.com or http://www.dha.ac.cn
Australia ICOMOS E-Mail News No. 320
Interior Secretary Kempthorne Selects New U.S. World Heritage Tentative List
General information about the Tentative List process is posted on the Office of International Affairs website at http://www.nps.gov/oia/topics/worldheritage/tentativelist.htm. The earlier National Park Service preliminary staff report, including summaries of information on all 35 sites that were considered for the Tentative List, is available at: http://www.nps.gov/oia/TLEssayFinal.pdf
The original Applications submitted to the National Park Service for the candidate sites can be found at http://www.nps.gov/oia/NewWebpages/ApplicantsTentativeList.html.
For further information, please contact Stephen Morris, Chief, Office of International Affairs at (202) 354-1802 or Gerry Gaumer in the National Park Service’s Office of Public Affairs at (202) 208-6843.
Conference Announcement – Rebellion: Authority and Protest in Convict Australia
Museum of Sydney & Hyde Park Barracks Museum
The HHT and the Centre for Historical Research from the National Museum of Australia will co-host this provocative conference, which takes a fresh look at methods of control and acts of opposition to authority. Includes protest at ‘female factories’ and penal stations, conflict between naval and military administration of the colonies and act
s of lawlessness. Speakers include Dr Peter Stanley, Professor Richard Waterhouse, Brad Manera, Dr Grace Karskens, Paul Brunton, Tony Moore, Dr Hamish Maxwell-Stewart, Dr Margaret Steven, Dr Perry McIntyre, Dr Craig Wilcox, Dr Peter Cochrane, Ian David and Stephen Dando-Collins.
This event is one of a series of interpretative programs at the Museum of Sydney to mark the 200th anniversary of the ‘rum rebellion’.
For more information and the full program go to http://web.archive.org/web/20071029191920/http://www.hht.net.au:80/museums/mos/rum_rebellion
CHIRON Marie Curie Fellowship – call for candidates
The Ename Center for Public Archaeology and Heritage Presentation is now soliciting applications from qualified candidates for a 9 month, pre-doctoral CHIRON Marie Curie Fellowship, which includes full time salary, living expenses, and funds for travel and research materials.
If you are interested in this vacancy, please send CV and letter of intent to eva.roels@enamecenter.org .
For more information on the Ename Center, see www.enamecenter.org or contact info@enamecenter.org.
Eva Roels
General Administrator
17th ICOMOS General Assembly & International Scientific Symposium –
CALL FOR PAPERS
17th ICOMOS General Assembly & International Scientific Symposium, Quebec, Canada
29 September – 4 October 2008
Its 2008! This is the year for the General Assembly of ICOMOS. The General Assembly is held every 3 years, and as the gathering of the depth and breadth our global membership, this is the most important formal international meeting for identifying the needed work of ICOMOS, sharing our experiences across an amazing spectrum of cultures, places and challenges, and catching up with the business of the organisation, including the election of the new members of the International Executive Committee.
The General Assembly website is .
Overall Program:
Meetings of the International Scientific Committees (ISCs) will be held as part of the program in Quebec.
Finding the Spirit of the Place is the theme of the International Scientific Symposium. There are 4 strands to the discussions, and a framing paper at .
Timothy Hubbard
Australia ICOMOS Executive Committee
Peter Phillips
President, Australia ICOMOS
Kristal Buckley
ICOMOS Vice-President
Australia ICOMOS E-Mail News No. 319
The Best in Heritage, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 25 – 27 September 2008
The Best in Heritage is an annual presentation of the best, awarded projects in museums, heritage and conservation.
For further information, visit the links below:
2008 programme at: www.thebestinheritage.com/event/programme.php
Details about Poster Session at: www.thebestinheritage.com/event/poster.php
To participate, please register at: www.thebestinheritage.com/event/prijava_eng.php
Romania: Rosia Montana Saved – Landmark Judgement in Heritage Protection Case!
On 27 November, the Brasov Court of Appeal annulled an archaeological discharge certificate issued by the Ministry of Culture and Cults which had effectively removed Carnic’s protected status in order to allow the Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC) to exploit the massif’s rich gold reserves. This ruling rejected RMGC’s request to intervene but admitted intervention requests formulated by several Romanian NGOs, including Alburnus Maior and the Pro Europe League. RMGC had planned to uproot the people of Rosia Montana to realise Europe’s largest open-cast gold mine. Archaeologists, expert institutions and civil society organisations from Romania and all over the world, including Europa Nostra, had repeatedly protested over the destruction of Rosia Montana’s archaeological treasures that would be caused by RMGC’s development. The court’s decision is definitive and means that Carnic’s unique Roman and pre-Roman mine galleries as well as the entire massif will remain protected.
(from the January 2008 issue of the Europa Nostra Newsletter)
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts: Media Release – Convict Sites in Running for World Heritage
Australia is nominating its most important convict sites for World Heritage listing, as some of the most meaningful places on earth.
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Peter Garrett, announced the nomination today within the castle-like walls of Western Australia’s Fremantle Prison, where most of WA’s convicts began their life of hard labour. “These convict sites are a living record of one of the greatest penal experiments in world history – the transportation of more than 166,000 men, women and children to a vast and largely unknown land,” Mr Garrett said. “We are asking UNESCO to recognise the outstanding universal value of these convict sites, just as it has the living culture of the first Australians, in listings such as Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Parks.”
Australia has 17 existing World Heritage sites, ranging from the Great Barrier Reef to the Sydney Opera House. For more information and high quality images of the Australian Convict Sites, visit www.environment.gov.au/heritage/worldheritage
Media contact: Margot Marshall: (02) 6277 7640 or 0418 624 847
Australia ICOMOS E-Mail News No. 318
Link to newsletter from the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation
The following site for the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation
newsletter is: http://sprecomah.eu/rlicc/index.php.
Link to Heritage Tasmania’s Enews
To view the January 2008 issue of Heritage Tasmania’s Enews bulletin, visit
http://www.heritage.tas.gov.au/showItem.php?id=911.
Australia ICOMOS E-Mail News No. 317
Getty Foundation Grant Announcement For Icom-CC New Delhi 2008 – Announcement
Thanks to The Getty Foundation, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) is able to offer a limited
number of bursaries to museum and/or conservation professionals from low-income countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, and Latin America to attend the 15th Triennial Conference of I COM’s International Committee for Conservation (ICOM-CC).
Grant application forms are available at the Conference website (www.icom-cc2008.org), at the ICOM-CC website (www.icom-cc.org) and also by request from the ICOM -CC Secretariat:
ICOM-CC Secretariat
c/o ICCROM
E-mail: secretariat@icom-cc.org
Via di San Michele, 13
00153 Rome, Italy
Fax: (39) 06 58 553 349
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts: Media Release –
Fossils returned to China
Priceless History Protected: Fossils Returned to China
A mammoth 750 kilograms of illegally imported dinosaur, mammal and reptile fossils seized by Australian officials were today handed back to the Chinese Government.
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Peter Garrett, formally returned the fossils to His Excellency Mr Zhang Junsai, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, at a ceremony in Canberra. “These fossils from provinces across China are of incredible cultural and scientific value to the People’s Republic and to the world,” Mr Garrett said.
“Ranging from dinosaur eggs to marine reptiles, fish and crustaceans, they are national treasures that tell a fascinating story about different geological periods and ancient environments. Some are believed to be up to 450 million years old, and the rarest are considered priceless because of their value to China’s scientific and cultural heritage.”
For more information and high resolution images of the fossils:
www.environment.gov.au/heritage
Media contact: Margot Marshall 02 6277 7640 or 0418 624 847
Australia ICOMOS E-Mail News No. 316
ICOMOS Indonesia announces its new web page:
Available under http://www.icomos-indonesia.org/ or directly through the ICOMOS home page www.icomos.org
2008 US/ICOMOS International Exchange Program: Seeking Intern Applicants and Host Organizations in the United States and abroad
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Program !
See how to become a Host Organization:
For more information on the 2008 US/ICOMOS International Intern Program, visit our homepage at http://www.icomos.org/usicomos
or go directly to
http://web.archive.org/web/20080705132602/http://www.icomos.org/usicomos/International_Exchange_Program/Program_Overview.htm
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Donald G. Jones, PhD Director of Programs US/ICOMOS 401 F Street, NW, Suite 331 Washington, DC 20001 Ph 202-842-1866 Fax 202-842-1861 http://www.icomos.org/usicomos
International Conference Coastal Fortification: from the beginning to the modern times
27-29 November 2008, Faro, Algarve, Portugal
The Portuguese Association of the Friends of Castles is organizing together with the University of the Algarve an International Conference concerning the Coastal Fortresses
Call for Papers Abstracts – Submission deadline: 30 April 2008
For details on the call for papers consult : http://www.amigosdoscastelos.org.pt/
Secretariado do VIII Congresso dos Monumentos Militares
Conference Office
Associação Portuguesa dos Amigos dos Castelos
Rua Barros Queirós, 20, 2º
1100-077 Lisboa
Tel +351218885381 Fax +351218885342
congresso@amigosdoscastelos.org.pt
www.amigosdoscastelos.org.pt
MORE Archaeology and Heritage Journal Collection – Free Trial available
The MORE (Maney Online Research E-journals) Archaeology and Heritage Collection consists of ten key journals in the field. Not only does the collection include Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites and Public Archaeology, but it also features important journals such as Environmental Archaeology, Industrial Archaeology Review and Medieval Archaeology.
If you’d like to organise a free trial to this resource, please contact Emily Simpson:
Emily Simpson
Senior Marketing Executive
Maney Publishing
Suite 1C, Joseph’s Well
Hanover Walk
Leeds LS3 1AB
UK
Tel: +44 (0)113 386 8157
Fax: +44 (0)113 386 8178
Email: e.simpson@maney.co.uk
Next issue: April 2008
Sue Nugent
Email: s.nugent@uq.edu.au