eNewsletters
Volume 38 August 2011
Editors: Shoshaunna Parks and Marisol Rodriguez Miranda
shoshiparks@hotmail.com; marirodz@gmail.com
1. Executive News
New Editor for Newsletter
Apart from WAC’s Executive and Council, the major responsibilities and time commitments to support WAC’s operations lie with the people who organise our conferences, edit our books, and produce our newsletter.
This is the last newsletter to be edited by Shoshaunna Parks. The Executive would like to thank Shoshi for all the work she has done for WAC over the last few years. Claire Smith is personally very grateful to Shoshi for her good humour and forbearance if she is late in writing her part of this newsletter. Marisol Rodriguez Miranda will continue as co-editor, and now will be joined by Marcus Brittain. In mid 2012, Miguel Aguilar will take over Marisol’s responsibilities as co-editor of the newsletter. The Executive would like to thank all of these people, as well as the others who applied, and were willing to consider taking on this workload themselves.
As members are aware, WAC has no paid staff. With the single exception of our website, all of our work is done by volunteer archaeologists and heritage managers who are committed to achieving greater global equity in archaeology. All of these people have other tasks that they could spend their time on, but they all choose to devote a substantial part of their lives to the collaborative venture that is the World Archaeological Congress. The work done by each individual is greatly appreciated.
Publication from the WAC Ramallah Inter-Congress
The papers from the WAC Ramallah Inter-Congress on “Overcoming Structural Violence” are now available online in volume 2 issue 1 of Present Pasts at http://presentpasts.info/
Present Pasts is a fully open access, peer-reviewed academic journal from the Heritage Studies Research Group at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL. Brian Hole edited this issue of the journal. It includes articles by Hamdan Taha, Reinhard Bernbeck, Salah H Al-Houdalieh, Beverley Butler, Maria Theresia Starzmann and Adel H. Yahya, and an introductory article by Lynn Dodd and Ran Boytner on the future of Palestinian archaeology.
WAC Inter-Congress in Beijing, China:
Heritage Management in East and South East Asia
The WAC Inter-Congress on Heritage Management in East and South East Asia was held at the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China, 5-8 July, 2011, in association with the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies, Newcastle University, U.K.
This conference played an important role in highlighting best practice in cultural heritage management, especially in terms of relationships with communities. This was also an important conference in terms of developing disciplinary relationships within the region of East and South East Asia. At this conference, plans were initiated for a follow-up conference in Thailand, and possibly another meeting in Japan. These developments build on WAC’s previous Inter-Congress in Okaka, Japan.
The Executive would like to thank Chen Xingcan and Wang Renyu, in China, and Peter Stone, from the U.K. An edited book from this Inter-Congress will be produced in both Chinese and English.
WAC Inter-Congress in Indiana, USA:
Indigenous Peoples and Museums: Unravelling the Tensions
The WAC Inter-Congress on Indigenous Peoples and Museums: Unraveling the Tensions was held at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) from 22-25th June, 2011, in collaboration with the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art and the 17th Annual Indian Market and Festival.
Several important awards were given to student presenters at this highly successful conference. The award for Best Graduate Student Paper at this conference was given to Jonathan Eaton (University of Toronto) for his paper “Museums, Indigeneity and Crises of Identity in the Western Balkans.” The Best Graduate Student Poster award went to Justin Ellis (IUPUI) for “Content Analysis of Four Midwestern Native American Exhibits.” Terry Point and Jordan Wilson (Musqueam Indian Band and The University of British Columbia) shared an award for Best Undergraduate Student Poster as co-authors of “Consulting with Community: the Musqueam-UBC Archaeological Field School.” An Honorable Mention was awarded to Tomás Sepúlveda (University of Barcelona) for his paper on “Museology and comunalidad: An approach to the communitarian museums of Oaxaca, Mexico” and Rachael Kiddey (University of York) for “Trash or Treasure? Representing social exclusion in the modern museum.”
The Executive would like to thank all of the people involved in organising this Inter-Congress, and especially Julie Hollowell, Dru McGill, Stephen Loring and Larry Zimmerman.
WAC Student Writing Competition
The WAC Student Committee has announced that the winner of the World Archaeology Congress Student Writing Competition 2010 is Hilary Soderland (University of California-Berkeley), author of the paper “The “Burden of Affiliation”: Repatriation and Indigeneity within the Domain of United States Archaeology”.
As winner of the WAC Student Writing Competition, Dr Soderland will receive a citation from the WAC Executive, a 4-year membership to WAC, and guarantee of review for publication of the paper in a future edition of Archaeologies. The WAC Student Committee congratulate Hilary for her contribution and thank all the students who have participate in the competition. The committee also invites all students members to submit a paper for consideration in the second annual prize of World Archaeology Congress Student Writing Competition 2011.
All the best,
Claire Smith, for the Executive
2. News Items
GLOBAL SOUTH SEPHIS E-MAGAZINE PUBLISHED AND SOCIAL NETWORKS CREATED
The current issue of Global South Sephis e-Magazine has been posted at the website. Kindly follow the link- http://sephisemagazine.org/current/current.html.
Due to some technical glitches the publication of this issue has been delayed by a few weeks. It has been sorted out, and you can now download the .pdf file from the website. Your comments and suggestions are always valuable to us. Do feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with the editorial team.
We are also pleased to inform you that Sephis is now on Facebook and LinkedIn! You can be a Sephis fan on Facebook and join the Sephis LinkedIn group, and stay informed about our activities, engage in discussion fora, connect with other people in the Sephis network etc.
www.facebook.com/SephisNetwork
http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=3409763&csrfToken=ajax:8375062415117960517
Please follow the link below to read a new piece posted in the Contemporary South section. http://sephisemagazine.org/contemporary-south.html
The deadline for Brainteasers has been extended till 14 August 2011. Hurry and submit your answers.
PAST PRESERVERS LOOKING FOR PASSIONATE WRITERS
Past Preservers, a Cairo-based consultancy unifying history, archaeology and media, teamed up with New York-based, Crimson Bamboo LLC, in March to develop tours for Rama, Crimson Bamboo’s flagship iPhone application.
Named by BBC Travel in 2010 as one of the ten best new travel apps, Rama is a mobile phone platform that takes users on historical walking tours which not only tell the story behind the stops on the tour, but also show archival images of how those locations once appeared.
“Past Preservers has always been dedicated to helping academics and professionals to earn money doing the things that they are most passionate about,” said Past Preservers’ CEO and founder, Nigel Hetherington. “Rama not only offers the perfect opportunity to reach new audiences using one of the most cutting-edge platforms available, but also offers our clients a new opportunity to write first-class historical content that they can sell directly to customers. This is a truly innovative publishing model.”
Priced between $0.99 and $2.99, Rama can be downloaded on iTunes at http://bit.ly/iTunesRama. Its first tour of the ancient world, Athenian Acropolis by Paul David Ritchie, went live in mid-June.
If you are interested in becoming a Rama author, please contact: info@pastpreservers.com.
NEW OFFICER OF THE ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE FOR HERITAGE EDUCATION
The WAC Executive and Council is delighted to announce that Professor Peter Gregory Stone has just been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Civil), for services to Heritage education. Peter Stone has been a major force in WAC since its inception, and was Honorary CEO from 1999-2008. He is Professor of Heritage Studies, International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies, Newcastle University, United Kingdom.
Further information is available at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jun/11/queens-birthday-honours-obe
EGYPT HOLDS TALKS WITH A DELEGATION FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COALITION TO PROTECT EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES
May 23, 2011
Ambassador Sherif Elkholi, Assistant Foreign Minister for Cultural Affairs and Ambassador Iman El Farr, Deputy Assistant Minister for Cultural Protocols and Agreements, for the Egyptian side, met with the International Coalition to Protect Egyptian Antiquities led by the George Washington University Capitol Archaeological Institute, the American Schools of Oriental Research, and the National Geographic Society, in response to the Egyptian Government invitation for holding a series of meetings with Egyptian Senior Officials, the private sector and archaeological experts.
The Foreign Ministry – the Cultural Sector – and the American Coalition announced that they reached cooperation Agreement under a comprehensive plan to protect Egypt’s archaeological and cultural heritage, which will provide a crucial basis for tourism revenue for building Egyptian powerful economy.
The Framework Agreement reflects partnership between the government sector (the Egyptian Foreign Ministry) and the Private Sector (the American Coalition) which would commit the American side to provide financial resources.
– Improving the site protection; including constructing protective walls at the archaeological sites and increasing training of law enforcement personnel.
– Developing a nationwide satellite imagery analysis initiative
– Creating a database of Egypt’s antiquities based on inventories of Egypt’s museums and storage facilities
– Implementing an education and awareness campaign
– Supporting long-term small business and archaeological sites
Egyptian antiquities and sites are among those most historically significant and important worldwide. In times of political transition, ancient sites and artifacts are often targets of international crime and illicit activities, said Deborah Lehr, and added, “We commend the Government of Egypt for its efforts, and keenness on organizing the meeting and reaching results, we are also delighted to be working together to develop and create short and long-term solutions to guarantee protection of Egypt’s invaluable cultural heritage.”
Ambassador Sheriff El Kholy, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Cultural Relations commented that the situation of protecting the Egyptian antiquities by the Egyptian authorities during and post the revolution differs entirely from that in Iraq. He praised the efforts undertaken by the Ministry of State for Antiquities Affairs within this framework, adding that there is a need to strengthening capacity and building on the measures already taken by the Egyptian authorities.
Ambassador Iman El Farr, Deputy Assistant Minister for Cultural Protocols and Agreements highlighted the cultural importance of perfect preparation reaching the final wording of the agreement to be signed so as to start implementing what agreed upon and facilitate the process of providing the necessary financial resources.
This is a historic agreement that develops a new system for all to work together on our goal of protecting and preserving Egypt’s archaeological sites, said Peter Herdrich, Chief Executive Officer of the Archaeological Institute of America, adding that it is a great day for archaeology in Egypt.
DONATE PRINT JOURNALS TO WAC GLOBAL LIBRARIES PROGRAM
Is your office cluttered with print journals? Do you also have digital access to these same journals?
Then you should consider giving yourself more shelf space while ensuring your print copies are transported to archaeology libraries around the globe.
The WAC Global Libraries Program aims to develop the archaeological literary collections of economically-disadvantaged institutions. The libraries in our program are especially interested in books and journals published within the last 5-10 years.
If you can help with a single donation or ongoing support, please contact:
Ashley Sands
ashleysa@ucla.edu
Chair, Global Libraries Program
http://www.worldarchaeologicalcongress.org/activities/global-libraries/198-global-libraries-program
WAC INTER-CONGRESS RECEIVES AWARD
AC Inter-Congress in Vienna, Australia, ‘Archaeology in Conflict’ has received an award by the City of Vienna. The organisers for this Inter-Congress were Dr. Friedrich T. Schipper, of the University of Vienna, and Magnus T. Bernhardsson, of the University of Iceland & Williams College, who is a member of WAC’s Taskforce on Archaeology and War. This Inter-Congress convened in collaboration with the Association of National Committees of the Blue Shield. The Website for the Inter-Congress is at: www.archaeologyinconflict.org/
Information on the award is available at:
http://etf.univie.ac.at/fakultaet/einzelansicht/article/auszeichnung-von-dr-schipper/?tx_ttnews%5bbackPid%5d=34368&cHash=046e40f0bb9d76d384be5cc461f0f11a
Vienna is an international capital of conference business with thousands of events every year. Each year the City of Vienna identifies the most important and successful of those meetings to be honored. Recently, the City’s decision on the conferences in 2010 was published and the WAC I-C “Archaeology in Conflict” in Vienna in April 2010 was among those to receive an award. This WAC IC had been organized by Friedrich T. Schipper University of Vienna) and Magnus T. Bernhardsson (Williams College). Friedrich Schipper accepted the award in a grand ceremony, followed by an evening dinner reception, in the city hall on 5th May 2011.
The WAC Executive and Council would like to congratulate Friedrich, Magnus and their team on a job well done.
3. New publications by WAC members
New From Left Coast Press, Inc. WAC members receive a 20% discount on hardcovers and a 30% discount on paperbacks (insert discount code L3410 at checkout)
Coming soon (and available for preorder!):
Indigenous Peoples and Archaeology in Latin America
Cristóbal Gnecco and Patricia Ayala, editors
Coming in August 2011! 352 pages, $89 Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-61132-015-2
http://lcoastpress.com/book.php?id=335
This book is the first to describe indigenous archaeology in Latin America for an English speaking audience. Eighteen chapters primarily by Latin American scholars describe relations between indigenous peoples and archaeology in the frame of national histories and examine the emergence of the native interest in their heritage. Relationships between archaeology and native communities are ambivalent: sometimes an escalating battleground, sometimes a promising site of intercultural encounters. The global trend of indigenous empowerment today has renewed interest in history, making it a tool of cultural meaning and political legitimacy. This book deals with the topic with a raw forthrightness not often demonstrated in writings about archaeology and indigenous peoples. Rather than being ‘politically correct,’ it attempts to transform rather than simply describe.
Recently Released!
Coexistence and Cultural Transmission in East Asia
Naoko Matsumoto, Hidetaka Bessho, and Makoto Tomii, editors
February 2011 304 pages, $89.00 Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-59874-335-7
http://lcoastpress.com/book.php?id=319
This is the first volume to introduce the data, theory and methodology of contemporary archaeological work in Japan and other parts of East Asia archaeology in English to western audiences. It also introduces a new theoretical concept to archaeologists interested in the relationship between ancient cultures—coexistence. Archaeologists traditionally examine the boundaries between different cultural groups in terms conflict and dominance rather than long-term, harmonious adaptive responses. Chapters in this book cover evidence from burials, faunal and botanical analysis, as well as traditional trade goods. It is of interest to archaeologists conducting research in East Asia or studying intercultural interaction anywhere around the globe.
Now Available in Paperback:
Handbook of Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology
Soren Blau and Douglas H. Ubelaker, editors
http://lcoastpress.com/book.php?id=97
Being and Becoming Indigenous Archaeologists
George Nicholas, editor
http://lcoastpress.com/book.php?id=277
Bridging the Divide: Indigenous Communities and Archaeology into the 21st Century
Caroline Phillips and Harry Allen, editors
http://lcoastpress.com/book.php?id=285
This is a sampling of WAC-sponsored titles. To order or for more information on additional WAC-sponsored titles, visit our website at:
http://www.lcoastpress.com/
For more information, contact Caryn Berg at archaeology@LCoastPress.com
Join Left Coast Press online at:
http://www.facebook.com/LeftCoastPress
4. Conferences and Opportunities
Poste de Professeur, Université Paris Ouest
Informations complémentaires
Enseignement
Profil : Le candidat dispensera un enseignement généraliste concernant l’ensemble du paléolithique depuis ses périodes les plus anciennes jusqu’à la fin du Néolithique à travers ses différents aspects technologiques, symboliques, environnementaux et socio-économiques. Il sera sensible
aux interfaces développées dans le département et en particulier avec l’ethnologie.
Département d’enseignement : Département d’ethnologie, de préhistoire et d’ethnomusicologie
Lieu(x) d’exercice : Université Paris Ouest, Nanterre
Equipe pédagogique : 11 MCF et 6 PR
Nom du directeur de département : Virginie Milliot
Tél. du directeur de département : Tel : 01 40 97 75 24
Email du directeur de département : Virginie.milliot@u-paris10.fr
Recherche
Profil : Les axes de recherche devront plus spécialement porter sur les processus d’évolution des systèmes techniques et des économies à la fin du Pléistocène et au début de l’Holocène. Les thématiques propres à l’étude archéologique des peuplements ainsi qu’à l’anthropisation des paysages
dès les temps les plus anciens pourront aussi être développés. Il s’intéressera aussi à l’exploitation des milieux, à l’organisation économique et sociale des communautés humaines d’avant l’écriture. Ces travaux devront nécessairement s’appuyer sur une expérience de terrain et des responsabilités d’opérations de fouille afin de les intégrer dans un programme de formation de terrain pour les étudiants. Ce poste de professeur doit répondre aux exigences internationales en prenant une part active dans des échanges universitaires et en développant des recherché en partenariat à l’étranger, en particulier sous la forme de fouilles (chantiers écoles) ou autres missions de terrain.
Lieu(x) d’exercice : Laboratoire 1: équipe AnTeT, ArScAn (UMR 7041) Maison de
l’ethnologie et de l’archéologie
Laboratoire 2 : Préhistoire et technologie (UMR7055)
Nom du directeur de laboratoire : Eric Boeda, Jacques Pelegrin
Email du directeur de laboratoire : eric.boeda@gmail.com / Jacques.pelegrin@mae.u-paris10.fr
Date de fermeture des candidatures : 16/09/2011
Date de prise de fonction : 01/11/2011
Application spécifique: https://soleil.u-paris10.fr/
Position Opening in Prehistory at West Paris University
Job profile : Teaching, at all levels, on prehistory and the Neolithic. Sufficient methodological and theoretical experience to formulate a transdisciplinary approach, particularly between social anthropology and prehistory. Teach recent international developments in methodology and theory.
Research fields: History Prehistory Anthropology Other
Contact Information:
DIVISION DES RESSOURCES HUMAINES/SERVICE DU PERSONNEL ENSEIGNANT
Tel: 01 40 97 59 46 01 40 97 79 87 / 01 40 97 47 98
Email: recrutement-EC@u-paris10.fr
Application closing date: 16/09/2011
Position start date: 01/11/2011
For application specifics: https://soleil.u-paris10.fr/
2012 Research Fellowships with IISH and KNAW
The International Institute of Social History (IISH) of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) is located in Amsterdam. Founded in 1935, it is one of the world’s largest documentary and research institutions in the field of social history in general and the history of the labour movement in particular.
Facilitating the use of these materials for research by the global scholarly community is central to the mission of the IISH. With the generous help of the retail financial service provider SNS Reaal, IISH can now launch a fellowship programme for researchers located in these regions who wish to use its collections for the study of social history, preferably labour history, whether from a regional, national, or comparative and transnational perspective.
Period: Fellowships are awarded for five months. Each year there are two rounds. This is a call for applications for fellowships for the periods 1 February – 30 June 2012 and 1 September 2012 – 31 January 2013. The call for applications for both of these rounds is open from 1 September until 15 October 2011. Candidates should clearly indicate on their applications which of these two rounds they are applying for. After award the fellowships cannot be transferred to a period of stay different from the one indicated in the original application. A call for fellowships to start in 2013 will follow in due course.
Regions:For the current two rounds we invite applications especially from Africa and Latin America, next to South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Caucasus.
Minimum requirements: a Ph.D. degree or equivalent academic track record. The fellow’s research plan should fit the Institute’s focus on social history and make a demonstrable use of the Institute’s library and/or archival collections. A close link with the Institute’s research programme on ‘Global Labour History‘ is strongly recommended. Fellows are expected to write a report on their research activities at the end of the fellowship period, to take part in the activities of the Institute’s Research Department, and to give at least one public lecture.
Applications should be submitted between 1 September and 15 October 2011, using the application form which can be downloaded here, to be returned after completion to: fellowships@iisg.nl.
– download the Application Form (word document)
– download the Application Form (rtf file).
Fellows receive a monthly stipend of €1,500. The fellowship also includes an economy return flight to the Netherlands, visa support, as well as arrangements for accommodation and health insurance in Amsterdam.
For general information on the International Institute of Social History, please refer to the IISH website, in particular the sections on the IISH collections, the institute’s research projects and its Global Labour History research programme. For specific information regarding the fellowship programme send your inquiries to: fellowships@iisg.nl.
Association of Critical Heritage Studies
Inagural Conference, Gothenburg, Sweden, June 5-8, 2012
The inaugural conference of the Association of Critical Heritage Studies will be held at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, in June 2012. The Association of Critical Heritage Studies, to be launched at this conference, will establish (in association with the International Journal of Heritage Studies) an extensive network of heritage scholars across the globe in order to debate and discuss cutting-edge research in the field of heritage studies.
The theme of the conference is ‘The Re/theorisation of Heritage Studies’. This conference will develop current theoretical debates to make sense of the nature and meaning of heritage. As such, we invite submissions from people working within the ‘broad church’ of the current flowering of contemporary heritage studies. Papers should encourage cross-cutting thinking and should not be afraid to try to theorise what critical heritage studies is and where it should go. They should be underpinned by an active move away from site- and artefact-based definitions of heritage in a traditional sense and should pursue instead a range of methodologies and questions aiming at interdisciplinarity stemming from social science scholarly traditions, the natural sciences, and also creative sciences such as art and the performing arts.
Conference subthemes will include:
• Critical heritage theory; issues of representation; heritage and non-representational theory; the politics of affect; a consideration of emotion and the senses; memory and identity work of communities, nations and other interests in relation to heritage; the utilisation of heritage discourses in debates over multiculturalism, nationalism and globalisation; heritage, power and recognition; heritage and human rights; the exploration of methodologies for mapping and exploring the social and cultural consequences of heritage; intangible heritage and its implications for re-theorising heritage; non-Western challenges to dominant Western heritage concepts and characterisation of non-Western appreciations of heritage; work on digital heritage that goes beyond technical treatments of archiving and embraces a range of social media and other forms of interactivity; the performative nature of heritage – theorising craft, art and creativity as discourses in heritage; theorising and redefining heritage practices – the merging of discourses; re-thinking conservation science – the blending of creative discourse into social and natural sciences; and rhe performative nature of heritage – artistic practices, artistic research and theorizing perspectives in dialogue.
Abstract/Paper Submissions
Submissions are encouraged for sessions, workshops, panel discussions and performances, as well as individual papers (20 minute duration):
• The deadline for abstracts on sessions, workshops and panel discussions is 30 November 2011.
• The deadline for individual papers or performances is 31 December 2011.
• Selected papers and/or sessions will be published in IJHS.
Abstracts should be addressed to Bosse Lagerqvist (Conference Organisation Committee) and either emailed, faxed or posted to:
Email: bosse.lagerqvist@conservation.gu.se
Fax: +46 31 786 4703
Mail: University of Gothenburg, Conservation
P.O. Box 130
SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
Heritage in Development: International Seminar on Art and Livelihood
Location: Kolkata, India 6- 7 September, 2011; Workshop 8th September, 2011
Culture and Development
The potential of culture to contribute to economic development while also fostering sense of identity and pride of the communities is increasingly being recognized. Cultural industries based on local creativity and artistic skills are labour intensive, require low capital investment, and are likely to offer livelihood diversification and employment generation resistant to global economic crisis.
Nevertheless, despite well-developed argument and some convincing evidence, it is also true that many countries are yet to integrate the potentials of their culture as driver of national development. Even if the contribution of heritage-based tourism to national GDP is recognized, traditional artistic and creative skills of people are usually absent from the government planning document. Culture sector people are facing difficulties in raising Government’s interest in investing in their activities.
India’s labour force has reached 375 million approximately in 2002 and the country has to generate 200 million additional employments by 2020. Agriculture which is the main source of livelihood for the largest segment of population can accommodate only 25% of the growing labour force. Approximately three-fourth of about 35 million unemployed people in 2002 were from rural areas and 40% of them did not have formal education. There is thus a critical need to identify livelihood strategies for these rural poor, lacking formal education. It is however seldom realized that rural communities are also a hub of traditional art and culture. The most deprived sections bear a rich heritage of dance, songs and traditional craftsmanship. This large pool of creative talents needs to be tapped into, to offer an alternative pathway for rural development.
The approach is also expected to contribute to the global agenda of promoting cultural and creative diversity. The vitality of a society may be judged by the diversity of cultural and creative expressions that it upholds, and the enabling environment that it gives people to nurture such diversity. Supporting local creativity and the emergence of culture-based rural industries would be one concrete way to achieve such quality society.
Aims and Objectives
Recognizing congenital gap between promotion of culture and national development strategy, the seminar ‘Heritage in Development’ intends to bring in the same platform promoters and practitioners of cultural industries, government planners and policy makers, as well as private sectors to examine the potentials of investing in culture as alternative livelihood to carve a new path in the development of rural India.
The Seminar will:
Exchange and examine national and international methodologies and case studies;
Discuss issues and challenges of developing rural creative industries;
Explore areas and modalities of collaboration between Government, business and field practitioners.
Theme: Investing in culture for unleashing local development
For enquiries and participation
Ananya Bhattacharya ananya@banglanatak.com +91 9830173382
Madhura Dutta madhura@banglanatak.com +91 9958837678
Moe Chiba moe.chiba@gmail.com +91 9871831205
Contact:
banglanatak dotcom
58/114 Prince Anwar Shah Road,Lake Gardens
Kolkata 700045.West Bengal India
Phone-91-33-24178516
Telefax-91-33-24178518
email-banglanatak@gmail.com
Website-www.banglanatak.com
Delhi Office-52/123 C.R Park Ist Floor
New Delhi-110099
Phone-91-11-26272254
Email:banglanatakdelhi@gmail.com
5. News from other archaeological associations
(used with permission)
5 (a) SALON
Effigy looted in the Blitz returns to St Olave’s
The Jacobean effigy of Dr Peter Turner, an eminent botanist and physician at London’s St Bartholomew’s Hospital, has been returned to St Olave’s Church, near the Tower of London. The effigy, dating from 1614, disappeared after bombing severely damaged the church on the night of 17 April 1941. In 2009, churchwardens at the restored church learned from the Museum of London that the statue was about to be sold by Dreweatts, the auctioneer, for an estimated £70,000.
Detective work by the Art Loss Register’s lawyer, Christopher Marinello, tracked the ownership back to an antique dealer, Gray Elcombe, already in prison for serious drug-related crimes. The effigy will undergo conservation work before being reinstalled in the church.
Salon 259: 1 August 2011
Yale announces new conservation institute
Yale University has announced that it is to set up a new Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, thanks to a US$25m gift from Lisbet Rausing, heiress to the Tetra Pak food processing and packaging company, and her husband Peter Baldwin. The aim is to bring together the personnel and resources of the University Library, the Peabody Museum of Natural History, the Yale University Art Gallery, the Yale Center for British Art and the Office of Digital Assets along with the expertise of the university’s academic departments to create an institute that will ‘advance conservation science and its practice around the world’.
Building on existing research programmes, the institute will explore the use of nanotechnology to slow the degradation of works of art, and continue to digitise artefacts and works of art from Yale’s collections and make the images available free online under the universities ‘open access’ policy. Peter Baldwin said that Yale ‘shares our deep conviction that new technology will not only help us protect our most valuable cultural assets, but also expand access to those assets for people around the world’.
Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin have given some US$192m in grants in the last ten years through their Arcadia fund, whose mission is ‘to protect endangered culture and nature … near-extinct languages, rare historical archives and museum quality artefacts … ecosystems and environments threatened with extinction’
Salon 258: 11 July 2011
New £55m arts and heritage philanthropy fund
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced a new £55 million joint funding initiative to help arts and heritage organisations build up endowment funds ‘to secure their long-term financial resilience’. Art galleries, museums, opera houses and theatres in England will be invited to bid for grants of between £500,000 and £5 million from the fund to add to money they raise from private philanthropic sources. Different leverage ratios will be required for grants of different sizes; the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said that, on average, every £2 raised from private sources would be matched by £1 of public funding. Chaired by Michael Portillo, the funding pot has been created with contributions of £10 million from the Arts Council, £15 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £30 million from the DCMS.
In addition, the Heritage Lottery Fund has set aside £5 million to help smaller cultural and heritage organisations ‘build their financial resilience and improve their fundraising abilities’ and the Arts Council has invested £40 million in its Catalyst Arts scheme, which offers a mix of match-funding awards and grants to help arts organisations develop their fundraising capacity.
Codex Calixtinus stolen from Santiago de Compostela
Talking of pilgrimage destinations, it is sad to report that the twelfth-century Codex Calixtinus has been stolen from the armoured vault of the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. Authorship of the Codex Calixtinus was once attributed to Pope Calixtus II (died 1124), hence its name, though it is now believed to be the work of several authors and compilers, including Aymeric Picaud, one-time Secretary to Pope Calixtus, who may have contributed the Liber Peregrinationis, a guide for pilgrims following the Way of St James, describing the towns they will encounter en route, the people and their customs.
The illuminated work also contains some of the earliest recorded examples of Basque vocabulary, liturgical texts and homilies for the liturgy of Saint James, the story of how Saint James’s body was smuggled from Palestine to Compostela and a history of Charlemagne and Roland. It is also of great value to historians of music composition in the twelfth century, containing numerous examples of plainsong chant associated with the liturgy of St James, and three examples of polyphonic work for three voices.
Picture: Folio 214 of the Codex Calixtinus has music for the liturgy of St James, Con gaudeant catholici, letentur cives celici (‘Let the whole church rejoice, let the heavenly host be glad’). You can hear two versions of this earliest known example of a three-voice chant on ChantBlog.
Salon 257: 19 June 2011
Is Leptis Magna safe?
Worrying reports have appeared in the US and UK media suggesting that the World Heritage Site of Leptis Magna might be bombed as part of the Nato response to Colonel Gaddafi’s war on Libyan rebels. Susan Kane, a professor of archaeology at Oberlin College in Ohio, who has done extensive work in Libya, was quoted as saying that there are credible reports that Gaddafi and his supporters are using museums and ruins as munitions stores in the belief that they are safe from Nato bombing. Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, has called for all parties in the conflict to protect heritage sites, but both The Times and the Washington Post reported Nato officials as saying that they ‘could not rule out bombing in the area if Gaddafi’s troops are found to be using it as a military staging ground’.
Commenting on these reports, our Fellow Martin Brown, who works for the Ministry of Defence in the UK, says that the Fellows who are employed within the MoD (Ian Barnes who heads the Environmental Advisory Service within the Defence Infrastructure Organisation at the MoD, and Martin himself who, along with Richard Osgood and Philip Abramson, work as Archaeological Advisers) would ensure that there will be no lack of awareness within the MoD of the importance of Libya’s archaeology and heritage. ‘While our roles are primarily concerned with protecting the archaeology on our estates, we have recently been increasingly involved in operational support’, he says.
Salon 256: 6 June 2011
The European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA), the most prestigious prize of its kind in Europe, has been awarded to the Gallo-Romeins Museum, in Tongeren, Limburg, Belgium. Our Fellow Michael Ryan, who is on the EMYA jury panel, says that, ‘despite its inherited name, the museum covers the archaeology of the region from early prehistory to early medieval times and places it in its wider context. As archaeological exhibitions go, it is exemplary. The displays engage superbly with visitors of all ages and cleverly deal with important issues of interpretation in an imaginative and scrupulously scientific manner.
‘Before creating their new exhibitions, the museum staff spent time discovering how people of different ages learn. The result is a layered presentation of objects, reconstructions, conventional information panels and multilingual interactives for adults and children, which is technically very good and also very enjoyable. It is very well worth visiting if you are ever in the neighbourhood. The museum has an important collection and has a number of valuable research collaborations and a long series of archaeological publications.’
The EMYA jury said that the Gallo-Roman Museum ‘does not shy away from the task of dealing with uncertainty, and the presentations guide the audience through the issues but do not assert firm conclusions. The exhibitions are authoritative but not authoritarian. They provoke thought and provide the visitor with the information needed to take a view. The museum is socially engaged not just with issues of heritage but also with its role in the local economy and in its commitment to education, for which it has provided excellent facilities and for which it works with a large number of teachers who are employed by the museum. The integration with the town of Tongeren is strong — the museum is a meeting place available to all citizens’ groups’.
Michael adds that the administration of the EMYA and of its parent, the European Museum Forum (EMF), is based in the National Museums, Liverpool, courtesy of David Fleming, Director of National Museums Liverpool, and its Board and Jury are drawn from a number of European countries. Our Fellow Neil Cossons is a recent past president of the European Museum Forum and a leading reformer of the organisation. The current Chair of the EMF is Mikhail Gnedovsky, of Russia, and the Chair of the Jury is Frans Ellenbroek, of Tilburg, in The Netherlands.
5 (b) African Diaspora Archaeology Network
In Remembrance of Slavery: Tchamba Vodun
By Dana Rush
The Vodun complex known as Tchamba is a particularly strong spirit grouping along coastal Bénin, Togo, and into eastern coastal Ghana. Its name derives from an ethnic group and region in northern Togo, where people in the south actively sought domestic slaves centuries ago. This spirit grouping has been critical in the maintenance and proliferation of histories and memories of domestic slavery along the coast, and is sustained to the present in shrines, temple paintings, performance, songs, proverbs, and oral histories by the progeny of both domestic slaves and their owners. Tchamba Vodun has also been influential in bringing to the fore contemporary debates regarding the owning and selling of slaves and slave ancestry. Such discussions help Beninese and Togolese people address the multiple roles their ancestors played in both domestic and transatlantic slavery, as either the sellers or the enslaved.
Based on preliminary research conducted in Bénin and Togo in the late 1990s, this article gives life to slaves of generations past by exploring how the local significance of domestic slavery and, to some extent, the deep-seated cognizance of the transatlantic slave trade, are embodied in the slave spirits of Tchamba Vodun. [Read or download this full article here.]
5 (c) European Association of Archaeologists
17th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists
14th-18th September 2011, Oslo, Norway
The Organising Committee warmly welcomes you to the 17th Annual Meeting in Oslo. We are confident that the special EAA-atmosphere will colour the autumn days in September. More than 80 session proposals have been received, showing much interest in the conference. Send your paper proposal to one or more of the 55 sessions and Round Tables that will be held: http://www.eaa2011.no/.
Conference Pub and lunch venue in Frokostkjelleren
Frokostkjelleren is located at the downtown University area, within a walking distance from the conference venue. This will be our Conference Pub and mingling area, and it is where the lunch boxes can be obtained.
Apart from lunch boxes, a variety of beverages are served at modest prices. Frokostkjelleren is open only for participants at the conference; therefore, it is important that you wear your badge.
Lunches must be pre-paid in connection with registration.
Opening hours are 11.00-20.00 on Thursday and Saturday and 11.00-24.00 on Friday.
Student4Student – free housing for students during the EAA meeting!
Are you a student and interested in staying in Oslo with a Norwegian archaeology student for free? Send an e-mail to maridha@student.iakh.uio.no
The Student Association does not guarantee that there will be enough space for every applicant, but the students in Oslo are doing their best to find as many beds as possible.
Opening Ceremony
The final program will be announced later. We promise live music and an opening lecture by Kristian Kristiansen, who will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate at the University of Oslo just ahead of the Conference, as part of its 200 years jubilee. The Ceremony will take place in the newly renovated Aula at the University in the city centre.
At Akershus, the medieval fortress in the heart of Oslo, the Welcome Reception will take place. Prepare for a short walk through the fortress to Fane- and Kanonhallen.
Annual Party at Chateau Neuf
Chateau Neuf is not a Chateau! It is the students’ house in Oslo, more of a ”hard rock café”-type venue, all in concrete architecture from 1971. Prices are low and you can dance the night away. Our DJ is the young, but talented, Petter Snekkestad, who has his background both in archaeology and music. His theses dealt with the intersection between the two. He has also played in a punk-rock band called JR Ewing.
ArcheoRock continues with the reknowned Kristian Kristiansen band!
Excursions
A lot of participants have already signed up for a number of excursions. If you would like to see reindeer, deep fjords or high mountains and interesting archaeological sites – sign up for one of the pre-excursions. If you are into rock art or Viking settlements or would like to stroll around medieval Oslo, go for one of the excursions on Sunday 18 September. Available seats are limited – so sign up soon to be sure you get one!
Closing Dinner
With a breathtaking view of Oslo from Ekeberg, we will enjoy the closing dinner at the Ekeberg Restaurant. Be sure to sign up as quick as possible, as available seats are limited.
SEE YOU IN OSLO!
Next Issue: October 2011
Shoshaunna Parks and Marisol Rodríguez-Miranda
shoshiparks@hotmail.com; marirodz@gmail.com