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WAC-5 AT A GLANCE
WAC Congresses are held every four years
to promote exchange of the results of archaeological
research; professional training and public
education for disadvantaged nations, groups
and communities; the empowerment and betterment
of Indigenous groups and First Nations peoples;
and the conservation of archaeological sites.WAC-5
is the first full World Archaeological Congress
to be held in North America. The Patron
for WAC-5 is Harriet Mayor Fulbright, and
the President is Richard West, Director
of the Smithsonian Institution’s National
Museum of the American Indian.
WAC-5 will be held at The Catholic University
of America, centrally located in northeast
Washington DC, and easily accessible to
the rest of the city and surroundings by
Metrorail. Participants may register as
congress “residents”, using double-occupancy
dorm rooms at Catholic U. at approximately
$US40/night per person. Alternatively, they
may select housing from the many hotels
and motels in Washington, D.C. After the
Congress, participants may elect to pay
for additional nights in residence halls
through the weekend, June 28th/29th.
WAC-5 is scheduled for Saturday, June 21st
through Thursday, June 26th, 2003. The congress
will open on Saturday afternoon, June 21st.
Symposia will run all day Sunday and Monday,
June 22nd and June 23rd; Tuesday, June 24th
will be an open day, featuring tours or
free time for sightseeing, research, library
visits and so on. Symposia will resume on
Wednesday and Thursday, with a closing plenary
session on Thursday afternoon, June 26th.
Additional workshops and events may spill
over onto Friday, June 27th, 2003.
WAC-5 will be held in partnership with
the Anthropology Department of the Smithsonian
Institution’s National Museum of Natural
History and the Smithsonian National Museum
of the American Indian. Pre-registered participants
may sign up (in limited numbers) for behind-the-scene
tours of facilities or collections. Pre-registered
participants may also sign up for workshops
on conservation and/or collections management.
All participants will be guests at a reception
in the Smithsonian Institution’s Natural
History museum rotunda.
WAC-5 registration is available at member
and non‑member rates. Registration
will cover conference materials, lunches
for four days, a welcoming reception at
Catholic U., a Smithsonian evening reception,
and an evening of embassy receptions throughout
Washington, D.C. Pre- and post-congress
tours will be organized to visit important
local and national archaeological sites.
Themes and sessions for WAC-5 are now
being confirmed. Each theme will encompass
between four and eight individual sessions.
Confirmed themes are described below. Other
themes are being developed and all confirmed
and suggested themes can be seen at the
WAC-5 web site:
http://wwwehlt.flinders.edu.au/wac5/themes.html
Indigenous Arrivals and First Peoples,
convened by Gustavo Politis (Argentina,
ggpolitis@hotmail.com) and Richard Fullagar
(Australia, fullagar@uow.edu.au). This theme
provides a forum to discuss initial human
settlement of continents and islands, and
how these first peoples explored and occupied
deserts, mountains, tropical rainforest
and other environmental zones. What were
these arrival landscapes actually like?
Dates, dispersal routes and human impacts
commonly form a starting point for models
of group movement into specific environments,
in different parts of the world. Archaeological
indicators of initial human arrival may
take many forms from megafaunal extinctions
to stone tool styles.
Past Human Environments in Modern Contexts,
convened by George Nicholas (Canada, nicholas@sfu.ca)
and Malcolm Lillie (England, M.C.Lillie@geo.hull.ac.uk).
The starting point for this theme is that
not only are human-environmental relations
highly dynamic, but so too is the way that
we study and interpret those relations.
Moving from the fundamental basis of analysis
through to an heuristic appreciation of
the inherent mechanisms operating within
human-environment interactions is an essential
aspect of current research methodologies.
In recognition of this, we identify two
complementary dimensions of this theme.
The first examines past human-environmental
interactions from the perspective of “modern”
science, and the second from that of “ancient”
science (i.e., traditional or Indigenous
knowledge). The interface that exists between
them is likely to be a particularly important
and productive source of intellectual tension
and methodological challenges.
Public Archaeologies, convened by Frank
McManamon (USA, FP_McManamon@nps.gov). This
theme and its sub-themes will constitute
a forum in which professionals working in-or
concerned with-heritage management in different
countries and international contexts can
exchange information on theory, method,
techniques, policies and interpretations.
All subject matter within this wide category
will be considered by this theme.
Landscapes, Gardens and Dreamscapes, convened
by Mark Leone (USA, Mleone@anth.umd.edu).
This theme encompasses all cultures, yet
adds to the classic archaeological concern
of settlement patterns by focusing on the
land between. During the last 20 years,
archaeologists have focused on gardens,
planned landscapes, managed vistas, and
the use of perspective in historic European
settings. Planned urban environments,
temple centers, and other ceremonial compounds
all involve designed, planted landscapes.
A substantial understanding of these has
been achieved in many cultures. Neolithic
landscapes and the marked landscapes of
hunters/gatherers/collectors have also attracted
archaeological interest. This WAC-5 theme
devoted to landscapes is all inclusive and
focuses on the land around, between, and
beyond human settlement.
Empowerment and Exploitation: North-South
& South-South Archaeological Encounters,
convened by Gustavo Martinez (Argentina,
gmartine@soc.unicen.edu.ar; gmartine@fiog.fio.unicen.edu.ar),
Sven Ouzman (South Africa, rockart@nasmus.co.za)
and Robin Torrence (Australia, robint@mail.austmus.gov.au).
This theme will focus on exchanging information
on what works and what does not work in
terms of archaeological practice, especially
in practical terms. It will attempt to blend
presentations of cooperative international
archaeological projects with experiences
of transnational knowledge encounters and
the practical applications of these encounters.
In July 2000 the French Institut de Recherche
pour le Développement drafted a declaration
“Code of Research Ethics” between researchers
in industrialized and developing countries
(Nature, 26th July 2000, Vol. 406:337).
This initiative has its genesis in the notion
of a politically and economically powerful
North and a dependant and disorganized South.
Fortunately, in archaeology and related
disciplines this notion does not always
hold and it is more accurate to speak of
an 'equivalency' based on approaches followed
by archaeologists, indigenous people and
the interested public in different countries.
Often the most creative approaches come
from unexpected sources.
WAC Congresses provide a unique opportunity
for archaeologists to obtain a global perspective
on their discipline. We hope that
many of you will be able to join us!
TO LEARN MORE, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE:
http://www.american.edu/wac5
WAC-6
We currently have bids from the Caribbean
and Australasia to host WAC-6.
WAC InterCongress on Indigenous
Issues and Archaeology
World Indigenous Heritage – Agenda for a
New Millennium
Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand.
5th–9th December 2001
http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/emd/groups/cmipd/wac
Enquires can be addressed to
Brenda Kingi,
Secretary of the Organising Committee,
kingib@lincoln.ac.nz or
Centre for Maori and Indigenous Planning
and Development, PO Box 84,
Lincoln University,
Canterbury,
New Zealand
tel.(+64 3) 3252811
fax (+64 3) 3253817
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World
Archaeological Bulletin