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WAC-5 AT A GLANCE
http://www.american.edu/wac5
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. It 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,
and in collaboration with the Getty Conservation
Institute. 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 will be held from Saturday, June
21st through Thursday, June 26th,
2003. The congress will open at 5:00pm Saturday,
June 21st, after an afternoon
of public lectures by prominent North American
archaeologists (free and open to anyone
in Washington, D.C.). The Getty Conservation
Institute invites all participants to a
Welcome Reception on the grounds of Catholic
University following opening ceremonies.
Congress symposia will run all day Sunday
and Monday, June 22nd and 23rd.
Tuesday, June 24th, will be an
open day, featuring tours of sites and museums
or allowing free time for sightseeing, research,
library visits, etc. Symposia will resume
on Wednesday and Thursday, June 25th
and 26th, with a closing plenary
session on Thursday afternoon, June 26th.
Additional workshops and events may spill
over onto Friday, June 27th,
2003.
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.
Preparations for WAC-5 are moving along
on all fronts, and WAB readers will want
to check the website frequently (www.american.edu/wac5)
since there are many changes and additions,
especially as the program continues to grow.
We are posting all contributions to the
program on the web, so you can find the
major themes listed, many with well-developed
sets of sessions under them. There are also
independent sessions that are unlinked to
general themes as yet. Each of the sessions
under major themes as well as each independent
session has its own discussion forum/ bulletin
board where we invite discussion about theme
and sessions, their scope, components and
topics. Please feel free to post your thoughts,
suggestions and questions to any of these
discussion forums where we hope to see some
lively exchanges. Also, please feel free
to contact theme or session organizers to
volunteer to participate in any of these
venues.
In addition to the program of themes and
sessions, WAC-5 will feature after-lunch
plenary talks every day, on topics of broad
interest about archaeological practice,
policy and theory. The Getty Conservation
Institute will coordinate several plenary
talks on controversial conservation topics;
indigenous panels will offer different perspectives,
and we are working to bring Afghanistan
archaeology, and the Archaeology of Social
Justice, to WAC-5 in this format.
Each evening of WAC-5 will be full with
a different large event: a Smithsonian reception,
‘Embassy Night’, and of course the gala
banquet and dance. But before these events,
look forward to some interesting relaxation
at the archaeology video and film festival
between 6:00 and 7:30 each evening of the
congress, coordinated for us by Carole Lazio.
During WAC-5, a program of archaeological
exhibits will be mounted in many of the
embassies of different nations for participants
to visit. There are also many fabulous museums,
local archaeological sites, parks, monuments
and libraries to visit in this capital city.
Also, WAC-5 will offer a special program
on behalf of the libraries of Washington,
D.C., coordinated by the national Library
of Congress. A reference librarian will
be at the WAC-5 congress with various on-line
computer databases, to help participants
from foreign countries locate bibliographic
materials that they otherwise might not
be able to locate in the libraries of their
home countries. Every effort will be made
to help participants use the Washington,
D.C. libraries to obtain copies of archaeological
reports and materials!
Many other special opportunities of Washington,
D.C. are also coming together by now. Behind-the-scenes
tours of the Smithsonian collections facilities
and research collections are being made
available to pre-registered WAC-5 participants
on a first-come-first-served basis. Both
the Museum of Natural History and the National
Museum of the American Indian have fabulous
new storage facilities just outside downtown
D.C., and visitors will be bussed there
at intervals before and after the congress
and on our congress ‘day-off’. Check the
website for current planned tours, but note
also that large contingents from specific
foreign areas may request tours for 8 to
10 people. You must be registered for WAC-5
in order to sign up for a Smithsonian behind-the-scene
tour.
REGISTER NOW!!! By the time you
read this, you will be able to register
for the congress at ‘early registration’
rates, good through the end of this year.
The registration form is available on the
website where it can be downloaded and mailed
or faxed to WAC-5 Registration. We will
also be mailing registration forms to people
who have ‘registered interest’ on the website,
and to all members of WAC. THE COST OF
EARLY REGISTRATION FOR MEMBERS IS $335,
which covers all registration materials
(program and abstracts), all lunches and
coffee/tea breaks during the entire congress,
film and video viewings, several evening
receptions... and some lively planned entertainment
by Native American groups. This fee also
contributes a small sum towards the attendance
of folks who really don’t have the resources
to attend on their own, since inclusiveness
and democratic voices are the whole point
of WAC. We can accept checks written on
American bank accounts (in US dollars),
international money orders, or credit cards
(of course we prefer checks or money orders).
Note that AFTER JANUARY 1ST,
REGISTRATION WILL GO UP FROM $335 TO $400,
so don’t neglect to register EARLY. This
will allow you to sign up for various tours
and other opportunities. And be sure your
membership is current — if you aren’t sure
about this, ask Robin Torrence, WAC Treasurer,
at robint@austmus.gov.au. It will be cheaper
for you to renew your WAC membership and
pay member registration costs than to pay
non-member registration costs.
You can also REGISTER FOR A ROOM
on the campus of Catholic University where
the Congress will be held. Hotel rooms are
expensive in Washington, D.C. and this is
a great alternative: $50/night with breakfast,
based on double occupancy of university
dormitory rooms ($250 for five nights).
You can identify your roommate when you
register (same sex unless married), or leave
it to the congress to assign you someone.
Catholic University is willing to allow
WAC-5 participants to occupy dorm rooms
at this same rate for an additional three
nights after the congress. Alternatively,
WAC-5 participants may select housing from
the many hotels and motels in the city,
with excellent metro connections between
points.
PLEASE VISIT THE WEBSITE OFTEN, TO FOLLOW
DEVELOPMENTS! WAC-5 provides a unique
and rewarding opportunity for archaeologists
and others sincerely interested in the past
to gain a global perspective on their discipline:
its controversies and practices, politics
and policies, theoretical and substantive
new directions. Hope to see you there!!!
CURRENT THEMES LISTED BELOW.
VIEW AT:
http://wwwehlt.flinders.edu.au/wac5/themes.html
Of the Past, For the Future: Integrating
Archaeology and Conservation, organised
by the Getty Conservation Institute
Indigenous Arrivals and First Peoples,
convened by Gustavo Politis and Richard
Fullagar
Past Human Environments in Modern Contexts,
convened by George Nicholas and Malcolm
Lillie
Indigenous Archaeologies, convened
by Daryle Rigney, Martin Wobst, Tara Million,
and Joe Watkins
The African Diaspora, convened by
Michael Blakey
Managing Archaeological Resources,
convened by Frank McManamon
Underwater and Maritime Archaeology,
convened by Mark Staniforth and Dolores
Elkin
Landscapes, Gardens and Dreamscapes,
convened by Mark Leone and Felipe Criado
Boado
Empowerment and Exploitation:
North-South and South-South Archaeological
Encounters, convened by Sven Ouzman,
Gustavo Martinez and Robin Torrence
Ways of Remembering History, convened
by Lloyd Anderson
Information Technology as Material Culture,
convened by Julian Richards
WAC Inter-Congress
National Museum of Australia, Canberra
15-18 January 2003
23 DEGREES SOUTH: The Archaeology and
Environmental History of Southern Deserts
see CONFERENCES section at the end
of this issue
GENERAL NEWS
RETURN OF SARA (SAARTJIE) BAARTMAN
In 1994, the WAC 4 meeting passed a resolution
requesting the return from Paris to South
Africa of the dissected and preserved remains
of Khoisan woman Sara Baartman, the so-called
‘Hottentot Venus’ displayed as a living
sexual freak in Europe some 200 years ago.
Sara was born in what is now South Africa
in 1789. In 1810 she was taken to England
by British ship’s surgeon William Dunlop,
who convinced her she could make a fortune
by displaying her body to curious Europeans,
who at the time were obsessed with African
sexuality Of particular interest were her
steatopygia and her elongated external genitalia.
Several learned papers were written about
Sara by the likes of the anatomist Cuvier,
using her as ‘proof’ that along with Australian
Aborigines, the Khoisan were more animal
than human. Wracked by tuberculosis and
possibly syphilis, she died in 1815 at the
age of 25. Cuvier made a plaster cast of
her body before dissecting it. He removed
her skeleton and cut out her brain and her
genitals, which he put on display. Her skeleton
remained on open exhibition until the mid-1970s
and her body parts were freely available
for inspection. As widely reported in the
international media, the French Senate voted
unanimously in January 2002 to return Sara
home. As early as 1994, the late French
President Francois Mitterrand had promised
former South African leader Nelson Mandela
that the repatriation would take place.
CLOSURE OF THE INSTITUTO PORTUGUÊS DE
ARQUEOLOGIA
João Zilhão (Rua Prof. Joao Barreira,
Porta C 3H, 1600-634 Telheiras, Portugal)
joao.zilhao@netcabo.p
On May 6, the Minister of Culture of the
Portuguese government elected March 17,
2002, publicly confirmed that the independent
administration of the archaeological heritage
of Portugal created in 1997 in the wake
of the Côa valley affair – the IPA (Instituto
Português de Arqueologia) – would cease
to exist as such, in the framework of the
planned creation of a joint administration
for archaeology and the national monuments.
No specific reasons have been given for
this measure, which represents going back
to the state of things that existed in 1994
and was largely responsible for the disastrous
management of that affair by the heritage
authorities of the time. The fact that the
new government is largely made up of the
same people and political parties who were
in office back then may explain this decision
to some extent. I remain confident that
the radical transformation and the major
achievements of Portuguese archaeology over
the past five years will survive this setback.
Nonetheless, this announcement left me no
other choice but to offer my immediate resignation,
which has already been accepted. At this
stage, my professional future is uncertain,
so, for any contacts, and until further
notice, please use my home e-mail and home
postal address above.
IPA’S ‘EXTINCTION’ – a message from
IPA staff
On May 6th, the Minister of Culture of
the newly elected Portuguese government,
publicly confirmed that the independent
administration of the archaeological heritage
of Portugal created in 1997 in the wake
of the Côa valley affair -the IPA (Instituto
Português de Arqueologia) – would cease
to exist as such.
The IPA has, during its 5 years of existence,
(visit
www.ipa.min-cultura.pt) successfully
established several centres of study. These
include CNANS (nautical and underwater archaeology),
CNART (centre for rock art) and PAVC (Côa
Valley archaeological park). IPA is currently
setting up a centre for archaeological science
research – CIPA (human palaeoecology and
archaeological sciences). Besides bringing
into effect new laws and regulations concerning
the management and conservation of archaeology
in Portugal, the IPA has become a base for
Portugal’s younger generation of archaeologists.
Instead, the Government is planning to
recreate a mega-Institute, lumping together
National Monuments and archaeology. This
is a similar structure to the one that existed
before the creation of IPA, which resulted
in years of mismanagement and serious danger
for archaeological heritage. This was well
demonstrated by the history of the Côa Valley
rock art before the Archaeological Park
was created simultaneously with IPA.
From what we have seen in the media the
new government does not appear to have much
knowledge about the nature of our work at
IPA. We have a wide framework of intervention,
ranging from Cultural Resource Management
and Impact Assessment to Research in Human
Palaeoecology and a National Plan for assisting
archaeologists in the area of archaeometry
and archaeosciences, of which only part
is known by the recently elected Government.
A prominent issue is still the fate of
the Côa Valley World Heritage Site (UNESCO
1998), whose classification contemplated
the creation of a large museum, capable
of receiving thousands of visitors and able
to develop local infrastructures and private
businesses. The museum project has also
been turned down by the government, which
seriously threatens the future of the Archaeological
Park.
For those of you who have worked with
us in different research projects, or are
aware of the importance of our work, I would
ask you to express your opinion about the
nature of our institute and the need for
it. A message of protest can be sent by
faxing +351-21-364-9999 (office of the Minister
of Culture). You can also send an e-mail
message to the two Portuguese newspapers
that have always been active in issues related
to science and culture – Público and Expresso.
Their addresses are
publico@publico.pt and
expresso@mail.expresso.pt. You can also
send your comments, as well as any advice
you may have, to us at a special web site
at the following address:
www.ipa.min-cultura.pt/forum/forum/
Please copy to this forum any messages
or letters you send or fax to the Minister
of Culture and the media. |
World
Archaeological Bulletin