| WAC November 2010 eNewsletter - Volume 35 |
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| Monday, 22 November 2010 00:00 |
Executive News, News from WAC Members, News Items, Excerpts from Other Archaeological Associations' NewsletterseNewslettersVolume 35 November 2010Editors: Shoshaunna Parks and Marisol Rodriguez Miranda shoshiparks@hotmail.com; marirodz@gmail.com
1. Executive NewsSkype Meeting of the Executive One of WAC’s most esteemed founding members, Peter Gathercole, passed away on 11th October, 2010. Peter was Curator, University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, at Cambridge University. His funeral was held on the 5th November at the Cambridge City Crematorium, followed by a reception at Darwin College. WAC will publish an obituary in a forthcoming issue of the newsletter or journal. Global Libraries Human Skull for Sale at Etsy WAC Inter-Congress in Beijing, China: Heritage Management in East and South East Asia WAC Inter-Congress in Indiana, USA: Membership Renewal Sponsored Memberships All the best, Claire Smith, for the Executive
2. News ItemsCUBA CON NOVEDOSOS TRABAJOS EN X CONFERENCIA INTERNACIONAL ANTROPOLOGÍA 2010 Cuba presentará novedosos trabajos en el campo de la antropología y la arqueología durante la realización en la capital cubana de la X Conferencia Internacional Antropología 2010 que sesionará del 22 al 26 del presente mes. La cita acogerá a prestigiosos especialistas provenientes de diferentes partes del mundo interesados en intercambiar acerca de lo más actual en la temática, entre los que se esperan de Perú, Bolivia, Inglaterra, Estados Unidos, entre otros. La nación caribeña expondrá los resultados de un proyecto sobre la religión yoruba en Cuba, trabajos de antropología aborigen, colonial y socio cultural, además de la presentación de parte de un amplio material incluido en soporte DVD acerca de los pataneros en la ínsula. Se trata de una comunidad de campesinos radicada en la oriental localidad de Maisí con un particular arraigo a sus mitos, leyendas, fábulas e historias muy propias. El evento se desarrollará en el Instituto Cubano de Antropología para los trabajos de antropología, mientras que en el Colegio Universitario San Gerónimo de La Habana estarán los relacionados con los de arqueología.La Antropología como ciencia decimonónica llegó a Cuba en un corto período de tiempo. El 14 de diciembre de 1876, en virtud de las facultades que le estaban conferidas a la Junta de Gobierno de la Sociedad Antropológica Española de Madrid, se autorizó a los señores miembros correspondientes en la Isla, para que fomentaran la especialidad. Un ilustre cubano formado en Francia, en la Escuela de Paul Broca (1824-1880) cuyo nombre, Luis Montané y Dardé (1849-1936), llenaría de gloria la enseñanza de la Antropología en Cuba, arribó a La Habana cuando se iniciaban los debates para la creación de la Sociedad Antropológica de la Isla de Cuba. Montané era Miembro de Honor de la Sociedad Antropológica de París, y de inmediato se integró al equipo de médicos, naturalistas, abogados y literatos, hombres todos de vasta cultura, que aportaron las más diversas tesis sobre: raza, evolución, lingüística, arqueología, poblamiento y esclavitud. La enseñanza de la Antropología se inició en el curso escolar 1900-1901 y comprendía en el calendario desde el primero de octubre de un año, al 30 de septiembre del siguiente. El primer curso lo impartió el catedrático Dr. Luis Montané Dardé en la Facultad de Derecho, con el título de Antropología Jurídica. ORIGINAL CUBAN FIELDWORK TO BE PRESENTED AT THE X INTERNATIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY CONFERENCE 2010 Cuba will present original fieldwork in the field of anthropology and archaeology during the X International Anthropology Conference 2010 to be held in the Cuban capital from November 22-26. The conference will welcome prestigious specialists from different parts of the world interested in exchanging current information about Peru, Bolivia, England, and the United States, among other locations. The Caribbean nation will display results of a project about Yoruba religion in Cuba, work in aboriginal, colonial and sociocultural anthropology, as well as a presentation of part materials, including a DVD, about the pataneros of the island – a community of radical farmers in the eastern area of Maisi with particular mythological roots, legends, fables, and very specific histories. Anthropologically themed evenst will take place in the Cuban Institute of Anthropology while archaeologically themed discussions will take place in the University College San Gerónimo of La Havana. Nineteenth century anthropological science arrived in Cuba over a short period of time; on December 14, 1876 the Governing Board of the Spanish Anthropological Society of Madrid authorized corresponding members on the island to develop the discipline. A distinguished Cuban educated in France at the School of Paul Broca (1824-1880) whose name, Luis Montané y Dardé (1849-1936), would fill the teaching of Anthropology in Cuba with glory, reached La Havana when debates about the creation of the Anthropological Society of the Island of Cuba began. Montané was an Honorable Member of the Anthropological Society of Paris and immediately integrated a team of physicians, naturalists, lawyers, and writers, men of vast culture that contributed to diverse theses about race, evolution, linguistics, archaeology, population, and slavery. The first course in anthropology was taught by Dr. Luis Montané Dardé in 1900-1901 at the Faculty of Rights with the title “Judicial Anthropology.”
WINNERS OF THE XXI INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL FILM ANNOUNCED The prize "Città di Rovereto-Archeologia Viva" was given to the Japanese film “A girl priestess in Cahuachi ” , directed by Minoru Nakamura. See the interview) Second place for the Italian film “I pozzi cantanti dell’Etiopia” directed by Alfredo e Angelo Castiglioni, and 3° place for the French film “Le Mystère de la Baleine,’ directed by Luc-Henri Fage The complete classific can be found here Watch films in the original language, interviews, trailers and videoclips at http://www.sperimentarea.tv/ and http://www.archeologiaviva.tv/ Mansour Boraik alla Rassegna del Cinema Archeologico di Rovereto
PAST PRESERVERS LAUNCHES PRODUCTION HOUSE The Founder of Past Preservers, Nigel Hetherington, has announced plans to expand his successful media services company. Past Preservers has already established itself as a major presence within the television industry, working with various channels such as the History Channel and National Geographic. Building on its strong reputation in the areas of production services, talent acquisition and historical consulting, newly formed Past Preservers Productions will focus on developing new formats for television, Founder and CEO Hetherington feels the company is in a perfect position to supply a growing market for history-based non-fiction programing. “We get so many great ideas from our expanding talent pool of archaeologists, journalist and filmmakers, we saw an opportunity to really go for it, expand and set some of these projects up,” he said. " Hertherington has partnered with a team of experienced producers Christopher Beckman and Edward Nachtrieb to launch Past Preservers Productions. " Nachtrieb and Beckman have developed a slate of history-themed programs they plan to produce under the Past Preservers shingle in addition to new shows now under development with other partners and contributors. “Past Preservers has unique and powerful resources in our area of focus - it’s a perfect combination and we look forward to announcing our first projects very soon.” Nachtrieb said. London-based archaeologist, writer and producer Beckman spent years making independent films in Hollywood before his love of history drew him to the Middle East and London for research. As Director of Development, he will uses his unique combination of skills from both worlds to create entertaining and informative formats. Acting as Executive Producer will be Hollywood-based Nachtrieb. He is a veteran of US television and with a background in international photojournalism. He was previously Reuters Chief Photographer in China in the 1980’s. Past Preservers was founded by archaeologist Nigel J. Hetherington in 2005 to provide historical and archaeological consultancy and professional support to the media industry. CONSERVADORES DEL PASADO LANZA SU CASA DE LA PRODUCCIÓN
3. New publications by WAC membersARCHAEOLOGY AND THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS: MULTIPLE IMPACTS, POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS Freely available for download at http://www.ace-archaeology.eu/fichiers/25Archaeology-and-the-crisis.pdf Developing from a session at the annual meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists in 2009, this volume attempts a global, comparative look at the current economic crisis and its effects on archaeology. This impact can be identified in four overlapping areas or themes: research funding and priorities; professional employment, training and skills; conservation and public outreach; and changes in heritage management policies and legislation. The authors, coming from academia, the commercial sector and public bodies address the situation in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, France, Hungary, Poland, Russia and the United States – they do not aim to produce here authorised, definitive statements, but rather provide a sense of the multiple impacts of the crisis on archaeology. Economic effects aside, the crisis is also a mantra for decision making, and indeed a prism for better appreciating the wider attitudes of our contemporary societies towards the heritage of the past. Provided there is sufficient interest, the editors intend to publish a follow-up volume in one year’s time, with updated information and covering new countries, sectors and analyses.
NEW PUBLICATIONS FROM THE ARCHAEOLINGUA FOUNDATION For more information and to order the following books: HISTORIA PICTA CASTELLORVM In this impressive volume, Archaeolingua publishes the drawings of the well-known artist Frigyes Kőnig, rector of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts, about castles and fortifications in the Carpathian Basin. The detailed drawings, accompanied by notes and precise measurements, are important sources for archaeology, architecture and art-history. They present surviving castles and fortifications from prehistory to the Modern Period to a wider audience in high artistic quality. In the foreword, Ernő Marosi, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, provides an introduction to current reconstruction techniques as well as a professional overview of the drawings. The architect Zsolt Vasáros’ afterword helps with the interpretation of Frigyes Kőnig’s works. 2010
LISTING ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES, PROTECTING THE HISTORICAL LANDSCAPE In March 2008 the Ninth Symposium of the Europae Archaeologiae Consilium was held in Tàrgoviste, Romania, and was devoted to the topic of the listing of archaeological sites and its role in protecting the archaeological landscape. This collection of papers presents an overview of the developments, emphases and current approaches to the topic in the different participating European countries. Keywords are legislation, GIS, implementation and historical landscape. Implementation is illustrated by some examples which show how listing can be used to protect valuable cultural landscapes. Brussels 2009
ARCHAEOLOGICAL MONUMENTS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD IN BUDAPEST This volume, published in the series of "Aquincum Pocket Guides" gives an account of the visible and hidden treasures, outlining the rich array of Roman ruins to be found in Budapest. Budapest is unique amongst the capitals of Europe in having three different historical centres. The Buda castle reflects the medieval era, whilst the Pest side displays that of the 19th century. Through whichever area one takes a stroll, however, it is important to know that its main roads still recall the original structure of the Aquincum settlement - the Roman predecessor of Budapest. Both Gellért hill, which was a religious centre for the Romans and now dominates the panoramic view from the Danube, and Main Street (Fő utca), which was the limes route during the Roman era, all preserve the memory of the one-time seat of the province. It was Roman engineers who, taking into account the flow of the Danube, designed its layout and structure, and on which present day Budapest is still based. The guidebook leads the reader on a virtual tour around Roman Budapest, presenting 39 significant monuments listed from antique topographies with many illustrations. 2010 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) Recently Released! This essential handbook explores the relationship between the postcolonial critique and the field of archaeology, a discipline that developed historically in conjunction with European colonialism and imperialism. In aiding the movement to decolonize the profession, the contributors to this volume—themselves from six continents and many representing indigenous and minority communities and disadvantaged countries—suggest strategies to strip archaeological theory and practice of its colonial heritage and create a discipline sensitive to its inherent inequalities. Summary articles review the emergence of the discipline of archaeology in conjunction with colonialism, critique the colonial legacy evident in continuing archaeological practice around the world, identify current trends, and chart future directions in postcolonial archaeological research. Contributors provide a synthesis of research, thought, and practice on their topic. The articles embrace multiple voices and case study approaches, and have consciously aimed to recognize the utility of comparative work and interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the past. This is a benchmark volume for the study of the contemporary politics, practice, and ethics of archaeology. Now Available in Paperback: ARCHAEOLOGIES OF PLACEMAKING: MONUMENTS, MEMORIES, AND ENGAGEMENT IN NATIVE NORTH AMERICA Coming soon (and available for preorder!): 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. Coming soon in paperback: BEING AND BECOMING INDIGENOUS ARCHAEOLOGISTS
This is a sampling of WAC-sponsored titles. To order or for more information on additional WAC-sponsored titles, visit our website at: Join Left Coast Press online at: 4. Conferences and OpportunitiesJOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR ANTHROPOLOGISTS AND ARCHAEOLOGISTS AT THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF MALAWI The Catholic University of Malawi opened in 2006 and is located 20km outside of Limbe/Blantyre. It has started the first Anthropology programme in the country. The Department of Anthropology/Archaeology is currently looking for additional staff for its undergraduate programme. 1) A Social-Cultural Anthropologist, preferably with experience in East-Central Africa. Preferred thematic specializations: witchcraft, development, tourism and/or environment. 2) An Archaeologist, a specialization in the African Stone Age is preferred. Qualifications: As CUNIMA is a young and non-subsidized university, it cannot afford to offer expat packages. All contracts are on local terms. The opportunity to build a new programme with eager students does provide a very gratifying work environment. Contracts vary for 6 months to 3 years. Menno Welling
VIA 2011 CONFERENCE – CALL FOR SESSIONS
ASIA PACIFIC REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE The 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (UNESCO Convention 2001) entered into force on 2 January 2009 and provides the basis for international cooperation and exchange of knowledge about underwater cultural heritage. Recent decades have witnessed an expansion of activity directed at underwater cultural heritage which has raised awareness of the potential and importance of this heritage. There has also been a realisation of the threats to this material from human activities and natural action, sea-level rise and erosion, increased development, industrial extraction, exploitation of marine resources and SCUBA diving activities which are all contributing to damage and loss. This period of relatively rapid change has increased pressure on governments, heritage groups and agencies, coastal zone managers, diving groups and other users to formulate an approach to managing the underwater cultural heritage. This conference will provide an opportunity to exchange and disseminate information about underwater cultural heritage and underwater archaeology in Asia and the countries of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Date: 8 to 12 November 2011 Conference Themes Conference Aims
CHAT 2010: NORTHERN WORLDS IN CONTEMPORARY & HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY
24TH CONGRESS OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CARIBBEAN ARCHAEOLOGY El comité organizador del 24 º Congreso de la Asociación Internacional de Arqueología del Caribe con gusto los invita a participar en el congreso del próximo año que tendrá lugar en en la Universidad de las Antillas y Guyana , en la isla de Martinica, , entre el 25 y el 30 de julio de 2011. Please join us the weekend of February 11-13, 2011 for the Eighth Annual Tulane Maya Symposium and Workshop, hosted by Tulane University’s Middle American Research Institute and Stone Center for Latin American Studies. Through a series of lectures, workshops and a discussion, specialists at next year’s symposium will address the origins of socio-political complexity in the Maya area, with a particular focus on the Preclassic period. Recent research in the Maya area indicates that the development of complex social and political systems, best known through their Classic period manifestations, actually took place much earlier in time than previously thought. The emergence of such notably complex features as monumental architecture, social differentiation and stratification, long-distance trade systems and specialized craft production can perhaps best be understood by studying the first millennium BC of Maya prehistory. In light of our growing knowledge of the earlier antecedents to what have traditionally been considered aspects of Classic Maya society, this conference will focus on the Middle Preclassic period to investigate how and why the ancient Maya developed and sustained more than a thousand years of complex society. With guest speakers presenting research from the Pacific coast, the Maya highlands, and the northern and southern lowlands, we hope to develop a broad, yet detailed, picture of the ways in which Maya civilization emerged and developed. The 2011 symposium promises to be a memorable weekend spent exploring and discussing this important anthropological topic. For further information about the program, please contact Sherman Horn (sherman.w.horn.iii@gmail.com), or visit our website (http://mari.tulane.edu/TMS/index.html). OCTAVO SIMPOSIO Y TALLER ANUAL MAYA DE TULANE: ELASCENAO DE LA CIVILIZACIÓN MAYA
WHY DOES THE PAST MATTER? First call for abstracts A special feature of this year’s conference will be the recognition of the achievements of three outstanding heritage professionals for their contributions to a more inclusive, more sustainable. In addition to presenting thematic plenary addresses, they will be honored at a special evening event: Henry Cleere -- For his worldwide activities in support of, and furtherance of, the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and his mentoring of countless heritage professionals throughout the world Barbara Little -- For her tireless professional activities and influential publications emphasizing the public value and importance of heritage in general and public archaeology in particular David Lowenthal -- For his path-breaking theoretical and philosophical work, which has transformed the contemporary understanding of heritage and its enormous impact on contemporary society. For more information, and to submit abstracts for posters, research papers, and organized sessions, please visit: http://www.whydoesthepastmatter.org
20TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (AAN) Sub Themes In view of the recognition that the above sub themes are not exhaustive of the broad theme of the conference, the organisers welcome papers in other related issues of Archaeology, Creativity and Heritage Management as well. Send abstracts of not more than 200 words to aanc2010nsukka@yahoo.com. Extended deadline for submission of abstracts and panel proposals: July 30, 2010. Submission of conference paper: For further enquiries, do not hesitate to contact us: Archaeological Association of Nigeria, 2010, University of Nigeria, Nsukka – NIGERIA. Contact emails: aanc2010nsukka@yahoo.com or mec_okonkwo@yahoo.com. Blog: www.tournija.blogspot.com.
CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER: CHALLENGING CONVENTION AND CELEBRATING THE UNUSUAL IN MUSEUMS AND HERITAGE WAC INTER-CONGRESS ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND MUSEUMS First Call for Papers and Sessions Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Museum Studies Program and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art invite your participation in an Inter-Congress of the World Archaeological Congress (WAC) on the topic Indigenous Peoples and Museums: Unraveling the Tensions. The Inter-Congress will take place in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, in conjunction with the Eiteljorg’s Indian Market and Festival (25-26 June). The organizers invite proposals for sessions, workshops, demonstrations, poster papers, and contributed papers on topics related to the relationships between museums and Indigenous peoples. All proposals will be evaluated for their relevance to the theme by the Inter-Congress Academic Committee, which is chaired by Julie Hollowell. The deadline for session or workshop proposals is 15 April 2011 and for all other papers and posters, 1 May 2011. Proposals may be submitted using an online form, but session, demonstration, and workshop organizers should e-mail the academic committee at academic@wacmuseums.info. We especially encourage participation by students, and there will be a student session with awards for best student papers and posters. Conference registration will open on or before 1 January 2011 with reduced registration rates for early registrants. Limited travel support may be available for Indigenous people who are presenters. For additional information and resources, see the Inter-Congress web site at http://wacmuseums.info/. For other questions e-mail Larry Zimmerman at organizers@wacmuseums.info or by post at: Prof. Larry Zimmerman
5. News from other archaeological associations (used with permission)5 (a) SALONSalon 244: 15 November 2010 Neglected ruins of Pompeii declared a 'disgrace to Italy' Whatever the fate of England’s woods and National Parks, one cannot help feeling that they will be better cared for than Pompeii, which was declared ‘a disgrace’ by Italy’s President, Giorgio Napolitano, following the collapse on 6 November of the Schola Armaturarum Juventus Pompeiani (‘the House of the Gladiators’), destroying the frescos of gladiators that gave the building its name. Corriere della Serra said the state of Pompeii symbolised ‘the sloppiness and inefficiencies of a country that has lost its good sense’. The collapse has drawn attention to the scale of the task facing Pompeii’s custodians, the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Napoli e Pompei (SANP) and the Italian culture ministry. Fellow Andrew Wallace-Hadrill told the media that: ‘It is quite possible to spend tens of millions [on maintenance] and still not protect the site. It’s not that we have Roman houses in a pristine state, nor were they ever built or intended to last forever. Ultimately these [structures] are so unique that we’re trying to get more out of them than they were ever designed to do.’ Italy’s Culture Minister, Sandro Bondi, has responded to the situation by announcing the establishment of a new foundation to assess the state of decay and deciding what action to take. Critics are concerned that Bondi favours the restoration of a select number of prestige buildings, rather than what they believe is necessary, which is a programme of continuous small-scale maintenance across the whole of Pompeii, as has been practised successfully at nearby Herculaneum, where the Soprintendenza, the Packard Humanities Institute, an American philanthropic foundation, and the British School at Rome have been working together on the largest private heritage sponsorship scheme in Italy. Sarah Court, a British archaeologist working on the Herculaneum conservation project, says the aim is not to fix the odd ‘dodgy’ mosaic but to deal with the root cause. At Herculaneum that means tackling site drainage with the strategic placement of guttering and the use of pumps to remove rain and groundwater from the site. ‘Because nobody lives there any more’, she says, ‘there is nobody to do the necessary DIY on a regular basis.’ ‘Save our Archives’ protest in Paris In France the tradition whereby Presidents strive for immortality by building a monument that bears their name has caused staff at France’s National Archives in Paris to occupy the building and barricade themselves behind a wall of box files. They are protesting against Nicolas Sarkozy’s plan to make them share their home in the Hôtel de Soubise with a new Museum of National History. A new archive store has been promised elsewhere, and the Hôtel de Soubise is bursting at the seams, but staff at the National Archives do not wish to share their building with a museum that they see as promoting Sarkozy’s right-wing ideology for electoral purposes. The President wants work on the new museum to start in time for his 2012 re-election campaign, declaring that the aim of ‘his’ museum is to ‘reinforce national identity’. It will focus on the great figures in French history. The emphasis on ‘national identity’ has been attacked by academics as dangerous, inward-looking and risks excluding the country’s long history of migration, while telling the story of kings and emperors, not of the people. ‘We absolutely must fight to stop this project, or else totally transform it’, said Nicolas Offenstadt, a historian at the Sorbonne. ‘No historian can accept history being used to serve a political ideology, as part of a narrow, exclusive form of nationalism. There is no deep reflection on history or museography at play here, just a backward-looking project used to support a political ideology.’ Meanwhile staff have draped the exterior of the building with banners saying ‘Save our Archives’, and take it in turns to sleep in the foyer to protect the building and its contents, declaring that they will never give up. New light on ancient Papua New Guinea Maybe, just maybe, if we want students to understand who we all are and where we all came from, it is archaeology that should be the compulsory subject in schools, not history. What could be more absorbing than to learn about the evolution of the human species, our epic migrations across the globe and the development of all those characteristics that make us human? What could be more salutary than to place religion, warfare, empires, elites, industry, trade, art and even history itself into the long perspective of millennia rather than centuries, and to ask where all this is leading to? With that in mind, we report on newly published research carried out by Fellow Glenn Summerhayes and his colleagues in Papua New Guinea (PNG) that is throwing new light on early human migration from Africa to Sahul, the land mass that once joined PNG to Australia until rising sea levels turned PNG into an island about 10,000 years ago. Contrary to the idea that early human migration was based on adaptation to a purely coastal way of life, Glenn and his team have found evidence for early occupation in the much more harsh environment of the Ivane Valley in PNG’s western highlands at 2,000 metres above sea level. Publishing their research in the journal Science, Summerhayes’ team reports finding seven ancient camps in the valley. Radiocarbon dates from one site, Vilakuav, put it at between 49,000 and 43,000 years old, with other sites dating from between 41,400 and 26,000 years ago. Material evidence includes waisted axes — which Glenn believes were used to clear trees and open up patches of forest to sunlight so that edible and medicinal plants could grow faster — stone tool-making debris, stone tools with yam starch residues, charred Pandanus nut shells and burned bone fragments from unidentified animals that could have included possums, tree kangaroos, bats, frogs, anteaters, lizards, snakes and birds. Archaeologist Dr Andrew Fairbairn from the University of Queensland, who worked with Glenn on the research, says this suggests early humans lived in small nomadic populations that moved up and down the mountains of Papua New Guinea in search of food and that were clearly very mobile. ‘It was a very cold period in history and these people were both resourceful and capable to be able to live at this altitude’, he says. Commenting on the discoveries in a related article in the same issue of Science, Fellow Chris Gosden says that ‘crucial survival skills in the intellectual arsenal [of these early migrants] included an ability to remember complex travel routes and to identify potentially edible and possibly lethal plants’. He also says that it is unlikely that early humans were living permanently in what is a ‘cold, difficult and uncompromising place’, but that they were probably visiting the highlands on a seasonal basis; starch grains from yams recovered in the valley appear to support this, having most likely been transported there from their natural sub-tropical coastal habitat. Salon 243: 1 November 2010 The role of heritage in resolving poverty A new report from the Global Heritage Fund (GHF) shows that something like 80 per cent of global tourism is heritage and culture related. While richer nations debate the question of just how far to go in the direction of ‘entertainment’ in order to grow that tourism income, poorer nations are seeing their heritage eroding for want of investment in basic protection and conservation. Heritage could play a central role in meeting the UN’s aim of eradicating global poverty, the report argues, if this position were reversed, and investment in heritage conservation became a core component of international development strategy. Called Saving Our Vanishing Heritage: Safeguarding Endangered Cultural Heritage Sites in the Developing World, the GHF report assesses the condition of some 500 of the planet’s most threatened and significant cultural sites. It finds that nearly 200 are ‘At Risk’ or ‘Under Threat’ and that twelve are ‘On the Verge’ of irreparable loss and destruction, including the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh, the ancient Greek and medieval port town of Famagusta, in eastern Cyprus, the ancient Greek city of Chersonesos, in Ukraine, and the historic city of Intramuros and Fort Santiago in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Even in their less than pristine state, these 500 global heritage sites earned US$24.7 billion in 2009 from domestic and international tourism and the investment of relatively small sums by government aid programmes in conservation could help drive tourist income up to US$100 billion per year, bringing jobs, skills, regional growth, tourist revenue and foreign exchange earnings to some of the world’s poorest countries. In other words, heritage sites ‘offer the promise of being economic engines for their regions and communities if restored and managed responsibly’. SALON Fellow Ian Hodder, one of GLF’s founders, thus describes heritage sites as ‘important economic assets for sustainable development’ as well as ‘the basis for scientific and aesthetic inquiry’, and he joins the other authors of the report in calling for the establishment of a ‘Global Fund for Heritage’. Jeff Morgan, Executive Director of GHF, says that ‘funding for preservation remains anaemic … and is a fraction of what is needed’. The UNESCO World Heritage Center, for example, has less than US$30 million annually to provide training and support for World Heritage Sites, while the US government’s voluntary contribution to the UNESCO World Heritage Fund was just US$694,100 in 2009. What is needed, the report argues, is a multi-billion dollar fund made up of contributions from governments, foundations and corporations that will be used for emergency intervention, training and conservation, specifically focused on the lowest-income countries and regions of the world, which can be achieved if leaders in industry and civil society can be persuaded to take more of an interest in heritage as catalyst for sustainable development. Salon 242: 18 October 2010 Human remains guidance needs reform, says Council for British Archaeology (CBA) The CBA is calling for a review of the guidance, introduced by the Ministry of Justice in 2008, which decrees that all human remains found in Britain must be reburied within two years. Burdensome regulations of this kind are doing harm to scientific research, says SALON Fellow Mike Pitts, Editor of British Archaeology, who makes this problem the cover story in the magazine’s latest issue. Mike was interviewed on the subject on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Material World’ on 14 October, where he said that over-zealous application of rules is stifling archaeological research and making it harder to run digs that involve human remains. The Observer also carried a report on the subject, saying that members of the Stonehenge Riverside Project ‘are already facing the prospect of having to rebury a horde of human bone fragments, the remains of more than fifty individuals, that were excavated in 2008 at a site known as Aubrey Hole 7 … project members, including Mike Pitts, had hoped that they could study these pieces to gain new knowledge about the people who built and used Stonehenge, with a preliminary study of the 50,000 bone fragments being expected to run until 2015 … they face the prospect of having to rebury the remains when their research has only just begun. “We have applied for an extension”, adds Pitts, “and we may get one, but even if we did, it would only be for a couple more years. Then the bones would have be reburied.”’ Also causing unexpected problems is the requirement to screen the excavation of human remains from the public which, says Dr Duncan Sayer of the University of Central Lancashire, who is leading an excavation at a Saxon cemetery at Oakington in Cambridgeshire, only invites people’s suspicion that ‘you are doing something sinister’, as well as excluding the public from having access to scientific research. We find that ‘local folk want to learn about the men and women who used to live in their village or town’, he said. Mike Pitts concluded that: ‘It is utterly inappropriate to use this law to control archaeology.’ Institute of Historical Research (IHR) Digital launched The Institute of Historical Research launched its IHR Digital website last week, placing a huge amount of primary and secondary source material for the history of Britain into the public domain. The ‘Reviews in History’ section has in-depth reviews of many of the most important books that have been published recently and — an innovative feature — allows for the author and readers to respond. Salon 241: 4 October 2010 Roman armour from Caerleon SALON fellow Peter Guest and co-director Andy Gardner have announced the discovery of a near-complete suit of Roman armour at Priory Field, Caerleon, where a team of staff and students from Cardiff University and University College London undertook a six-week excavation during July and August 2010. Dr Guest described the find as ‘extremely rare, adding to important finds from Corbridge, Newstead and Carlisle and the first find of its kind in Wales’. Conservators from the National Museum of Wales have removed the armour from the site in thirty soil blocks. ‘It’s going to be a very delicate process of careful and controlled excavation in the Museum’s laboratories over the next few months’, Dr Guest said. He believes that traces of textile survive on some pieces and that excavation will almost certainly reveal a second set of (possible) ceremonial or parade armour as well as the segmentata, or banded armour, already known to be present. The find is the latest in a series of major discoveries to be made at the Roman fortress in the last four years. At the start of this year’s excavation, the team announced that their geophysical survey had located a series of huge buildings squeezed into the ground between Caerleon’s amphitheatre and the River Usk in fields that were not previously thought to have been occupied in the Roman period. One of these buildings is being described as ‘one of the biggest buildings known from Roman Britain’. Peter Guest says that it looks ‘uncannily like a residential villa’, built on a ‘palatial scale’. Another possibility is that the buildings formed part of a riverside port complex, with markets and warehouses, administrative buildings, bath-houses and temples, or that there were plans to develop the fortress at Caerleon into a major settlement — plans that for some reason never came to fruition. This year’s excavation placed two trial trenches over the largest of these new buildings and revealed a long wall constructed of courses of tegulae (rooftile) that appears to be a harbour or quayside wall, and separate from the courtyard building that would have fronted on to the quay. A digital fly-through of Caerleon and the newly found complex (showing how Caerleon’s famous amphitheatre fits comfortably within the building’s central courtyard) can be seen on the dig website. This year’s main excavation centred on the rooms of a possible warehouse within the fortress (and is the first excavation to take place within the walls of Caerleon for many years). Finds supervisor Chris Waite said that the season had proved to be very productive, with more than 1,000 ‘small finds’ and lots of important new information about Isca (the Roman name for Caerleon) and its garrison. Armadura Romana de Caerleon The Cyrus cylinder returns to Iran The British Museum was again in the news last week when it announced that the Cyrus cylinder was back in Iran, having been loaned to the National Museum for the special four-month Cyrus the Great exhibition that opened in Tehran on 12 September. The loan reciprocates the generous loans made by the National Museum of Iran to the Forgotten Empire and Shah Abbas exhibitions held at the British Museum in 2005 and 2009. The Tehran exhibition had been planned for January 2010, and the postponement of the loan was described by the Iranian government as ‘politically motivated’ and designed to signal displeasure at Iran’s nuclear programme and the outcome of the June 2009 presidential elections. The British Museum says it has acted in good faith throughout the loan negotiations and that it has a policy of cultural exchanges with other nations independent of political considerations. Important new discoveries have recently been made about the cylinder, not least the finding of two more clay tablets within the British Museum’s collection inscribed with extracts from the cylinder text, and the announcement that horse bones now in the Palace Museum in Beijing inscribed with extracts from the Cyrus proclamation are likely to be genuinely ancient copies. SALON fellow Irving Finkel, the British Museum (BM) specialist on the Cyrus cylinder, said that the clay cylinder, excavated in 1879 by the Assyro-British archaeologist Hormuz Rassam, could no longer be considered a unique object, made for ritual burial and placed in the foundations of the Esagila, ancient Babylon’s main temple, when Cyrus the Great rebuilt it after he conquered the city in 539 BC. Instead, it looks as if the cylinder text, often characterised as the world’s first human rights declaration because of the promise made by Cyrus to restore the city and its temples and improve the lot of its citizens, recognising their rights to liberty and freedom of worship, was widely copied and disseminated, probably during Cyrus the Great’s lifetime (c 600—530 BC). SAVE Britain’s Heritage in bid to list Beatles houses At last the heritage sector has woken up to the fact that the bulldozers are closing in on the birthplace and childhood home of Ringo Starr. It almost seems cruel that while the homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney have been lovingly restored by the National Trust, Ringo’s home should be boarded up and condemned, as if his contribution to the band were negligible (even if a popular joke of the 1970s had Ringo down as the Beatles third best drummer, after the band’s original drummer, Pete Best, and Paul McCartney, who played drums in studio recordings in Ringo’s absence in the band’s later period). The call to protect Ringo Starr’s first home is entirely consistent with a campaign that SAVE has now been waging for several years to halt the controversial Housing Market Renewal (Pathfinder) Initiative. Reminiscent of the slum clearance programmes of the 1930s and 1950s, Pathfinder has led to the demolition of large numbers of Victorian and Edwardian houses deemed no longer fit for habitation, their inhabitants re-housed in newly constructed stock. SAVE has long argued that the housing that is being condemned to destruction is of sound quality and it has commissioned leading architects to demonstrate that it can easily and inexpensively be brought up to modern standards. SAVE argues that the Pathfinder Initiative is expensive, insensitive and wasteful, leading to the ‘entire districts of the well-planned Victorian and Edwardian inner suburbs of Liverpool, a UNESCO World Heritage city, being laid waste, with communities, businesses and urban fabric forced to make way for acre after acre of vacant lots’. William Palin, Secretary of SAVE, said: ‘Liverpool’s celebrated Cavern Club, birthplace of the Beatles, was demolished in 1973 because of a council compulsory purchase order, to make room for a ventilation shaft that was never built. The destruction of Madryn Street would represent another tragic loss and a further assault on the heart and spirit of the city. It is astonishing and distressing that Liverpool City Council retains such a callous disregard for its cultural heritage, and sad that it should fall to organisations such as SAVE and the MCS to protect and promote buildings within the city that have such huge historic and socio-economic importance.’ Salve Patrimonio de Gran Bretaña (SAVE) en puja para listar las casas de los Beatles La llamada a proteger primera casa de Ringo Starr es totalmente coherente con una campaña que SAVE ha estado librando desde hace varios años para poner fin a la polémica Iniciativa de renovación del mercado de la vivienda (Pathfinder). Con reminiscencias de los programas delimpieza de los barrios de tugurios de los años 1930 y 1950, la Pathfinder ha llevado a la demolición de un gran número de casas de estilo victoriano y eduardiano consideradas no aptas para vivienda, y sus habitantes realojados en nuevas construcciónes. SAVE ha sostenido durante mucho tiempo que la vivienda que se está condenado a la destrucción de alta calidad y se ha encargado a arquitectos de prestigio demostrar que con facilidad y bajo costo se pueden adaptar a las normas modernas. SAVE sostiene que la iniciativa Pathfinder es caro, insensible y derrochadora, y que conduce a que "barrios enteros victorianos y eduardianos de l os interiores bien planificados suburbios de Liverpool, una ciudad Patrimonio Mundial de la UNESCO, sean devastadas, con las comunidades, las empresas y tejido urbano forzados a dar paso a acres y hectáreas de "terrenos baldíos. William Palin, Secretario de SAVE, dijo que el: " Celebrado Club Caverna de Liverpool, cuna de los Beatles, fue demolido en 1973 debido a una orden del Consejo de expropiación, para dar lugar a un conducto de ventilación que nunca se construyó. La destrucción de la calle Madryn representaría otra pérdida trágica y un asalto sobre el corazón y el espíritu de la ciudad. Es sorprendente y lamentable que el Ayuntamiento de Liverpool conserve un cruel desprecio por su patrimonio cultural, que debería recaer en organizaciones tales como SAVE y el MCS para proteger y promover los edificios de la ciudad que tienen como gran importancia histórica y socio-económica ". Jonathan Brown planificador de MCS dijo: "la opinión pública internacional tiene un apetito poderoso para los sitios y edificios relacionados con la historia temprana de la banda, una bendición que las autoridades municipales han tardado en reconocer. Si se permite, la demolición de sus hogares y lugares de nacimiento eclipsará a la pérdida del Cavern Club como un acto de vandalismo cultural craso. De hecho, sería mucho menos perdonable, por lo que ahora sabemos acerca de la importancia de la música y el turismo para la reactivación económica. Por supuesto, la solicitud de listado tiene que ver mucho más que con los lugares de nacimiento de los cuatro individuos, sino también con la protección de las comunidades del centro urbano de Liverpool que de ser vendido a los estrechos intereses de desarrollo de los funcionarios públicos, la demolición del patrimonio de los Beatles es sólo un síntoma de el régimen de indiferencia a los valores sociales más allá del uso de la tierra. " Archaeologists express concern about Libyan oil prospecting The September issue of the Art Newspaper reports growing concern on the part of the archaeological community at the prospect of BP’s plans to drill five exploratory oil wells in the Gulf of Sirte before the end of 2010. Not only are archaeologists concerned that the technology to be used is the same as that which led to the blowout of BP’s Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, they are even more concerned that casual leakage from the wells will cause irreparable damage to organic remains in two archaeologically rich areas along the Libyan coast — Cyrenaica and Tripolitania. Within Cyrenaica lies Apollonia, an ancient harbour submerged five metres under the water and described by Claude Sintes, Director of the sub-aquatic team of the French archaeological mission to Libya and Director of the Museum of Ancient Arles, in France, as ‘a complete town under the sea’, while Tripolitania includes the two World Heritage Sites of Leptis Magna and Sabratha. James Delgado, the President of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University, also notes that thousands of wrecks from various historical periods lie within the Gulf, whose maritime archaeology is still largely unexplored. BP has responded by saying that it has conducted archaeological and seismic surveys off the coast of Libya to ensure that they are not working in sensitive areas, that their oil-spill plans for Libya have been reviewed in light of the Gulf of Mexico incident and that they intend to drill many miles offshore, ‘well beyond any possible ancient sites’. Los arqueólogos expresan su preocupación por la exploración petrólera de Libia
5 (b) African Diaspora Archaeology NetworkUnderstanding Nigeria within the Context of the Atlantic World The legacies of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and its enduring impacts in Nigeria starting in the mid-15th century, present a paradox. Those oppressive activities, orchestrated by European interests, comprise a subject that evokes intense emotional reactions to condemn such incidents of slavery, economic exploitation, and political subjugation. Continuing, damaging effects of the trans-Atlantic slave trade can be seen in the cultural landscape of Nigeria today. In turn, enduring lessons of human character, aspiration, and resilience can also be learned from these histories. In this regard, a paradigm shift presented by trans-disciplinary approaches involving such subjects as archaeology and anthropology presents a promising development. For too long, attention has been almost totally focused on the debilitating effects of the trans-Atlantic slave trade on facets of Nigerian cultures. Such an approach was derived from a discourse of condemnation that tended to inhibit the full potentials of modern education and appreciation of cultural accomplishments in Nigeria's history. The lacunae of silences created as a result of this condemnatory focus and related parameters of authenticity or truth can be filled in through the lenses of archaeological and anthropological sciences among other disciplines. Such trans-disciplinary research efforts provide new insights into the resilience and achievements of Nigerian cultures. For example, agricultural, culinary, and architectural knowledge and heritage were greatly modified over time in Nigeria as a result of the historical processes and entanglements generated during the period of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The dietary practices of Nigerians were enlarged and enriched, thus paving the way for a healthier society. Similarly, aspects of Nigeria's sociocultural heritage were adapted in the general lifeways of many people on the other side of the Atlantic. Large social networks in Argentina, Brazil, and Puerto Rico were some of the populations involved in this historical phenomenon of cultural flows and interconnections. This is one example of how Nigerian cultures contributed to the development of the modern world system following their encounters with expanding European colonial enterprise. Today's Nigerians need to learn to participate in the global community in a critical manner, working to prevent political and commercial elites from once again enslaving and oppressing citizens in a short-sighted engagement in "do-or-die" political contests and financial recklessness in the continuing fall-out of the post-colonial era. Read or download this full article here in Adobe .pdf format. The Wrecking of the Laden Spanish Slave Ship Guerrero off the Florida Keys, in 1827 Important to American, British, Cuban, Barbadian and Liberian history is the wrecking of the Spanish slave ship Guerrero off the upper Florida Keys in 1827. It was one of North America's most dramatic maritime events, involving 561 hopeless African people, some 90 Cuban pirates in the slave trade, the 56 person crew of a British warship, and American seafarers from Key West. This article will give an account of the wrecking and then of its aftermath, including involvement by Native Americans from northeast Florida, plantation owner Zephaniah Kingsley, the Captain-General of Cuba, the Governor of Barbados, the people settled at New Georgia, Liberia, and some of the most influential British and American officials of the day, including President John Quincy Adams. Importantly, the names given to 92 of the African survivors in America were recorded when they reached Liberia many months later. I have compiled a number of their life histories including the names of their wives and children, giving a very human perspective to people who are usually just shadowy victims of the slave trade. Currently, members of the "Diving with a Purpose" program of the National Association of Black Scuba Divers are mapping wrecks in Biscayne National Park, where I believe the Guerrero was lost, looking for the remains of that vessel. In 2009 the group received a "Take Pride in America" award for their mapping efforts in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Read or download this full article here in Adobe .pdf format. La destrucción del barco Español de esclavos cargado Guerrero en los Cayos de la Florida, en 1827 Excavation of Sites such as Timbuctoo, N.J. is Helping to Rewrite African American History Timbuctoo, N.J. -- In Timbuctoo lies a hill. Underneath that hill lies a house, or what archaeologists think might have been a house once upon a time. The silver clasp of a woman's handbag, piles of Mason jars, chips of dinner plates and an empty jar of Dixie Peach Pomade lie among the bricks that have broken away from the foundation. These are crushed fragments of a past life when free black people lived in this New Jersey community almost 200 years ago -- free even then, 45 years before Emancipation. "Most of the history of this country is in that house," says David Orr, a classical archaeologist and professor of anthropology at Temple University. Orr is standing at the site down a gray road in Timbuctoo. A hot wind is blowing. Timbuctoo was founded by freed blacks and escaped slaves in the 1820s. It was probably named after Timbuktu, the town in Mali near the Niger River, although researchers are still trying to find out how and why it got its name. The neighborhood still exists in the township of Westampton, N.J., about a 45-minute drive northeast of Philadelphia, an enclave of many acres, so tiny and tucked away that when you ask someone at the store two miles away, he tells you he has no idea where it is. Timbuctoo has always been a secret kind of a place. Had to be, because it was part of the Underground Railroad. There are newer houses here now where some descendants of original settlers still live. But much of the physical history of Timbuctoo is buried underground. Based on a geophysical survey, archaeologists believe that foundations of a whole village of perhaps 18 houses and a church dating back to the 1820s lies beneath layers of dirt. In June, those archaeologists from Temple University in Philadelphia began unraveling Timbuctoo's secrets, excavating the hill next to a Civil War cemetery where African American troops are buried. The discoveries are fragile and ordinary artifacts of everyday life -- jars for medicines and cosmetics, pieces of shoes, dinner plates -- but to the people unearthing them, they are invaluable. Article posted online and copyright by Washington Post, August 3, 2010. Read this full Washington Post article. Related articles on the Timbuctoo project were published by National Public Radio, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and by Chris Barton in the December 2009 issue of the ADAN Newsletter. United Nations Agency Hails Move to Protect African Folklore and Traditional Knowledge The instrument, adopted earlier this month in Swakopmund, Namibia, by member states of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), is designed to preserve and protect the use of Africa's diverse knowledge systems and cultures for the continent's sustainable development. Francis Gurry, Director General of the UN's World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) welcomed the adoption of the Swakopmund Protocol on the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Folklore as "an historic step for ARIPO's 17 member states, and a significant milestone in the evolution of intellectual property." Developed by African experts over a six-year period, the Swakopmund Protocol is a response to the misappropriation and misuse of the continent's traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. It was developed in coordination with a similar instrument prepared over the same period by the 16 West African countries comprising the Organization Africaine de la Propriete Intellectuelle (OAPI), and adopted in July 2007. WIPO provided support to both organizations in the process of developing those instruments. Mr. Gurry said that WIPO was also ready to respond to requests from ARIPO and OAPI member states for support in the development of national laws for the protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. Meanwhile, WIPO's Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore is working towards the development of a legal instrument for the effective protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions that would be international in scope. Following a productive intersessional working group meeting last month, that Committee will meet again in December to continue its work. La agencia de las Naciones Unidas elogia e el movimiento a proteger el folclore africano y los conocimientos tradicionales El documento, adoptado a principios de este mes en Swakopmund, Namibia, los estados miembros de la Organización Regional Africana de la Propiedad Intelectual (ARIPO), está diseñado para preservar y proteger el uso de diversos sistemas de conocimientos y culturas africanas para el desarrollo sostenible del continente. Entrará en vigor tras la ratificación por los seis estados miembros de la ARIPO Francis Gurry, Director General de la Organización Mundial para la Propiedad Intelectual de las Naciones Unidas (OMPI) acoge con satisfacción la adopción del Protocolo de Swakopmund sobre la protección de los conocimientos tradicionales y las expresiones del folclore como "un paso histórico para los 17 estados miembros de la ARIPO, y un importante hito en la evolución de la propiedad intelectual. " Desarrollado por expertos africanos en un período de seis años, el Protocolo de Swakopmund es una respuesta al uso indebidos y la apropiación de los conocimientos tradicionales del continente y las expresiones culturales tradicionales. Fue desarrollado por expertos africanos en coordinación con un documento similar preparado en el mismo período por los 16 países de África occidental que componen la Organización Africana de la Propiedad Intelectual (OAPI), y aprobado en julio de 2007. La WIPO proveyó apoyo a ambas organizaciones en el proceso de elaboración de esos instrumentos. El Sr. Gurry dijo que la WIPO también está dispuesta a responder a las peticiones de la ARIPO y los estados miembros de la OAPI de apoyo en la elaboración de leyes nacionales para la protección de los conocimientos tradicionales y expresiones culturales tradicionales. Mientras tanto, el Comité Intergubernamental de la WIPO sobre Propiedad Intelectual y Recursos Genéticos, Conocimientos Tradicionales y Folclore está trabajando en la elaboración de un instrumento jurídico para la protección efectiva de los conocimientos tradicionales y las expresiones culturales que sería de alcance internacional.
5 (c) Prehistoric Society of Zimbabwe (PSZ)Abutua and the Cam & Motor Mine RioZim has announced plans to re-mine the Cam & Motor tribute, historically Zimbabwe's richest gold mine with 4.5 mln ounces (140 tonnes) of gold extracted during its modern life up to 1968. But RioZim was not the first, and certainly won't be the last to mine the one time Kingdom of Abutua, known to the Portuguese as the Mãe d'ouro or Mother of Gold. Abutua (or Butua, the correct term for the Midlands province) was the name of the goldfields around modern day Kadoma and Kwekwe. The first report of the area was from Portuguese adventurer Antonio Fernandes, which reached Portugal in 1516. The King of Butua "has much gold. This is extracted alongside the rivers of fresh water", he told the scribe at Sofala, Gaspar Veloso. Writing a century later, the Padre António Gomes said: "Blacks from Abatua bring a lot of gold in thick pieces weighing about three or four patacas being the best carats in all these lands". Initially the Portuguese traded beads and cloth for the gold from their bases at Sofala, just south of Beira, and from Mozambique Island in the north. However, the supply of gold was disrupted soon after establishing forts at these two locations, partly as a result of inter-chieftain wars inland, but also because they had to compete against the Moors (Muslims) for the gold on offer. A military expedition to conquer the Monomotapa was launched in 1569 and finally abandoned in 1575. Five years later Portugal was annexed by Spain, and the approach turned to the establishment fairs (feira) in Mashonaland in the late 16th Century until their expulsion by the Rozvi in 1693. In fact, the Portuguese referred to most of modern Zimbabwe as Rios, short for Rios d'oure (Rivers of Gold). The exact date Maramuca was established is not known, but it rose to prominence during the reign of the Mutapa Mavura, the Portuguese puppet who ruled from 1629 to 1652. The story is really too long to tell here, but two descent lines had claimed legitimate right to the throne after the death of Gatsi Rusere in 1623. After having defeated the forces led by Kapararidze (also known as Caprasine) in 1629, the Dominicans put Mavura on the throne (after baptising him and having him sign a treaty of vassalage to the Portuguese Crown). The Karanga broadly did not accept Mavura and many fled to join Kapararidze, who had taken refuge across the Zambezi with the Maravi. It is only after Diogo de Sousa de Meneses marched to the Zimbabwe highveld in 1632 with an army of 2000 and utterly destroyed Kapararidze's forces that the Portuguese period of dominance on the highveld started. Old Bulawayo burnt to ashes The capital of King Lobengula, popularly known as Old Bulawayo, was on Monday reduced to ashes after a veld fire erupted about 5 km from the site. Nothing was salvaged from the site, situated about 17 kilometres from Bulawayo, as the fire destroyed all the eight beehive huts, including the king’s palace. Also destroyed was the king’s kraal, wagon shed, a house built for him by missionaries, and the palisade. A hut built by the Khumalos to perform traditional rituals was also not spared by the fire, as well as a stone laid by President Mugabe in 1993 to commission the reconstruction of the site. However, the ravaging fire did not affect the information centre but destroyed vast tracts of land surrounding the site. In an interview, National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) western region site manager and monuments inspector, Lonke Nyoni, said the fire started about 5km east of the site. “We saw a cloud of smoke a distance from the site. At that time, it had not reached the site. We then drove towards the smoke to investigate what was happening only to discover that the fire was now about a kilometre from the site,” said Nyoni. He said they returned to the site and called the fire brigade. “As we waited for the fire brigade, we (him and eight other workers) were fighting the fire but because of the strong winds we failed to contain it,” said Nyoni. “The fire brigade came around midday and when they got to the site, part of the palisade had caught fire. They joined us in trying to put out the fire but it had already spread all over. “Everything was burnt save for the information centre that was officially opened by the late Vice-President Joseph Msika.” King Lobengula and his people built the Ndebele capital in 1870. It was burnt down in 1881 in response to increased threats to his political control by the colonial forces and the mounting onslaught by missionaries who wanted to convert his people against the king’s wishes. One of the king’s indunas, Magwegwe, led the process of burning down the capital after which Lobengula and his people moved northwards to the present-day State House in Sauerstown, Bulawayo. The idea of restoring King Lobengula’s capital was mooted in 1993 in the run-up to Bulawayo’s centenary celebrations. But construction only began in July 1997 when a team of experts from Zululand in South 5 (d) European Association of ArchaeologistsEuropean Association of Archaeologists 17th Annual Meeting Registration Grants Visa Accommodation and Excursions Conference Secretariat • Gyro Conference AS • P.O. Box 14 NO-2601 Lillehammer • Norway • Tel: +47 61 28 73 20 • E-mail: eaa2011@gyro.no
5 (e) Emek Shaveh NewsletterJerusalem Old City – Information about Recent Archaeological Activities We recently completed an updated account of the principal archaeological activities in the Old City and the historic basin. Information about the excavations, a map, a description of the problems arising from the manner in which they are being conducted, their location and the treatment of local residents is available by clicking the link below. The update focuses on the excavation of the tunnels and the desire of the settlers to dig a tunnel from the Shiloah Pool in the south to the Cave of Zedekiah in the northern part of the Old City (next to the Damascus Gate). Also note the description of the many projects underway near the gates of the Old City and the archaeological excavations in the area of the Western Wall. For the full report, visit http://www.alt-arch.org/jerusalem_map.php Recent Events in Silwan and the Archaeological Site The riots that occurred in Silwan during the past few weeks also reached the archaeological and tourist sites, requiring those running the sites (the El’ad Association) to close them and direct visitors away from the archaeological park or ask the police to add more officers and increase security. In a number of instances the archaeological site was damaged. The fact that the site is managed by an association of settlers in the town of Silwan has made archaeology a hostage to their ideology and caused the site to be identified with the ruling side having the power to threaten the residents and their way of life. An example of the importance of the site in national-religious terms in the eyes of the settlers can be seen in this report from “60 Minutes”: From the statements made by the settlers in the report, it is clear that, as far as they are concerned, the patriarch Abraham had once been here and it is part of the city of Jerusalem that is holy to the Jewish people. But we should remember that the patriarch Abraham has no connection to the City of David, and the site that is holy to the Jewish people is the Western Wall – built almost 600 years after the stratum dated to the destruction of the City of David. Viewing the City of David archaeological site as a place having religious significance for the Jewish people is not only incorrect, but attaches to archaeology (and perhaps to the conflict as a whole) a religious significance which only deepens the divisions. The Antiquities Authority, which is conducting the excavations on behalf of the El’ad Association, has made archaeology hostage to the settlers’ religious beliefs and to the political use of archaeology as part of the settlers’ ideological struggle.
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