SEAA News Blog

In this short survey of Jomon pottery, Dr. Ali Ghobadi will explore some basic topics of Jomon archaeology so that viewers can better understand the ancient Jomon people who were making the myriad pottery designs that we see today in museums in Japan and throughout the world. A variety of ceramic pots, figures, and objects covering more than 10,000 years of Japanese (pre)history will be featured, including several that have been designated as “National Treasures” of Japan.

The Department of Anthropology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong will be hosting a seminar The Making of Bronze, Frontier, and China: An Archeometallurgical Case Study in Chenzhou" by Xiao Yuqi on Nov 13, 1-2:30 PM (GMT+8) via Zoom https://cuhk.zoom.us/j/92651551623).

James Loftus, a Ph.D. Candidate at Kyushu University has compiled a list of useful online databases and general resources related to Japanese archaeology. You can check it out in his article via the following link: https://digitalorientalist.com/2020/10/27/digital-resources-for-the-stu…

The Japan House London is hosting an online talk "Dig Dogs — The Archaeology of Dogs in Japan" by Professor Simon Kaner on Thursday 29 October 2020, 17:00 - 18:00 UTC. For more information, please visit: https://www.sainsbury-institute.org/info/dig-dogs-the-archaeology-of-do…

From Carmen Ting, Editor for the Society for Archaeological Sciences Bulletin

I hope you have noticed and are pleased with the changes we have slowly implemented to the SAS bulletin over the past year. As promised in our last Annual General Meeting - which was also our very first virtual meeting, we are expanding our editorial team so that we can bring to you a broader spectrum of topics, truly reflecting the interdisciplinary of and innovation in our field. In addition to adding new blood, we are looking to replace one of most loyal contributors, Dr Charlie Kolb, who is stepping down from his role as the Associate Editor for Archaeological Ceramics due to personal reasons after serving the editorial board and the SAS in different capacities for decades. You will be sorely missed and there will be some big shoes to fill. Thus, we are currently looking to fill in the associate editors for the following areas:

Archaeological Ceramics (available from Spring 2021)

Bioarchaeology (available now)

Archaeobotany (available now)

Geoarchaeology (available now)

Remote Sensing and Prospection (available now)

The Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association has recently announced their upcoming conference, details of which are below. We would also like to congratualte Prof. Rasmi Shoocongdej, who has recently taken up the role of preident of IPPA!

About the conference:

The IPPA Executive Committee voted to support the Thailand proposal to host the 2022 IPPA Congress:

The Congress will be held at the Le Meridien Hotel, Chiang Mai from the 6th-12th November 2022. 

The Oxford Centre for Asian Archaeology, Art, and Culture presents the following speakers as part of its Eurasian Archaeology Seminar Series. Talks are open to everyone. To receive access details for the Zoom event or for any other questions please contact Dr. Anke Hein at anke.hein@arch.ox.ac.uk

Monday, 19 October, 2020, 16:00 BST, via MS Teams: Dylan Gaffney (University of Cambridge): Eurasia-Pacific trade connections from the Neolithic to the Dutch East India Company

Seminar Series jointly organized by Oxford University and SOAS

Everyone is welcome to attend the following sessions: 

Wednesday, 21 October 2020, 11:00 BST
Zhang Lisheng and David Francis (UCL): Re-evaluating authenticity: Creativity in contemporary craft making in China

Wednesday, 28 October 2020, 12:00 BST
David Lebovitz (HKBU Jao Tsung-I Academy of Sinology): Was it really so, royal uncles? Notions of authenticity in the reception, redaction and reconstruction of some avuncular remonstrations.

Editor's note: while these positions are not East Asia specific, several East Asia-focused scholars have held them in recent years, so it is worth applying. https://isaw.nyu.edu/visiting-scholars

The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW) is a center for advanced scholarly research and graduate education, which aims to encourage particularly the study of the economic, religious, political and cultural connections between ancient civilizations. In an effort to embrace a truly inclusive geographical scope while maintaining continuity and coherence, the Institute focuses on the shared and overlapping periods in the development of cultures and civilizations around the Mediterranean basin, and across central Asia to the Pacific Ocean. The approaches of anthropology, archaeology, geography, geology, history, economics, sociology, art history, digital humanities, and the history of science and technology are as integral to the enterprise as the study of texts, philosophy, and the analysis of artifacts.

ISAW anticipates appointing visiting scholars in several different categories for the 2021-22 academic year. Applicants in all categories should be individuals of scholarly distinction or promise in any relevant field of ancient studies who will benefit from the stimulation of working in an environment with colleagues in other disciplines. Scholars with a history of interdisciplinary exchange and scholars whose academic interests include parts of the ancient Old World that are often underrepresented in traditional academic departments, including Africa, Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, are especially welcome and encouraged to apply.

The Archaeological Database of China, collaborated by Tsinghua University and Hong Kong University, is looking for a research assistant to help curate data from the second phase of its project. Successful applicants would work on archaeological materials from the Neolithic to the Northern and Southern dynasties. Please note that work would be conducted entirely in Chinese. As such, applications should have high fluency in the Chinese language.