SEAArch - The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog

Let’s face it. If you’re reading this site, you’re probably going to watch Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - and love it.

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New museums, Hobbit commentaries and views of some of Southeast Asia’s archaeological sites - all this for today’s edition of rojak!

photo credit: kurvenalbn

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From the National Library of Singapore:
By: Associate Professor (A/P) John Miksic from the National University of Singapore’s Department of Southeast Asian Studies]

Date/Time : 29 Feb 2008, 7pm
Venue: National Library of Singapore, 100 Victoria Street, Visitors’ briefing room

If a person desires to relive the memories from ancient history, it will be impossible to ignore the importance of evidence based on archaeological research. The KaalaChakra exhibition at Level 10 of the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library showcases some artefacts, archaeological and inscriptional evidences which embark us on backward journey into time.
Come and be amazed by Associate Professor (A/P) John Miksic from the National University of Singapore’s Department of Southeast Asian Studies as he takes us through an explorative journey of archaeological traces in Southeast Asia that early Indians left behind in the region! In his talk, A/P Miksic will also touch on architectural influence in some of Southeast Asian temples, such as Angkor Wat in Cambodia, which evidence the ancient Indian touch in this part of Asia.

A/P John Miksic first arrived in Singapore in 1968 while in the Peace Corps in Kedah, Malaysia He has spent most of his life in Southeast Asia, namely Malaysia Indonesia and Singapore. A/P Miksic has had two types of careers: the first being a rural development adviser, the other as an archaeologist and lecturer.
His main activity over the past 20 years has been archaeological research in Singapore. He also continues research projects in Indonesia, particularly Java and Sumatra. In recent years, A/P Miksic also become deeply involved in Cambodia, especially the period leading to the foundation of Angkor, coupled with some work with graduate students on Myanmar.

A/P Miksic’s academic qualifications encompass a Ph.D. in Anthropology (Cornell University), M.A. Anthropology (Cornell University), an M.A. International Affairs (Ohio University) and B.A. Anthropology (Dartmouth College)

Happy New Year! We start off this year with a bit of fun instead of actual archaeology - Vanity Fair has an exclusive on-set report on the upcoming movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull!

Keys to the Kingdom
Vanity Fair, February 2008
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I couldn’t resist. The poster for the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has just been released. The Indiana Jones series has single-handedly romanticised the person of the archaeologist - so much so that it’s not hard to hear an Indiana Jones-related quip anytime I introduce myself as an archaeologist (the other half of the time, it’s about dinosaurs…). Although, in real life we know the Nazis in the film were probably better archaeologists because they actually took measurements.

Speaking of Nazis - none of those in the new film. It’s going to be set in the 1950s during the cold war, and so the bad guys in this film will be the Soviets. The archaeological setting is in South America.

Hmm… one can wish they would do an Indy film with Southeast Asia as a backdrop, no?

Get Indiana Jones stuff here:
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
- The Adventures of Indiana Jones - The Complete DVD Movie Collection (Full Screen Edition)
- Indiana Jones Wool Felt Hat

After nine sessions and 37 papers, the final day was certainly about letting our hair down and enjoying the new friendships made - along with taking the obligatory photos! Day 3 was a tour of the various cultural sites of Johor: the morning was a visit to the Johor Art Gallery as well as the Sultan’s palace museum, while in the afternoon, I hitched a ride with an international group of archaeologists who wanted to make a quick visit to Singapore. In lieu of the free ride home I gave them the grand tour of Singapore (abridged for the five-hour time frame).

Johor Palace Museum

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15 October 2007 (Thanh Nien News) - Lara Croft and Indiana Jones have a lot to answer for. It irks me every time someone calls archaeologists “tomb raiders” - makes them seem more like treasure-hunting rogues rather than the scientists they actually are. Sigh. Barring the headline, the profile of Do Dinh Huat seems quite decent enough.

Vietnam’s tomb raider finds answers underground
by Giao Huong

Over the last 40 years renowned archeologist Do Dinh Truat has presided over some 330 excavations of Vietnam’s ancient tombs, more than any one else in Vietnam.

“Tomb excavation”, says Truat, “let’s one unearth the worlds of the dead, especially those of the upper classes, and find the missing pieces that make up the great puzzle of our history.”

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