As expected, not much, yet. There aren’t many channels devoted to archaeology, [...]]]> Last week, Apple announced a revamped iBooks and iTunes U service aimed at bringing textbooks and course materials to the iPad. There’s a fair buzz in the education circles, but how much content is there relating to the archaeology of Southeast Asia?

As expected, not much, yet. There aren’t many channels devoted to archaeology, much less to the archaeology of Southeast Asia. But if you dig deeper, you might be able to find a couple of good lectures and material. Here’s my list of so 7 far:

• Sacred Lands, Sacred Traditions: The arts of Southeast Asia and the Himalayas – a 2005 lecture series by the Society of Asian Art at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. Covers topics of the art of Thailand and Indonesia in particular, and the art of early Southeast Asia.
• Southeast Asia-China Interaction – from the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore. The lecture series covers a wide variety of topics from the ancient to the contemporary, but some of the lectures relevant to archaeology include talks on Champa in Vietnam and kiln sites in Cambodia.
• Emerald Cities – Another series by the Asian Art Museum, focused on a 2009-2010 exhibition focused on the art of 18-20th century Thailand and Myanmar.
• South and Southeast Asia before 1200 – Part of lecture series on art by Maggie Hobson-Baker of the Montogomery County Community College.
• Arts of Southeast Asia Documentaries – Another one from the Asian Art Museum, one of the the three podcasts in this series is about the temple mountains of Cambodia.
• World Audio Cambodia – Sounds, music and stories from Cambodia. Not exactly archaeological, but there are some locations featured.
• Passport to Asia – Asian Art Museum Lecture series 2008-2009. A wide variety of subjects on Asian sites, but two lectures on Pagan (Myanmar), Borobudur (Indonesia) and the Royal Road of Angkor (Cambodia/Thailand).

That’s a start. It’s not quite seven lectures, as some of the links contain more than one lecture! Do you know of any other content in iTunes U that is related to Southeast Asian Archaeology?

http://www.ucd.ie/archaeology/euraseaa14/

Alternative Stories of Rama: Why Did They Emerge in the First Millennium BCE? 17 August 2011 7.00 – 8.30pm Asian Civilisations Museum, [...]]]> Professor Romila Thapar is scheduled to give a talk at the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore on the multiple versions of the Ramayana from the first millennium BCE. Registration required, details below.

Alternative Stories of Rama: Why Did They Emerge in the First Millennium BCE?
17 August 2011
7.00 – 8.30pm
Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore
Registration required, email nhb_acm_rpu@nhb.gov.sg by 15 August 2011

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic poem that has been retold and reinterpreted by different communities and religions since the first millennium BCE . Given the multiple versions of the story of Rama, it is necessary to juxtapose them, and observe and explain the differences. This talk will consider three versions, all written around the same period: the Buddhist Dasaratha Jataka, the Valmiki Ramayana, and the Jaina Paumacariyam. The talk will attempt to explain why the societies of the three versions are depicted in such different ways.

More details here.

Ancient Silk Trade Routes – Cross Cultural Exchange and Legacy in Southeast Asia 27–28 October 2011 Singapore Management University Registration details here As key nodes that connected ancient silk routes traversing China, Japan and India, [...]]]> Readers in Singapore may be interested in this conference held at the Singapore Management University. Registration closes 15 September.

Ancient Silk Trade Routes – Cross Cultural Exchange and Legacy in Southeast Asia
27–28 October 2011
Singapore Management University
Registration details here

As key nodes that connected ancient silk routes traversing China, Japan and India, trading hubs, towns and cities in Java and Sumatra and other places in SE Asia were key destination points for merchants, monks and other itinerants plying these routes.

Recent archaeological excavations in countries bordering the South China Sea and around the Indian Ocean unveiled remarkable similarities in artifacts recovered both on land and from the sea. The similarities underlined the many facets of regional exchanges and cross-cultural influences among people and places in these networks. Some of the findings indicate a distinct Chinese presence in the commercial, social and religious activities of these early SE Asian trading posts.

This symposium explores several threads arising from this regional exchange of goods and ideas, in particular, the cross-cultural dimensions of the exchanges. The agenda for the symposium is as follows:

The Textile Trade – The Silk Road not only facilitated commerce, but also brought about exchanges of art and culture. Speakers will discuss the cultural contexts embedded in the textiles as well as interpretations regarding lifestyles and aesthetic orientations of the various ethnic groups;

The Ceramic Routes – Maritime trade routes have been closely associated with the transport of ceramics, and recent marine archaeological investigations in the waters of South East Asia have provided better understanding of the routes, scale and characteristics of this trade;

The Trading Hubs – Research has opened up new paradigms in the interpretation and study of the complex links between insular and mainland SE Asia and their larger South and East Asian neighbours. This panel will discuss recent works on trade exchanges, port polities, settlement patterns and maritime networks;

Arts & Artifacts – This thread explores cross-cultural influences as manifested in forms, motifs, manufacture and materials in works of art. This Panel will discuss the cultural transformation of Buddhist arts in China as a study of the cross-cultural exchange and the multifaceted outcomes, from aesthetics to lifestyles, language and government policies;

Religion – This thread will examine the impact of the cross-cultural exchanges on the development of Esoteric Buddhism. Excavations in Xi’an, China have discovered another thread in this network, underlining the link between SE Asia and Esoteric Buddhism of China and Japan as monks from these countries sojourned in Java or Sumatra on their way to or back from India. Researchers and academics from countries which were part of this ancient network will also explore and discuss diverse and alternative perspectives and interpretations of the iconographs at Borobodur.

Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association Vol 30, 2010

Description from the website: The Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association is an international, peer-reviewed, open access online journal. [...]]]> The latest Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistoric Association (BIPPA) has just been released online, featuring a number of papers that were presenting in Hanoi in 2009.

Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association
Vol 30, 2010

Description from the website:
The Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association is an international, peer-reviewed, open access online journal. Its purpose is to disseminate rapid communications and field reports on the archaeology of East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Conference on Maritime Archaeology 18 June 2011 ACM Empress Place, Ngee Ann Auditorium

This timely conference examines best practice in maritime archaeology in Southeast Asia and beyond. Comprising panel presentations and discussions, speakers will talk about a range [...]]]> Readers in Singapore may be interested in this conference at the Asian Civilisations Museum next week.

Conference on Maritime Archaeology
18 June 2011
ACM Empress Place, Ngee Ann Auditorium

This timely conference examines best practice in maritime archaeology in Southeast Asia and beyond. Comprising panel presentations and discussions, speakers will talk about a range of strategies including legislation, funding, capacity-building, scholarship, and preservation. The conference hopes to discuss recommendations for archaeology in Southeast Asia.

Co-chaired by Alan Chong, Director, Asian Civilisations Museum and Julian Raby, Director, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, contributors include practising archaeologists and heritage professionals from Southeast Asia, Australia and Europe.

The conference is organised by the Asian Civilisations Museum, in conjunction with the exhibition, Shipwrecked: Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds

We are pleased to announce the 14th International Conference of the European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists (EurASEAA) to be held in Dublin in 2012, organised and hosted by University College Dublin School of Archaeology.

The conference brings together archaeologists, art historians and philologists who share a common interest [...]]]> EurASEAA 14
18-21 September 2012
Dublin

We are pleased to announce the 14th International Conference of the European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists (EurASEAA) to be held in Dublin in 2012, organised and hosted by University College Dublin School of Archaeology.

The conference brings together archaeologists, art historians and philologists who share a common interest in Southeast Asia’s past from prehistoric to historic periods. Its aim is to facilitate communication between different disciplines, to present current work in the field, and to stimulate future research.

We invite sessions and papers on any topic or theme related to the interests of EurASEAA. As 2012 is also the year that Dublin is European City of Science, the organisers have proposed one special theme on ‘Science, Archaeology and Heritage in Southeast Asia’, for which we also welcome proposals.