SEAArch - The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog

From the Quaternary Dating Laboratory, Roskilde University, Denmark. The deadine is in two weeks!

Applications are invited for the above Ph.D scholarship, which will be based at the Quaternary Dating Laboratory, Roskilde University, Denmark and affiliated to GESS (the Graduate Programme in Environmental Stress Studies). The scholarship is for a period of 3 years and must be filled as soon as possible (applications required by 15 February 2008). Salary will be around 268,000 Danish kroner per year, before tax and deductions.
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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)

New light is shed of how the pacific islands were populated in a study published in the journal of the Public Library of Science - Genetics. The new study shows that the pacific islanders share very little genetic traits with those from Melanesia (the region encompassing Maluku to the east and Fiji to the west) and have much more in common with the aboriginies in Taiwan and East Asia. This in turn infers that a human migration from Taiwan eastwards had little interaction with Melanesia, and that the colonization of the pacific islands were not a result of Melanesians moving east.

Pacific Islanders’ Ancestry Emerges in Genetic Study
New York Times, 18 January 2008
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Registration details here. The talk is on Tuesday!

Date: 22/01/2008
Time: 16:00 - 17:30
Venue: Asia Research Institute, 469A Tower Block, Level 10, Bukit Timah Road, National University of Singapore

CHAIRPERSON
A/P John Miksic, Southeast Asian Studies Programme, NUS

ABSTRACT
The term ‘Indianization of Southeast Asia’ has caused more trouble than most in the Southeast Asian history business. Used in a colonial era, particularly by the Greater India school of Majumdar and Nilakanta Shastri, to imply colonial types of colonization, political domination and cultural transfer, it was reinterpreted in a nationalist era to imply selective adaptation and localization of some Indian ideas found useful to Southeast Asian rulers. Now that Southeast Asianists and South Asianists are at last resuming their interrupted conversation on a more equal basis, how can we best understand this process of cultural change? Professor Manguin will use the recent archeological finds in various corners of Southeast Asia to suggest an even-handed approach to one of the greatest turning-points in Southeast Asia’s evolution.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Pierre-Yves Manguin joined in 1970 the research staff of the Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO, French School of Asian Studies), where he now holds a position of “directeur d’études” (professor). He also teaches at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS, Paris). He obtained his PhD in History from Sorbonne University. He lived and worked in Indonesia for extended periods, and headed the Research Centre of the EFEO in Jakarta. His research focuses on history and archaeology of the coastal states and trade networks of Southeast Asia. He has lead archaeological programmes in Indonesia and Vietnam, on the archaeology of Srivijaya (South Sumatra), of Tarumanagara (West Java), and of Funan (Vietnam). He has published on themes related to maritime history and archaeology of Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean and South China Sea.

Yes, I missed out last week’s Rojak because of the new year holiday so we’ve got quite a few to catch up on from the last two weeks:

• Singaporean minister George Yeo blogs an update about the Nalanda mentor group meeting, an international collaboration to revive the ancient Nalanda University in Bihar, India.
• Chris posts pictures from Angkor Thom, while Chev writes about Ta Prohm.
• Who else blogs archaeology? Bill Caraher posts an excellent overview at the Ancient World Bloggers Group.
• Experience some of Vietnam’s intangible heritage in Hue’s Royal Theatre traditions.
• While the Garuda icon is reviewed in the Indonesian context from then to now.

In this series of weekly rojaks (published on Wednesdays) I’ll feature other sites in the blogosphere that are related to Southeast Asia and archaeology in general. Got a recommendation for the next Wednesday rojak? Email me!