If you’re a member of the SAA, please sing this petition to help form an interest group for Southeast Asian Archaeology.
We the undersigned wish to form an Interest Group of the Society of American Archaeology devoted to the promotion of Southeast Asian Archaeology (SEAA). The unique and specific aim of the SEAA Interest Group is to provide an international forum for archaeologists and other scholars with a common interest in the archaeology of Southeast Asia. We consider the region of Southeast Asia to include countries in mainland Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Peninsular Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam), Island Southeast Asia (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, East Timor). We recognize that the Pacific Islands (Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia) had long-standing interactions with Southeast Asia, and welcome scholars with research interests in this domain as well. The aim of our group is to advance the field of Southeast Asian Archaeology by providing an opportunity for scholars to share and promote research on this region, and encourage discussion and intra-regional collaboration, thereby facilitating the growth and development of scholars with an interest in Southeast Asia. Please contact Alison Carter (alisonkyra@gmail.com) with your ideas, comments and suggestions. The full proposal document is here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n2ZQQ65G-kMjtqiO4MqV77c3jV4l114hAqlSp54ZPUo/edit?usp=sharing Please encourage your colleagues to sign as well.
Source: Petition to start a Society of American Archaeology Southeast Asian Archaeology Interest Group
hi noel….this seems like a great idea as i think Singapore needs a bit of pressure from the international archaeology community in its rather woeful attitude to any archaeological survey of new development projects…..this has been going on for many years and has resulted in the attitude that we know every thing about the history of Singapore and need to look no further….I can’t believe such a stupid idea has taken such root when every second road opening throws up pottery and other artifacts indicating Singapore’s atleast two and a half thousand year history if not a great deal longer…don’t forget modern humans walked past our town about 72 thousand years ago [second last glacial maxima ] …Dong Song cultural objects have been found all around us and it would be surprising if early Hindu and Buddhist temples were not constructed in Singapore….every culture passed by and i am sure great discoveries can be made if only we started to look….For example the ‘local’ ? thin walled , low fired patterned pottery greatly interests me as everyone dismisses it , but it indicates a widespread local coastal ‘Malay’ trading if only we could find exactly who was making it….some of the patterns are very distintive and are obvously rolled or patted on…were the designs a local indicator of clans etc…but i digress …just hope there are more people out there who share my concerns and interests….foster…