XVIII UISPP Congress, 4–9 June 2018, Paris

by Maria Gurova (gurova.maria@gmail.com)

The 28th Congress of the Union Internationale des Sciences Préhistoriques et Protohistoriques was held in the University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, 12 Panthéon Square – an emblematic place in Paris. During the official opening, the President of the Congress, F. Djindjian, announced c. 1600 delegates (more than expected) attending this international event. The scientific programme was rich and varied, comprising 116 sessions assigned in 19 themes, covering all chronological and cultural aspects of pre- and protohistoric periods at the broadest possible spatial scale, and including interdisciplinarity and cultural heritage policy: Historiography; Theories, methods and techniques, archaeometry; Man and climate; Material culture technology; Early Palaeolithic Eurasia; Middle Palaeolithic Eurasia; Late Palaeolithic Eurasia; Final Palaeolithic and Mesolithic; Mountain settlements; Traceology; Neolithic; Metal Ages; Art; Africa and Asia; America; Oceania; Palaeoanthropology, archaeothanatology, palaeogenetics; Ethnoarchaeology, archaeobotany, archaeozoology; and Heritage and sustainable development.

The Secretary General, Luiz Oosterbeek, emphasized the fact the UISPP starts to progressively promote cultural-heritage problems in the scientific agenda. This was evident in three sessions focused on heritage matters, including session XXXVI-1 “Preventive archaeology in Europe and in the world: current problems”, XXXV-3 “Preservation and conservation of prehistoric art”, and XXXV-2 “Archaeology in transdisciplinary research: contribution to a sustainability science”.

My scientific contributions were in two full day sessions: XII-2 “Searching traces, finding people: the role of traceology for reconstructing human behaviour”, with a presentation entitled: “Beyond the functionality of prehistoric flints: case studies from Bulgaria”, and in the session XXXIV-6 “Late stone talks: Lithic industries in Metal Ages” with presentation entitled: “Bronze Age flint denticulates: a Bulgarian case study in trans-regional perspective”. My personal evaluation from both sessions, as well as four other sessions that I attended, is that these were performed at a very high professional level.

As EAA representative, I attended the official opening and the General Assembly (led by Luiz Oosterbeek), where interesting information about the structure of the UISPP, its decision-making and new practices became evident. The new governance of UISPP was discussed and approved by the Executive Committee, which includes all leaders (Presidents) of the scientific commissions in UISPP (more than 30). The following candidates were proposed and elected by the Assembly members:

Secretary General – Marta Arzarello (Italy);
President – François Djindjian (France);
Treasurer – Apostolos Saris (Greece);
Vice-President – Érika Robrahn-González (Brazil);
Vice-President – Abdoulaye Camara (Senegal).

Apart from the above, Editorial Committees of the monograph series and of the journal of UISPP were appointed, as was a Committee for strategic development. In terms of strategy, UISPP decided to initiate a major 4 year science programme on climate and human adaptations, which is supported by UAI, with hubs on all continents.

Other innovations that took place at this UISPP Congress consist of the award of 30 grants for attending the Congress, and prizes for excellence in 5 categories (Archaeological excavation, Monograph on an archaeological site, Synthetic Book, PhD thesis, and Mediation in Archaeology). Each category contained 5 prizes for the successful candidates.

My impression of the Congress was positive. UISPP is a scientifically relevant organisation maintaining a high professional standard of archaeological research and promoting innovation and various opportunities to its membership. Organization of the next UISPP congress is planned for Meknes, Morocco (2020). Meanwhile, inter-congress international conferences will be organised in different regions of the world.

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European Cultural Heritage Summit, 14–28 June 2018, Berlin

Roderick B. Salisbury (TEA Editor)

The first European Cultural Heritage Summit (ECHS) took place from 18-24 June 2018 in Berlin, Germany. The EU has recognised the summit as one of the most important public events for the European Year of Cultural Heritage (EYCH) 2018. ECHS was co-hosted by Europa Nostra, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK), and the German Cultural Heritage Committee (DNK), which acts as the national coordinator of the EYCH in Germany. The Summit was attended by highest representatives of EU Institutions, Member States and civil society organisations from all over Europe, including EAA. We anticipate the organisation of future European Cultural Heritage Summits.

The motto of the summit was “Sharing Heritage – Sharing Values”, a very timely call for inclusivity and building bridges with heritage. These values are shared by EAA, and have been presented in a forum at the 2018 Society for American Archaeology Annual Meetings in April 2018 and elsewhere. The EAA was represented at the summit by Executive Board member Esa Mikkola, and ExB member Hrvoje Potrebica also attended. A report about ECHS from Esa Mikkola should appear in the Autumn 2018 issue of TEA. The programme, speakers and events are available at the ECH Summit website. The associated Berlin Call for Action is included at the end of this newsletter for members to read.



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Berlin Call to Action

Roderick B. Salisbury (TEA Editor)

The Berlin Call to Action “Cultural Heritage for the Future of Europe” is an initiative presented at the European Cultural Heritage Summit on 22 June 2018. The call resolves that heritage has invaluable social and cultural significance and is an essential foundation of our shared future. Building on the European Year of Cultural Heritage and the European Heritage Alliance 3.3, of which the EAA is an official member, the Berlin Call aims to bring European cultural heritage into the centre of European politics and to transmit European heritage to future generations. EAA is a signatory to the Berlin Call, and EAA encourages all members to sign online as individuals, and to support and share the call with friends and colleagues. The document is included for our members in this issue of TEA.



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