President’s letter

Dear EAA members,

I hope and trust that you are all well and safe.

I write to call your attention to this critical point in the EAA calendar when the ‘call’ for elections goes out and the electoral process opens. The importance of our elections, and the engagement of all members with the process, cannot be overstressed.

Your participation this year is even more important because we are electing a new Incoming President and a new Secretary. I am sending you this message to urge you to participate.

The strength of any democratic organisation is only as strong as the quality of its representative functions. This also applies to the EAA. The election is your opportunity and your right; it needs to be exercised. You need to participate and to make your choices. The participation of all EAA members is required in the election process, to stand as candidate, to endorse and support candidates and, especially, to VOTE!

In these last few years the Executive Board, the Officers and I, together with the Nomination Committee, have worked to improve the election process. The Nomination Committee will be reinforced with a new member drawn from our younger, early career membership. The Nomination Committee and its chairperson (Bettina Arnold) have done an extraordinary job to review applications, help aspiring candidates with advice and search for new candidates. We must acknowledge the amount of work that they have undertaken.

We have sought to extend our reach to potential candidates and communicated widely during candidate selection. Each candidate has prepared a comprehensive electoral statement which you can read – again, I urge you to do so. These statements provide members with a profile of the candidates and an insight into commitment of each candidate to the EAA, together with mandate they can wish to pursue if elected. This year, these statements are related to the outline of the duties and responsibilities of each position open for election, as prepared by standing members of the EAA Executive Board. If you wish to browse them, you will find them at https://www.e-a-a.org/2020nominations.

I urge you strongly to use your right to vote this year and to participate actively in the voting process. Thank you, best wishes,

Salud,
Felipe Criado-Boado

 

Go back to top

EAA elections: statements of candidates

Kenneth Aitchison, Candidate for President

This is an EAA Election unlike any other. We already know that the EAA Annual Meeting 2020 will be unlike any other. The next EAA President will have to steer the EAA and support its members through changes that are going to be hard.

EAA has faced financial and political crises before. This is different. We will all be coping with this crisis for years to come.

This will affect us all because EAA is an Association of Archaeologists, not of Archaeology. Together we recognise the value of individual archaeologists cooperating, collaborating and sharing.

I want to serve you, my fellow members, as your President precisely because this time is different and I will be a different kind of President, one that suits these different times.

To lead is to serve and to lead is to guide. I want to be the one that serves and guides EAA through the coming hard years because I believe I am the best person to serve EAA in this time of need. I have the skills, experience, credibility and connections to do this.

Crisis management is not just about Covid-19 now, but about what comes after – about the difficult decisions that will have to be taken when membership numbers are down, when subscriptions are falling and when Annual Meeting venues reconsider commitments.

As your President, I will protect the opportunities to meet, connect and grow that EAA has given us. EAA is something that we value because it keeps us connected, and I will protect that ideal. This will be my goal, my mission.

I’m an organiser, a planner, a problem-fixer who knows how to run a membership organisation. I know more about European archaeologists than anyone, I know about crises, and I know about managing risks.

Under my lead, EAA will not be growing – it will be improving. It will improve its offer to Members, making our experiences better, letting us all talk more positively about EAA, letting us all share our commitment to the Association.

I won’t let EAA become something we don’t want it to be.

I take a consciously ethical and globalist approach to life, work and business. I believe in treating people equitably. I make promises that I keep, and I expect others to do the same.

For twenty-five years I have been enabling people to have satisfying, rewarding, stimulating careers as archaeologists, and I’m going to keep on doing this for the next twenty-five years.

I brought EAA into and led the Discovering the Archaeologists of Europe projects, looking at archaeologists’ work in 22 European countries.

I have worked for the European Commission, assessing proposals to the Culture Programme, Horizon 2020 and Marie Curie Fellowships. I am accredited as a lobbyist to the European Commission, Council and Parliament.

I am a member of ICOMOS International Committee for Archaeological Heritage Management, of the Society for American Archaeology’s International Government Affairs Committee and the Register of Professional Archaeologists’ Ethics Committee.

Please allow me the honour of serving you.

Eszter Bánffy, Candidate for President

Born in Hungary, I have worked in Central and South East European prehistory for more than thirty years. I now live and work in Germany, representing my institute in many places across the world. All this makes me understand how important it is that EAA brings together the many faces of archaeology in Eastern and Western Europe; it transcends all modern political formations. EAA has grown rapidly over the last 25 years, from its early focus on annual meetings and publications through becoming a powerful body to support sustainability in heritage, equality in education and democracy in research, in Europe and beyond. Two major challenges now face us.

First, with almost 3000 members, we need to lift our structure and organisation to make us even more transparent, effective, strong, and relevant to 21st century needs.

Second, EAA needs to take its place at the table when the future direction of archaeology and cultural heritage, and the role of archaeologists and heritage managers, is debated and discussed.

Archaeology is a superb tool with which to explore the past in order to understand the construction of modern identities. Analysing the past helps us to map the future. EAA strives to actively protect heritage, archaeology, and sometimes even archaeologists! This can be achieved through a full engagement with a range of European institutions. This is an honourable responsibility, triggering solidarity for our community values. Archaeology in Europe has many dimensions. Research includes excavations, surveys, the analysis of material culture, and strong collaboration with natural sciences. All kinds of data are interpreted together. In this, archaeology is not just the sum of all known sites, not just big data, it is an immense (physical and mental) landscape, constantly reshaped over the long chain of generations. Archaeological resource management means applying research to promoted cooperation with developers and stake-holders, participation in spatial planning, and making the best decisions about what is to be preserved whether in situ, in museums, or in our minds. Presenting the results of our work to the widest possible range of audiences is incredibly important for everyone.

I am a professor of prehistoric archaeology whose publication record extends to a dozen books and nearly two hundred papers. Tutoring students, directing an institute engaged in international research, and scientific management is my daily work. Earlier, besides being responsible for scientific issues in my Budapest Institute, I was on the scientific advisory board in the institution established for the governance of the field service for the entire archaeological heritage in Hungary (2007-2010). Through this work, I became engaged with the impact of heritage on the well-being on individuals and society at large.

I have been a member of EAA since its launch in 1995, serving between 2005 and 2019 in several roles. Currently, I am one of the series editors for EAA’s ‘Themes in Contemporary Archaeology’ monographs, a role I shall relinquish if elected President. I am familiar with EAA’s history, structure, and development, including its achievements, difficulties, and its people, who successfully keep it on the move. I present myself to the EAA membership as an experienced, well connected, and, I hope, true European archaeologist.

Sally Mary Foster, Candidate for Secretary

Trained as an archaeologist, I’m now Senior Lecturer in Heritage at Stirling University. I returned to academia in 2010 after spending over 20 years as a heritage practitioner, mostly working for Scotland’s government heritage agency, latterly as Principal Inspector heading a team identifying the nation’s most important terrestrial and marine monuments for legal protection.

In standing for Secretary, my priority would be to support the EAA Chair, Executive Board, Committees and Secretariat to deliver core functions and future ambitions, with an emphasis on continuity, sustainability, resilience and agility. A keen and active member of the EAA since 1998, and first Secretary of the Medieval Europe Research Community (MERC) during its trail-blazing transition to EAA’s first Community in 2012, my personal priorities lie in supporting and developing the cross-cutting, networking functions of the EAA. I embrace a fuzzy definition of what it is to be an archaeologist, and for whom membership of the EAA is relevant.

Being a participating member of the EAA has long been core to my identity, both professionally and personally. Put simply, it has inspired me, raised my horizons, always makes me think, and brought much satisfaction and happiness. EAA’s people and our interactions are central to this – my European soul. It would therefore be an enormous honour and privilege to serve as its Secretary.

I will bring to the role my sincere commitment, experience, reflective practices, and ambition to make a positive difference through effective and enjoyable team-working. I can also offer a Heritage and Medieval ‘voice’ at Board level.

My general philosophy is shaped by my background as academic and heritage practitioner. It is interdisciplinary and I focus on generating meaningful and impactful narratives about the value and significance of places and things for people and demonstrating this relevance. My approach is hybrid in nature, cutting across heritage and museum discourses and practices, explicitly putting heritage theory into practice, bridging ‘traditional’ and ‘social’ knowledge, discourse and methodologies, and looking for new ways to work with diverse communities of practice to create new understandings, awareness, attitudes and practices. I’ve a predilection for championing the undervalued and often ignored (see for example my co-authored article ‘The thing about replicas’, published in the EJA).

For the Secretary post, I would draw on my experience of working with the EAA as MERC Secretary and on the Steering Group for the Glasgow 2015 conference. I have extensive managerial and administrative experience, and organizational skills, honed during my years as a senior manager at Historic Scotland and six years as Honorary Editor of the period journal Medieval Archaeology. Operating in predominantly heritage and north-west European early medieval circles, but with links to wider networks (I’m presently co-producing international principles and guidance for working with replicas in heritage and museums), I can draw on learning and contacts from across many sectors and places. My collaborative leadership skills, and ability to produce, are evidenced in the production of a research framework for carved stones that is pioneering in its heritage and impact-oriented approach.

Albert Hafner, Candidate for Secretary

I am honoured and delighted that I have been asked to run for the office of EAA Secretary. In this candidate statement, I try to give an overview what the position entails and what qualifications I have for it.

The EAA Statutes set out the role of the Secretary as follows: “The Secretary shall be responsible for the preparation of meetings of the Board and the Annual Membership Business Meeting, together with the President, shall oversee the proper recording of the proceedings of meetings, shall ensure that accurate membership records are maintained, and shall ensure that decisions of the Annual Membership Business Meeting, the Board, and the President are implemented.” Under this umbrella, the tasks of the secretary are focused on the general management, reporting and supervision of the association. The Secretary, together with the President is responsible for the governance and oversight of the work of the EAA Secretariat, which has developed extremely positive in the last years and is today a central part of the management of the Association and its Annual Meetings. The Secretary is also involved in the establishment of the Strategic Plan of the Association (next turn is 2021–2024) and keeps liaison with the Oscar Montelius Foundation.

This position requires an understanding of strategic and political issues as well as empathy, motivation and the ambition to work collaboratively in a team. Through my work in cultural heritage management as well as in the academy, I have acquired leadership experience and some of these qualities (or I am working to optimize them). I was involved in a leading position in large rescue excavation and research projects and was co-responsible for the successful UNESCO World Heritage candidature "Prehistoric pile-dwellings around the Alps" (6 countries, 30 institutions involved). Since 2012 I am a full professor and director at the University of Bern, Switzerland. My research focuses on prehistoric lake-side settlements in Europe. My projects are funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and an ERC Synergy Grant. In teaching, I represent the subject of prehistoric archaeology in its full extent. It was a special pleasure for me to support the Association as the main organiser of the 25th Annual Meeting of the EAA 2019 in Bern. I am fully aware that I have to devote some of my time to collaborate as an officer on the Executive Board, but I also think that this commitment to archaeology is worthwhile in many ways. Now it is up to you to decide whether I am qualified for that office and you trust me to help solve future challenges.

Amanda Chadburn, Candidate for Executive Board Ordinary Member position

Writing this Candidate Statement at a time of national and global crisis has made me think deeply about the societal role of archaeology and archaeologists, and why I wish to serve as an EB Member.

I am totally committed to the EAA; I joined in 1995 for the first Annual Meeting, and have attended many Meetings since then. I have served on its Illicit Trade in Cultural Material Committee both as a Member and its Chair, and am in the EAA/EAC Working Group on Farming, Forestry and Rural Land Management. I have given numerous papers to EAA, organised round tables, sessions and led tours.

I am familiar with international roles. Since 1992, I have advised on World Heritage Sites, attending meetings globally (including Anguilla, USA, Spain, Germany, Poland, Iceland, Bahrain, France, UK) as an expert or government representative, and have written WHS Management Plans. I am the UK government’s Focal Point for Astronomy and World Heritage. I was elected an FSA in 1999 and a Corresponding Member of the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut in 2009.

I would bring experience and energy to this role. My long archaeological career mostly relates to cultural heritage management for the state agency. However, I have Committee experience too, having served on the Society of Antiquaries Council and on their Publications Committee. I was a member of the National Trust’s expert Archaeology Panel, advising on sites in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, and am currently on their Specialist Volunteer Panel. I am on the Board of Avebury Museum. Additionally, I have supervised two PhDs and teach heritage management at various Universities.

I would like to help ensure that in a post-Brexit world, the UK and other European countries continue to work positively and strongly together for archaeology. I have learnt a huge amount over the years from European colleagues and it would be an honour to be allowed to give something back.

Furthermore, I am keen to ensure that archaeologists play a bigger role in society more generally. We have important contributions to make, for example helping the current debate on climate change, or improving the environment through cultural heritage management. We need to influence more, and make ourselves more relevant; I would like to play my part in this as an EB member. I also have a long-standing interest in ensuring fair working conditions for all archaeologists.

I would be happy to work at least two days a month in my own time if elected. Further details are in my profile and bibliography.

Barry Molloy, Candidate for Executive Board Ordinary Member position

As an archaeologist with experience in institutions and fieldwork in many EU and Associated countries, I am keen to join the Executive Board to play my part in promoting the work of our community. I have been a regular session organiser and speaker at EAA annual meetings since 2005. A core aim for me is to promote cross-national and interdisciplinary endeavours, supporting the publications, meetings and resource development of the EAA to further develop a European archaeology network that exemplifies values of openness, equity, diversity and inclusivity.

I have extensive experience working in European archaeology, including commercial and research excavations, museum research, and postdoctoral and lecturing positions in northwest, southeast, and Mediterranean Europe. I am passionate about supporting the many fixed contract colleagues across our discipline and would continue to work against casualisation of employment in our field. Having led Marie Sklodowska Curie and ERC projects, I strongly advocate building an integrated European research community that works for us all across boundaries, whether national, disciplinary or identity based. In my current ERC-funded project, I brought together a team who harness advances in aDNA analysis, bioarchaeology, mortuary archaeology, archaeometallurgy, ceramic studies, ancient literature and archaeological fieldwork, providing opportunities to engage with the needs of colleagues across the breadth of our discipline.

I will work to ensure that the EAA is increasingly impactful in Europe, addressing challenges we face today, from heritage protection to climate action. The valuable time-depth which archaeology can bring to the table in such discussions is advocated clearly in my University teaching and research. At a time when populist politics accentuates national identities in the public domain, I see that archaeology has a growing role in promoting our communal and shared heritage, both as a resource for learning and a collective responsibility for protecting it. I believe we must continue to valorise the value of our rich and diverse expertise within the humanities and social sciences, while building within this environment the capacity to inform and influence wider scientific fields of research.

My work in universities and cultural institutes provides strong experience in committee work, project management, chairing and participating in executive committees, mentoring students and postdocs – these prove my capabilities as a team player and leader who will deliver shared goals effectively. If elected, I will work hard to sustain, develop and diversify our professional association.

Maria Taloni, Candidate for Executive Board Ordinary Member position

I hope to contribute to the activity of EAA, by working at the conjunction of different aspects of the archaeological European profession: my tasks at the Italian Ministry in relation with European rules and procedures; my research formation as Etruscologist, at the intersection of Protohistory and Classical archaeology, and between the Mediterranean and Europe.

As an archaeologist working at the Italian Ministry Of Cultural Heritage, Activities And Tourism, since December 2017, I took part in the draft of the first ministerial decree regarding professionals of cultural heritage (archaeologists, archivists, librarians, demo-ethno-anthropologists, anthropologists, restorers, diagnosticians, art historians) and I am commission member for the evaluation of archaeologists in the first national file. I look forward discussing shared problems for qualified professionals of cultural heritage in Europe: archaeologists have a considerable role in the matter, and the Italian experience could be fully inserted in the debate, like during the past Disco Project.

In addition, my involvement in the organisation and management of training courses for the archaeologists in charge of the Ministry makes me aware of the necessity to deepen the cooperation between university, state and private sector, and possibly to rethink, on a common European basis, the education and training in archaeology.

As a researcher, I am specialized in Etruscan Studies, connecting Protohistory and the Orientalising Period from their Mediterranean context to the inner European world. My research interests are based upon an interdisciplinary approach among archaeology, ancient history and cultural anthropology, spanning through funerary archaeology and archaeometry, and focusing on pottery and bronze productions involved in cross-Mediterranean contacts to shed light on the social role of artisans and on gendered differences. After my studies in Italy, I spent research periods in Spain, during my PhD, and in Greece and Germany, as a post doc fellow, and I consider a wide and diversified European experience fundamental. For these reasons, I started in 2014 to attend the EAA Meetings, and I hope to give a more direct contribution to its activities. I am really confident that I can bring a substantive contribution to EAA with a problem-solving attitude and a high level of energy and enthusiasm, by applying my attitude to develop good working environments with people of different national and cultural backgrounds, and holding responsibility and strong referential values of fairness, equity and dignity.

Gadea Cabanillas de la Torre, Candidate for Nomination Committee Early Career Professional position

Raised in both Spanish and French languages and cultures, I have constructed my professional skills, interests and career around a distinctive European thread.

In October 2015, I obtained a binational PhD in Archaeology at Université de Paris 1 and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid after several research stays in France, Germany and the United Kingdom. I immediately passed the public examination to become a curator in France and was appointed in July 2017 through several prior experiences in France and Switzerland. I am currently employed as an archaeological curator at the regional service for archaeology of Brittany (French Ministry of Culture) and hold a qualification to apply to lecturer positions in French universities since 2018. My research activities conducted at a European scale keep me up with continent-wide trends and in touch with colleagues from various countries and generations. In 2018 my commitment to European Protohistory was rewarded with the special mention of the Joseph Déchelette Prize.

The EAA represents for me an opportunity to open our minds and horizons regarding our research topics, methods and our professional practices. My very first international conference as a speaker was an annual EAA meeting and since then, every participation has been a rich travelling, networking and dialoguing experience. As a young professional with a strong European background, I wish to contribute to developing diversity, exchange, and to promoting high ethical and scientific standards in archaeology by running for the early career position on the Nomination Committee. Archaeology in the 21st century must be European in order to remain organised and visible, and represent all strands of our profession. The EAA supports that link between archaeologists from all origins and backgrounds, a network that needs to be maintained and renewed.

My experience in academia, fieldwork and heritage management in several European countries can bring a new, constructive perspective to the Nomination Committee’s tasks. Through regular contact with colleagues, I have built a large network, especially of fellow early career researchers and wish to encourage them to get involved in the EAA. As a civil servant, I view archaeology as a collective construction of many actors in service of the general public. Observing different approaches to research and heritage management has also convinced me that only cooperation between archaeologists with various profiles can help bring coherence to our actions to promote our discipline and enhance its visibility in society.

Miriam Lucianez Trivino, Candidate for Nomination Committee Early Career Professional position

I defended my doctoral thesis in Prehistory in September 2018 and since January 2019 I hold a postdoctoral research position between the Department of Geography, Prehistory and Archaeology of the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU (Spain) and the University of Tübingen (Germany).

I have a passion: the Cultural and Archaeological Heritage.

I am Doctor in History and Curator. Through the past we know ourselves a little better, we understand why we are the way we are and we learn from our mistakes. I studied first Conservation-Restoration because I wanted to be "Heritage Doctor", I wanted to fix every broken, clean every stain, discover every missing piece to recover what one day someone made, painted, gilded or carved... I wanted to discover who was behind of each piece. Years later my passion was still Heritage and I got my PhD in History (in Prehistory).

Since my first degree (12 years ago) I have not stopped devoting myself to the Cultural and Archaeological Heritage and I have had the opportunity, and I the privilege, of being part of multiple research teams (in the UPV/EHU, University of Seville, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut in Madrid or University of Alcalá). I have worked and trained thanks to financed stays in Argentina, England, France or Germany, and have the chance to participate in research projects in Spain, Argentina, Cyprus and Egypt. I feel very fortunate to have excellent colleagues, from whom I learn and to whom I can contribute something new every day. Thanks to these experiences, I can communicate in Spanish, English, French, Italian, Basque and German (but not all with the same success). My life is an ongoing learning process, and if it were not, it would be a very boring life.

Thanks to my multidisciplinary profile, I understand and study Heritage in its broadest sense. Previous professional experiences have given me a fairly extensive network of contacts, which gives me a relatively good overview of Archaeology and its professionals, mainly in Spain. It would be a new challenge for me to collaborate with the Association, giving to it the best of myself and learning everything I can from it.

Jesper de Raad, Candidate for Nomination Committee Early Career Professional position

As a volunteer at the Annual Meeting in Maastricht (2017), I discovered that many Early Career Professionals (ECP) in archaeology struggle to get a serious job in their specialisation. Therefore, I am happy that the European Association of Archaeologist (EAA) made the decision to reserve a seat for an ECP in the Nomination Committee (NC). I would like to address my candidacy: this position enables to further stress the importance of a balanced European archaeological work field. It is my belief that the EAA and the archaeological work field in general will undoubtedly benefit from a wider variety in age, gender, and interests within the organisation. Not least because such variety means more opportunities for archaeological education and encourages more –to stay in the annual theme- Networking!

My name is Jesper de Raad and I am a twenty-eight year old Dutch archaeologist. I received my BA at Saxion University of Applied Science (2016) in Deventer and my MA in Archaeological Heritage Management at Leiden University (2019) In Leiden. I have been working in the archaeological field since 2017 and gained experience as an advisor in archaeology for the municipality of Barneveld. Currently, I work as a contract archaeologist for Laagland Archeologie. We conduct archaeological desk research, prospections and excavations in the Netherlands and Belgium.

In my work as a volunteer I focus on archaeology and heritage in general. I am a founding member of the emerging professional group named De Erfgoedbénde which organises heritage events, such as informative pub lectures and symposia. Another community I am a member of is the Young Underground Professionals. A similar group of Dutch archaeology graduates which organises the opening event of the annual Archaeology Days in the National Museum of Antiquities. For several professional heritage groups I am active by request: #Thefutureisheritage during the European Year of Cultural Heritage; with a self-organised summit in Berlin (2018), and Past-Forward an international conference about the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the south of the Netherlands.

In my candidate statement I have shared activities in which I was able to use my drive and passion for archaeology, heritage, and most vitally for people to invoke change. It would make me happy, and I would be honoured, if you acknowledge my work by allowing me the position of Early Career Professional in the Nomination Committee.

Marta Rakvin, Candidate for Nomination Committee Early Career Professional position

The interdisciplinary and networking oriented nature of the EAA provides the perfect environment for the free exchange of ideas. This was one of the crucial aspects of the Association that had led me to join it. As a member of the EAA I believe our duty is to promote the importance of this exchange among our colleagues who are dealing with the research, management and protection of archaeological cultural heritage, not only in their respective countries, but also on an international level, namely towards the European councils, platforms, civil organisations and bodies of the EU which are dealing with cultural heritage issues. Furthermore, I find that archaeological heritage is an important resource for social cohesion and (economic) growth, since it is intrinsically connected with the communities living in its area. But, while the revitalisation of archaeological heritage sites and remains holds great potential for sustainable development of the areas they are immersed in, a balance should be struck between solely focusing on their commercial value and their immeasurable value as a part of human culture. Although my primary research interests lie in the research of the Iron Age settlement dynamics in the Carpathian basin, working on EU projects dealing with monumentalized landscapes, cultural heritage protection issues and their sustainable development, I have found that I would like to be more engaged in these topics on a broader level. If elected a young professional member of the Nomination Committee, I will work toward promoting the aforementioned goals, as well as the other aims of the EAA, primarily through encouraging broad and inclusive representation.

Go back to top

Calendar for EAA members August - October 2020

  • 10 August - Deadline for Student Award submissions
  • before 13 August - Documents for AMBM circulated to current members
  • 24 – 30 August - 26th EAA Virtual Annual Meeting
  • 25 August - Opening ceremony
  • 28 August - Deadline to vote in EAA election
  • 28 August - Annual Membership Business Meeting
  • 15 October - Deadline for sending in articles and announcements for TEA fall issue

Go back to top

Upcoming Events

2020

2021

2022

2023

Go back to top

Actions of the EAA Officers and Executive Board

In the period from the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe until publication of this newsletter, Executive Board meetings were conducted remotely, using Zoom, and monthly meetings of the Officers and Secretariat were conducted via Skype. The most significant topic, of course, was the 2020 Annual Meeting. Other topics discussed and decisions made include:

Developments in these and other issue will be reported to the membership at the Virtual 2020 Annual Membership Business Meeting, on the website, and in the pages of TEA.

Go back to top

26th EAA Virtual Annual Meeting, 24-30 August 2020

After the difficulties surrounding the postponement of the Budapest 2020 Annual Meeting, we are excited about the opportunities afforded by going virtual. We have planned a full programme for the Virtual Annual Meeting that will take place on August 24-30 2020. More than 150 sessions involving 1800 presentations and most of the keynote speakers have confirmed their participation. As always, we will have an Opening Ceremony, a Scientific Programme of parallel sessions, and an AMBM. A preliminary Annual Meeting Programme and the Scientific Programme are available at www.e-a-a.org/EAA2020virtual. The virtual AM is being organized as a service to members; that is, all current members can take part in the Virtual Annual Meeting with no registration fee or other charges. This policy has been approved by the EAA Executive Board in light of the exceptional circumstances that we all face and the devastating economic impact of the ongoing crisis for many of our members. Please be sure that your membership is up to date (2020), so that you can join us!

The EAA 2020 Virtual website includes two essential resources for members. First, we provide a summary of the virtual event software (Hopin), and instructions for setting it up on your device. Hopin is a dedicated platform capable of catering for all of the features of the Annual Meeting in an integrated manner that would not be possible if each session and event used different platforms and formats. It is also essential to set up an account with Hopin – current EAA members should have received an email with a link to register (no fee). Only current (2020) EAA members have access to the virtual event. Second, we provide guidelines for participants at the Virtual AM to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience for all participants. We encourage you to check through this information. Please email EAA at helpdesk@e-a-a.org if you need any assistance.


 

Go back to top

Co-construction of a EAA community for the archaeologies of the Americas

by Thibault Saintenoy (thibault.saintenoy@incipit.csic.es) and Marcia Hattori (marcia.hattori@incipit.csic.es)

In January 2020, an online survey has been disseminated by the EAA, in order to assess the collective expectation for the creation of a new community aimed at connecting archaeologists of the European ecosystem interested in networking for the archaeologies of the Americas. The survey was introduced as followed:

“We are many Americanist archaeologists related to the European ecosystem. As the largest organization of archaeologists in Europe, the EAA offers us the opportunity to create collaborative spaces and develop discussion forums to promote dialogue about the Americas from Europe. This initiative could be formalized through the creation of a EAA community of interest for archaeology and heritage of the Americas. This survey is intended to create a network of persons interested in participating in the co-construction of this community. After the present survey, an online meeting between the participants will allow structuring the community, agree on its objectives and define a plan of actions, before its formalization on the occasion of the EAA 2020”.

This report presents a synthesis of the 138 responses to the survey.

Survey results abstract

  • The ca. 150 responses to the survey evidence a collective interest for creating an EAA community for the archaeologies of the Americas.
  • The greatest expectations are related to the mapping of the Americanist ecosystem in Europe, the development of more Americas-focused sessions at the EAA annual meeting, as well as the structuring and strengthening of grant opportunities for transcontinental research (especially for students).
  • The next step will be a collective work for the making of databases of Americanist research units, journals, scientific societies, and projects, as well as for shaping a calendar for future events.
  • The organization of the community board will be discussed at the next EAA annual meeting (online).

1) Survey participants

Where are participants from?
The people who answered the survey declared institutional affiliations based in 28 different countries: 70% from Europe, 17% in USA and Canada, and 12% from Latin America (Figure 1).


Figure 1. Countries of institutional affiliation

What are the participants’ regions and topics of interest?
The following infographic shows that participants’ geographical interests cover the entire continent. The size of the character in the words cloud represents the most cited regions (both countries and cultural areas, following how people expressed it in the survey). The highlighted topics of interest are greatly diverse and inscribed in both fields of archaeological research and heritage management. Most topics are very generic to archaeology, such as “pottery” and “material culture”, while others may be more region-related, such as “colonialism” and “indigenous”.


Figure 2. Regions and topics of interest

2) Survey results

The survey introduced a series of ideas for fostering cooperation for the research in the Americas, as well as for the development of formation frameworks and opportunities for students, early stage researchers and professionals. Figure 3 and Figure 4 classify the most popular ideas within the 138 persons who answered the survey.


Figure 3. Expectations related to fostering research cooperation


Figure 4. Expectations related to the development of opportunities for students, early stage researchers and professionals

In the field of research networking, the most popular ideas are related to the creation of a database of research units on Americanist archaeology, and of a calendar of events. Many participants also point out an interest for the organization of more Americanist sessions at EAA annual meeting. In the field of formation, the structuring of grant schemes and the creation of a bulletin board to communicate calls for work and training opportunities sounds necessary for a large majority of people.

The survey also offered a space for expressing participant’s own expectations. The most recurrent idea formulated in this section is related to the creation of a shared and common platform at the EAA website, as suggested by one of the answers:

“I think it would be great to have a section online on the Americanist EAA forum so everyone can have a look and get to know work, funding, and training opportunities”.

Other recurrent suggestions are listed below:

  • The creation of an observatory for public policies related to archaeological heritage
  • Making the EAA journal more welcoming for Americanist research
  • A census of Americanist journals in Europe

One of the comments highlights the importance of thinking about how the community may contribute to reducing inequalities in scientific production north and south:

“I would add to all the ideas mentioned above, that if we intend to build greater and stronger links between researchers in South America and Europe, a key element is that European researchers get to read and know about our research. Several South American colleagues have noticed that getting South American research published in international journals seems to be harder when at least some of the authors do not work from European or North American institutions/universities. To this end, I would like to expand the idea of an online bulletin to cover not only work and training opportunities but also to use it as a platform to publish research reports and book reviews on South American topics, authored by South American archaeologists (with or without European co-authors)·”

Finally, it is also important to report that some people observed the scaling problematic of such a wide-focused community, especially for its organization at the EAA annual meetings:

“I would be interested to learn more about the advantage for EAA members to support such an EAA Community and the impact such an EAA Community would have Americanist archaeology in Europe and beyond. And finally, what would the rationale be for Americanist archaeologists meet within the EAA conferences?”

“(…) So, for conference activities, although I would welcome it, I'm less convinced it would have a major impact. Perhaps there are other areas of Americas archaeology even less well represented. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me. But does it make sense to mobilise across 'all' of the Americas? This broad perspective is not enough to make me lose interest, especially not in the events calendar and censuses you propose, but for powerful events and perhaps even building projects and grants, it may be less strong.”

3) Roadmap for the community

The survey we carried out makes it clear that a collective interest exists for the creation of an EAA community for the archaeologies of Americas. For this reason, we will communicate our initiative to the EAA board, in order to activate this community as soon as possible.

First, since it appears that the most consensual expectation corresponds to the mapping the Americanist ecosystem in Europe, we propose that the first action will be the co-construction of a database of European research units, scientific societies, journals, courses and projects dedicated to the archaeology and heritage of the Americas. To do this, an online form will be disseminated to the 138 persons that expressed their interest for this initiative, so everybody may contribute to the identification of the above-mentioned entities. The collected data will be gathered and structured by the community board.

Second, we propose to use the same online form to receive people’s interest in being part of the community board. Being part of the community board will significate to be an active member for the community management. An ideal community board would be composed by some five to ten persons, based in different geographical locations (Europe, North and South America). Community board will gather together in online meetings. Their first task will be the publication of the Americanist database on the EAA webpage, as well as planning sessions at the future EAA annual meetings.

Go back to top