European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists (EurASEAA)

The European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists (EurASEAA) was established as a parallel association of the already existing South Asian Archaeology Association. It held its first conference in London in 1986. Since then the EurASEAA has held conferences every second year: in Paris in 1988, in Brussels in 1990, in Rome in 1992, and again in Paris in 1994. Initially the association was a West European Association, but with the removal of the barriers between West and East Europe, it was decided to give the association its present name.

By Marijke Klokke

The main aim of the association is to bring together every two years, at a location in Europe, scholars who are working in the field of Southeast Asian archaeology, including protohistory and early history, epigraphy, and art history, and to offer facilities to present and discuss new data.

There is no fixed membership. Scholars and students from all countries are welcome to participate in the international conferences. They join the association for the duration of the conference on enrolment. Quite a number of non-European colleagues are on the present mailing-list, which includes some 300 names. The association strives to find funds for inviting Southeast Asian colleagues to participate in its conferences.

The governing board is elected for a two-year period at each conference by a simple majority among those members resident in Europe. The board holds a meeting during each conference. It then appoints one of its members as International Secretary. The address of the association is that of the International Secretary. The board also appoints a National Secretary who will arrange the next conference venue.

The governing board is presently composed of:
Jan Wisseman Christie (Hull, England)
Roberto Ciarla (Rome, Italy)
Ian Glover (London, England)
Wibke Lobo (Berlin, Germany)
Pierre-Yves Manguin (Paris, France)
Marielle Santoni (Paris, France)
Pauline Lunsingh Scheurleer (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Per Sørensen (Espergaerde, Denmark)

At present Wibke Lobo is the International Secretary and Marijke Klokke (Leiden, the Netherlands) the National Secretary. The National Secretary holds the file of members of the association, arranges the coming conference, and is charged with the task of publishing the proceedings of that conference.

Conference Proceedings
The proceedings of the 1986 and 1990 conferences were published in 1990 and 1992. Those of the 1992 conference, edited by Roberto Ciarla, will by available by March 1995. The proceedings of the 1994 conference are in the process of being edited by Pierre-Yves Manguin. The titles of the 1986 and 1990 proceedings are:
- Glover, Ian and Emily (eds), 1990, Southeast Asian Archaeology 1986: proceedings of the first conference of the Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists in Western Europe, Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 8th-10th September 1986. Oxford: B.A.R. [BAR International Series 561]
- Glover, Ian (ed.), 1992, Southeast Asian Archaeology 1990: proceedings of the third Conference of the European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists. Hull: Centre for South-East Asian Studies, University of Hull.

Report of the 1994 Conference in Paris
The fifth EurASEAA conference was held in the Musée Guimet in Paris from 24 to 28 October 1994. It was co-ordinated by Pierre-Yves Manguin and hosted by the Musée Guimet and the École Française d'Extrême-Orient. The conference included fifty-five papers in English and French spread over five days. European contributors included members from France, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. Because of the generous support provided by the Ford Foundation in Jakarta and several ministries in France, non-Europeans attending the conference included not only contributors from the United States but also substantial numbers of contributors from Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines as well as India. Papers delivered ranged in subject matter from prehistory to protohistory, to historic period archaeology, epigraphy, architecture and art history. After an opening session with speeches of welcome by Professor J.M. Jarrige, Director of the Musée Guimet, and Professor D. Lombard, Director of the École Française d'Extrême-Orient, the first day of the conference was devoted to the prehistory of Southeast Asia with a general section, a section on the prehistory of continental Southeast Asia, and a section on the prehistory of Vietnam. The second day started with a section on the prehistory of Insular Southeast Asia. Then followed a section on early maritime states (Bali, West Java, Oc-eo, Dvaravati), and sections focusing more specifically on the archaeology of South Sumatra and of Banten Girang (West Java). The following day included sections on Buddhist sites in Northern Thailand and Myanmar; a group project of excavations undertaken at Champassak on the Lao-Thai border; Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean; and Southeast Asia and Indianization. On Thursday, the fourth day of the conference, papers were delivered on recent excavations at Tra-Kieu (Central Vietnam); on trade networks in Java evidenced by pre-Islamic coins; on statues of the Buddhist god Hevajra in Cambodia; on Cambodian epigraphy; and on architecture (mainly Khmer and Central Javanese). The last day was devoted to iconography. Subjects included East Javanese images and narrative reliefs, pre-Angkor-period statues and Khmer iconography, and Champa sculpture from Dong Duong (Central Vietnam).

Announcement of the 1996 Conference in Leiden
The next conference of the EurASEAA will be held in Leiden from 2-6 September 1996. The International Institute of Asian Studies (IIAS) in Leiden is willing to host the conference, to help in finding funds, and to provide for accommodation and assistance.

Information can be obtained from
Dr. Marijke J. Klokke
research fellow, IIAS
P.O. Box 9515
2300 RA Leiden
The Netherlands
Fax: +31-71-274162
E-mail: klokke@rulub.LeidenUniv.NL



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