12-16 March 1996
Cipanas, Indonesia
PIA-VII and Kongres IAAI ke-7
By Endang Sri Hardiati and Marijke Klokke
The Indonesian participants came from various institutions which
are involved in archaeological research or the excavation and/or
preservation of monuments and artefacts, including: the Pusat
Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional (National Research Centre of
Archaeology) in Jakarta and various of its branches (in Sumatra,
Java, Bali, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi); the Direktorat Perlindungan
dan Pembinaan Peninggalan Sejarah dan Purbakala (Directorate for
the Protection and Restoration of Historical and Archaeological
Remains) in Jakarta and a number of its provincial offices (in
Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi); seven universities with
departments of archaeology (in Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Sulawesi),
and six museums (in Java, Sumatra, Bali, Kalimantan and Irian
Jaya).
The theme of the seventh PIA was: Sumbangan Arkeologi Bagi
Jatidiri Bangsa (The Contribution of Archaeology to the
Identity of the Nation). A total of 113 papers was presented in 12
plenary sessions and 24 parallel sessions. Their scope was not
restricted to archaeology, but also reached out into related
disciplines such as geology, biology, and palaeoanthropology.
The conference, which was officially opened by the Minister of
Education and Culture, Professor Wardiman Djojonegoro, commenced
with a paper by the keynote speaker, Professor Edi Sedyawati,
professor of Indonesian classical archaeology and Director General
of Culture. She went into the problem of interpretation and
emphasized the importance of archaeological research and the
necessity for critical and creative scholarship.
A number of papers presented in the plenary sessions were reviews
of recently published or defended Indonesian dissertations. These
included the dissertation of Professor R. Soekmono about the
function and meaning of Indonesian temples, which has recently been
published in English by Brill in Leiden; the dissertation of
Professor Edi Sedyawati about Ganesa statuary in the Kadiri and
Singhasari Periods, also recently published in English by the KITLV
in Leiden; the unpublished dissertation of Professor Mundardjito on
the ecological considerations underlying the location of
archaeological sites in the region of Yogyakarta dating to the
Hindu-Buddhist period; the unpublished dissertation of Dr. Noerhadi
Magetsari who wishes to demonstrate the importance of the worship
of the Tathagata in Java in the 9th century through an
interpretation of Borobudur based on a detailed study of the Old
Javanese text Sang Hyang Kamahayanikan; the unpublished
dissertation (in French) of Professor Hasan Muarif Ambary about the
art of Islamic graves in Indonesia; and the unpublished
dissertation of Professor Ida Bagus Rata about the most important
temple of Bali, Pura Besakih.
Most of the other papers in the plenary sessions focused on
archaeological theories, methods, and techniques, on the handling
and safeguarding of objects of cultural heritage, and on
institutional developments and organizational matters.
The papers in the parallel sessions consisted of excavation reports
and results of recent research. They dealt with a large variety of
subjects, touching upon topics as: prehistory, ceramics, epigraphy,
architecture, iconography, urbanization, Islamic archaeology, and
Dutch remains.
The most important event of the Kongres IAAI ke-7 was the election
of a new chairperson. With almost complete consensus Professor Edi
Sedyawati was elected to replace Professor Hasan Muarif Ambary.
The proceedings of the seventh PIA will be published by the Pusat
Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional in Jakarta, as were the proceedings
of the previous PIAs. Professor Hasan Muarif Ambary is the head of
the Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional. Mrs. Endang Sri Hardiati
is the head of the subsection for classical archaeology, and Dr.
Harry Truman Simanjuntak is the head of the subsection for
prehistory.
Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi
Jl. Raya Condet Pejaten No. 4
P.O. Box 292/Kby.
Jakarta 12001
Indonesia
Tel: +62-21-7998171
Tel/Fax: +62-21-7998187.