Fieldnotes: News Briefs

Brief news items on the AIA professional membership and newsworthy activities in the field, including links to recently published institutional press releases or articles in the media.

February 3, 2012
  Dear colleagues, If you direct an archaeological field project, please assist us by taking this brief survey. If you know other directors who are good candidates for this survey, please forward the link. The survey is designed to gather information about archaeologists’ engagement with conservation and identify areas in which the conservation community can improve. We would appreciate your participation whether or not you have used the services of a professional conservator, and we hope to have responses from a broad range of archaeologists working on different types of sites, both terrestrial and underwater. The survey is primarily multiple-choice and takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. Your response will be anonymous unless you choose to provide contact information. If you do give us your name, your contact information and survey responses will be kept confidential and only discussed without attribution. The survey results will be shared with both the archaeological and conservation communities. The survey will be active for three weeks, until the 19th February 2012 Survey link: http://umichlsa.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_5sWNz6StWlxY4FC Thank you for your time, Suzanne Davis and Claudia Chemello Conservators Kelsey Museum of Archaeology University of Michigan 434 South State Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109
The Trentonian - January 27, 2012
  The Princeton University Art Museum has returned six artifacts to Italy.
American Institute for Roman Culture - December 17, 2011
The American Institute for Roman Culture (www.romanculture.org)  has produced (with the Northeastern University students, the superintendency of Rome and Ostia, and the Italian Ministry of Culture) 9 educational videos about the history and culture of Ostia Antica, one of the ancient Roman cities that best reflects ancient Rome during the high imperial period.  Ostia is also an interesting city in its own right.  Discover the history of excavation, city/ urban develpment from foundation to demise and abandonment, religious practices, daily life, bathing in the ancient world, and conservation issues that affect the site, and more. It's an ideal introduction to the site for high school and college students.
Time - November 17, 2011
  Time offers an update on the excavations at Afghanistan’s ancient Buddhist temple complex known as Mes Aynak. The site will eventually be destroyed when a Chinese mining company begins to extract copper from the land. The article also discusses the link between the black market in antiquities and terrorism.
KPLU.org - October 28, 2011
  Here’s some background information on the discovery of the 9,300-year-old human remains known as Kennewick Man in 1996, and the recent discovery of a human jawbone near the same site.