SEAA News Blog

RANZAN, Saitama Prefecture--Artifacts labeled as “groundbreaking discoveries” from the ruins of structures associated with warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s Siege of Odawara in 1590 could have been prototypes of ninja weapons.

Akihiro Iwata, an archaeologist and curator at the Saitama Prefectural Ranzan Historical Museum here, said the flat stones and clay balls may well have been the forerunners of “shuriken” throwing stars and “makibishi” caltrops that later made up ninja arsenals.

When did populations of Homo sapiens first arrive in China and what happened when they encountered the Denisovans or Neanderthals who lived there? A new study in Nature by an international team of researchers opens a window into hunter-gatherer lifestyles 40,000 years ago. Archaeological excavations at the site of Xiamabei in the Nihewan Basin of northern China have revealed the presence of innovative behaviors and unique toolkits.

The Centre for History and Culture at United International College & Beijing Normal University (Zhuhai), invites applicants to attend an online conference on the theme of the global Bronze Age.

Please find a new lecture entitled "Archaeology in Japan: some reflections from the UK: Professor Simon Kaner" on the Current Archaeology Youtube Channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=dkF3fLcVk4Q&fbclid=IwAR3CRM-TDvlSpzbED8acpG7hmhSe8HePBffCNgth9ZNkQBdQ9Y0ebZAKpJ4

The National Cheng Kung University, Institute of Archaeology, is advertising a position for Assistant Professor in Ecological Archaeology and Archaeometry. Please see below and the attached PDF here for more details:

Qualification: Assistant Professor (and above) or with a PhD in Archaeology or related discipline.

Key Requirements:

"A high-profile letter sent in October 2021 told us everything we needed to know about the state of modern Chinese archaeology.
Sent by Chinese President Xi Jinping to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the Yangshao culture – considered the start of modern Chinese archaeology – the letter called for “developing archaeology with Chinese features, style and ethos” so the field could contribute to “national rejuvenation”.

The City University of Hong Kong is looking for a Professor/Associate Professor/Assistant Professor (Art History) in the Department of Chinese and History. The successful applicant should be competent in undertaking research and teaching in two or more of the following areas: Anthropology, Cultural Heritage, Archeology, Art History, Museum Studies. Applicants who are interested in interdisciplinary studies and have substantial working experience in academic or research institutions are especially welcome.

On Thursday, 7 January 2022, 7pm in Singapore (UTC+08), Singapore's Asian Civilizations Museum will host a online lecture via Zoom entitled: Two historical shipwrecks: Powerful links to Singapore's past 

Click here to register

Speaker
Dr Michael Flecker
Visiting Fellow, ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore

Lecture Series, Zurich, Spring Semester 2022 (February-June)

The Golden Peaches from Samarkand – like nothing else – stand pars pro toto for all exotic things that reached China during one of its most cosmopolitan and prosperous eras in history. Eminent scholars like Berthold Laufer and Edward H. Schafer masterfully demonstrated the earliest exchange of exotics between China and regions from across Eurasia by using linguistic, historical, and archaeological data. Beyond doubt, tremendous progress has been made in all these fields ever since.

It is with the deepest regret that we share the news that He Kunyu, a field archaeologist and zooarchaeologist from the Chengdu City Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Relics passed away at 13:40 on December 29, 2021 in his hometown in Rucheng County, Chenzhou City, Hunan Province, at the age of 41 following a thre