From: vikkula@cc.Helsinki.FI (Anne Vikkula)
Subject: Getting Information Technology into the Third World (fwd)
Organization: HY
Distribution: sfnet
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 21:21:28 GMT

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From ARCH-L@ibm.gwdg.de Tue Oct  6 17:35:42 1992
Message-Id: <199210061531.AA04691@kruuna.helsinki.fi>
Date:         Tue, 6 Oct 92 16:19:03 LCL
Reply-To: spqr@MINSTER.YORK.AC.UK
From: spqr@MINSTER.YORK.AC.UK
Subject:      Getting Information Technology into the Third World
              Archaeological Congress
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[

This announcement of part of WAC3 was put together by Paul Reilly; it
deals with just one part of the Congress, which follows on from the IT
sessions Paul and I organised at WAC2 in Venezuela. Readers should get
the full text of the announcement; we hope this will be available soon
electronically, but if not, I would be happy to pass on requests for
copies to the offices in England, USA or India which are distributing
them.

PLEASE consider how *you* can contribute to the themese below, and
contact the appropriate organiser. Paul and I will help you get in
touch if you have any difficulties.

Sebastian Rahtz

]

The Archaeological Survey of India will host the Third World
Archaeological Congress (WAC3) in New Delhi on 4--11 December, 1994.
The *First Announcement* has just been published by Professor B.B.
Lal (President of the Congress) and his organizing committee.

Several elements of WAC3 will be of especial interest to anyone
concerned with the role that information technology should play in
archaeology.  After the success of the ``Communication'' Theme at
WAC2, the WAC Special Interest Group in Information Technology
Communication in Archaeology (WAC SIG ITCA) decided it should take the
debate about the role of technology to a wider spectrum of the
archaeological community.  Accordingly, the SIG ITCA is attempting to
introduce the ``technology angle'' into the debates in all the major
Themes and Symposia at WAC3.  ``Information Technology'' (IT), along
with ``Education and Different Cultural Traditions'', has been
designated as a *Cross-Cutting* Theme.  Participants are asked to
think about incorporating one or more of the cross-cutting themes when
considering their contributions.

Within the fifteen themes and five symposia already proposed in the
*First Announcement*, there are several sub-themes where discussions
about the role and impact of IT will central.  For example, within
Theme 7 (``Technological Innovation and Power'' organized by K.T.M.
Hegde (India) & S. van der Leeuw (UK)) there is Sub-theme 7 c)
(``Power through the Control of Information'' organized by P. Reilly
(UK)).

In Theme 8 (``Cultural Property, Conservation and Public Awareness''
organized by M.C. Joshi, India, & F.P.Manamon, USA)) there are three
sub-themes where discussions about IT should figure large.  Sub-theme
8 b) (``Ownership of Data, Copyright, and Electronic Restrictions''
organized by P. Reilly (UK)).

Sub-theme 8 c) (``Recording Techniques and Publishing Strategies''
organized by S.P.Q. Rahtz (UK)).

Sub-theme g) in Theme 8 (``Role of Museums in Conservation  and Public
Awareness'' organized by R.C. Sharma (India), G.N. Pant (India) &
S. Asthana (India)).

Theme 10 (``Relationship Between Archaeological Theory and Practice''
organized by K. Paddayya (India) & I. Hodder (UK)) is intended to
address some of the many problems in archaeology deriving from
changing relationships between theory and practice.  Participants will
tackle questions about what sorts of theories are being used, or are
preferred, and their relationship to available technologies and
methodological applications.  The theme will investigate the claim
that archaeological theory and practice are now quite seperate --
divorced -- areas of activity.

Sub-theme 10 a) ``The Effects of
Political and/or Geographical Isolation from Centres of Theoretical
Debate:'' organized by A.A. Marciniak (Poland) & V. Trifonov (Russia)
- -- will be able to draw on the discussions from Sub-theme 7 c) (ie.
Power through Control of Information) already outlined above.
Sub-theme 10 b) is entitled ``The Implications of Current Advances in
Field Techniques and Archaeological Analysis including Computer
Manipulation of Massive Data Bases -- organized by P. Sinclair
(Sweden).

Assessments of the contribution and importance of computerized
applications to archaeology will also form a substancial component of
Symposium 5 ``Recent Advances in Field Archaeological Techniques:''
organized by K.M. Srivastava (India) & M. Tosi (Italy).  The backdrop
to this Symposia is twenty five years of technological innovation in
methods and instruments for the retrieval of archaeological data.
Today, for instance, satellite images are being used on a large scale.
Such massive data sets are being managed by computers.  The symposium
proposes to brig together scholars involved in developing new
archaeological techniques in both the field and the laboratory.

Enquiries about Academic Themes and Programme should be addressed to:
Dr Mkkhan Lal, World Archaeological Congress, P.O.Box 112, H.P.O.,
Aligarh - 202001, INDIA.


Themes consist of sessions where the papers will have been
precirculated, Symposia papers are not.  Please note: suggestions for
other Themes/Sub-themes or Symposia should be directed to Dr M. Lal