At the International Congress for Caribbean Archaeology (IACA)
held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic between the June
29th and July 4th, 2003, Trinidad and Tobago was unanimously
nominated to be host to the 2005 IACA conference. The conference
will be hosted between July 24 and 30, 2005 by the Department
of History in the Faculty of Humanities and Education at the
University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, and will be
held in the University's Learning Resource Centre (LRC) Auditorium.
Founded
in 1961, the International Association for Caribbean Archaeology
(IACA), has since its inception sought to actively promote
regionally based archaeological research and international
academic interaction in the field of Caribbean archaeology.
Among the principal interests of IACA are Caribbean prehistoric
and historic period archaeology, terrestrial and marine archaeology,
public education in archaeology, the indigenous peoples of
the Caribbean, the ethics of archaeological inquiry and the
protection of sites and cultural objects of the past. Invariably
attended by between 200 and 250 delegatesfrom the United States,
Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America, IACA biennial conferences,
are held in Caribbean countries nominated by both the IACA
Board and membership
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Conference
Programme details will be made available shortly. |
There
has always been an intense competition among Caribbean countries
to host these conferences because:
1.
IACA provides an opportunity for the archaeological
heritage of the host country to be effectively showcased
to both regional and international audiences.
2.
IACA enables the host country to establish a several academic
and professional linkages with archaeologists and heritage
managers on both a regional and international scale.
3.
Local tourism in the host country may be boosted by the
fact that (a) considerable regional and international media
exposure is usually associated with IACA conferences and
(b) foreign delegates and their families sometimes make
repeat recreational visits to
the host country.
Trinidad
and Tobago, given its rich archaeological heritage is an
ideal venue for the 2005 International Congress for Caribbean
archaeology with over 280 sites being identified in the
Twin Island Republic.
The University of the West Indies currently has a developing
archaeology programme headed by
Dr. Basil Reid with over 60 students enrolled in the archaeology
courses offered by the Department of History.
Banwari
Man
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