Rice in Southeast Asia - Past and Present (Workshop 2018)

The purpose of the workshop is to bring together researchers and students from various Southeast Asian countries in order to discuss issues relating to rice, agriculture, human-plant interactions and climate. The Early Rice Project group will disseminate results from previous years, but would also want to engage with local researchers from Southeast Asia or working in Southeast Asia. Their expertise will enhance the knowledge base of all those working in Southeast Asia which will lead to an exchange of ideas and know-how, as well as future collaborations.

Location: Siridhorn Anthropology Centre, Bangkok

Date: 4th to 6th January 2018: Schedule/Program.

Early Rice project workshop Southeast Asia 2018

Conference audience on Day 3 of Early Rice in Southeast Asia

The workshop also includes practical courses aimed at local field archaeologists and students. Basic archaeobotanical sampling will be taught in order for researchers to integrate archaeobotanical work when conducting their own archaeological fieldwork.

Objectives: The program is developed to disseminate knowledge and expertise amongst the UCL project researchers, local collaborators and students involved in the Early Rice Project, but also to potential collaborators and students from participating regions. The exchange of ideas and know-how in a local setting but with international

involvement, will help define the fieldwork and collaborations. The results from previous Early Rice Project research will be presented and discussed, as well as possible future collaborations. Furthermore, the practical courses are aimed to promote the idea of systematic archaeobotanical sampling when conducting archaeological fieldwork.

Target audience: The workshops target local project partners, archaeologists, climatologists, ecologists and students. The seminars will feature speakers who are experts in their field, including local field archaeologists, environmental scientists and archaeobotanists. Their expertise is aimed to enhance the knowledge base of the UCL project researchers and the local partners. The practical courses are aimed for local field archaeologists and students who will learn the basics of archaeobotanical sampling in order for them to integrate archaeobotanical work in their own research, including the possibility of including sites and samples in analyses done by the Early Rice Project.

Participants: Speakers came from the Philippines, Thailand, Spain, U.K., U.S.A, Australia and Vietnam. (List Below). Additional participants came from Indonesia, Taiwan and across Thailand.

International audience reach: the workshops was filmed, and we hope to make a edited version available soon.

Organizing contacts: Dr. Cristina Castillo (UCL), Sililuck Kantrasri (Silpakorn University)

Speakers include Jane Carlos (UP Diliman), Cristina Castillo (UCL, Institute of Archaeology, London; Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Kobe), Akkaneewut Chabangborn (Department of Geology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok), Nigel Chang (College of Arts, Society & Education, James Cook University, Queensland), Michelle S. Eusebio (Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines, Manila; Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Florida), Dorian Fuller (UCL, Institute of Archaeology, London), Thanik Lertcharnrit (Department of Archaeology, Silpakorn University, Bangkok), Nguyen Mai Huong (Institute of Archaeology, Hanoi), Nguyen Thuy Duong (Historical Geology Department, Faculty of Geology, VNU University of Science, Hanoi), Celine Kerfant (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Taragona, Spain), Nathsuda Pumijumnong (Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University), Paramita Punwong (Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom; York Institute of Tropical Ecosystems, Environment Department, University of York, York), Rasmi Shoocongdej (Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Archaeology, Silpakorn University, Bangkok), Sasivimon Swangpol (Department of Plant Science, Faculty of Science Mahidol University, Bangkok), Joyce White (Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, Philadelphia)

View Abstracts Online.

View Program online. Watch videos of the all conference presentations.

Rice: A user guide for archaeologists (PDF download)

Conference Venue Siridhorn Anthropology Centre

This provides a short overview on rice taxonomy and current methods to identifying rice grains, spikelet bases, phytoliths, and rice ecology in use by archaeobotanists.