The Second Arab Gulf Conference on Folklore and Oral History

The First International Conference on Emirates Archaeology

Forty years of archaeological research and excavations in the United Arab Emirates have shown that south-eastern Arabia has played an important role in the development of human civilisation in the Arabian peninsula, the broader Middle East and further afield since the beginning of the Late Stone Age, around 7500 years ago.

Since the first excavations at Umm al-Nar in 1959, work by local and foreign archaeological teams has shown that the United Arab Emirates has been of significance in terms of the development of maritime commerce throughout the Indian Oceas and has been a key point on trade routes linking East and West.

In the prehistoric and pre-Islamic eras, sites in the Emirates provide evidence of links with the 'Ubaid civilisation in Iraq, the Dilmun civilisation in Bahrain and the cultures of the Indus Valley and Central Asia, while during the Islamic era, the interaction with other civilisations extended as far away as China .

At the same time, although archaeology in the Emirates began only recently, the utilisation of modern scientific excavation and analytical techniques has meant that an extensive amount of information has been obtained not only about the overseas llnks of the people, but also their way of life.

The FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EMIRATES ARCHAEOLOGY is to be organised by the Zayed Center for Heritage and History, based in Al Ain, with the co-sponsorship of the Ministry of Information and Culture of the United Arab Emirates. Being held under the patronage of UAE Deputy Prime Minister His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the conference will seek to provide a forum through which archaeologists who are working in, or who have worked in, the UAE can present and review their findings, and discuss future research objectives. The conference is also designed to generate a greater awareness amongst academics and among the UAE population at large about the heritage and history of the country.

Objectives:
1. To examine the results of archaeological excavations and studies in the United Arab Emirates and to place these within a context of interaction with other cultures in the region.
2. To promote a wider knowledge and awareness of the archaeology of the UAE.
3. To facilitate the development of exchanges of information between all scholars and researchers concerned with studies of the archaeology of the Emirates.
4. To international institutions.
5. To encourage greater participation in the studies of the UAE's archaeology, heritage and history.

Conference Themes:
The organisers of the Conference invite the submission of abstracts of papers related to UAE archaeology within the framework of the following broad chronological periods:

1. The Late Stone Age ( c. 5,500 BC to 3,500 BC).
2. The Bronze Age (ca. 3,500 BC to 1300 BC).
3. The Iron Age (ca. 1,300 to 300 BC).
4. The Late Pre-Islamic Period (ca. 300 BC - 650 AD).
5. The Islamic Period ( ca. 650 AD to 1800 AD).
6. Emirates Archaeology in the New Millennium: Priorities for Research.

Papers may be submitted dealing with more than a single period, e.g. on archaeological evidence for international trade or on utilisation of environmental or other natural resources. Poster presentations may also be made.

Dates: 15 - 19th April 2001
........ (fieldtrips 18-19th April)
Place: Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

For further information, and for submission of abstracts, please CONTACT US