5 March 2012
The OSMS recently provided support for A/P Nancy Tayles and Dr Sian Halcrow to run a conference on Bioarcheology in Southeast Asia at Khon Khaen University in Thailand. The conference was held on 26-28 January and was considered a great success, and a good publicity opportunity for the OSMS. The aims of the conference were to encourage y
oung people into the field of bioarcheology and to provide an opportunity to network across political borders. Although the numbers attending were small, 11 countries were represented, which indicates that the second aim was achieved!
The conference consisted of one day of papers, attended by about 50 participants, covering a variety of topics including a review of the current state of bioarcheology in the countries of mainlaind Southeast Asia, presentations on new technologies and updates on more traditional methods used in the field. There was also a very interesting session on community involvement in bioarcheology that was attended by a group of villagers from the most recent excavation site that A/P Tayles and Dr Halcrow have worked on. The day concluded with a forum on issues relating to bioarcheology in the region. One of the topics was why young people are not taking up bioarcheology - the answer was that they are reluctant to put in the time and effort required t
o learn skeletal anatomy.
The second day was a workshop at Khon Khaen University which utilised the excellent collection of human skeletons (>700) at this university. The conference concluded with a field trip to a local temple and the excavation village.
The OSMS sponsorship assisted with travel and accommodation costs of participants from local countries, with Khon Khaen University providing local logistic support, conference venues, and the bus for the field trip. The picture shows the field trip participants at the temple, with A/P Kamoltip Brown (in the blue dress) in the centre. A/P Brown is an Otago alumnus who was pivotal in the success of the conference.
