Call for Papers - Society for American Archaeology 2027

Event details
Event location
Other
Date (start)
Date (end)
Contact(s)
Lyssa Stapleton
Contact email
waystation@ioa.ucla.edu


Event type
Convenings & Conferences
Call for papers image of document

CALL FOR PAPERS

Society for American Archaeology 

92nd Annual Meeting

Indianapolis April 7 – 11, 2027

 

Please join us as a presenter in a symposium exploring how provenance research has reshaped our understanding of cultural objects in collections and their histories across the globe. 

Symposium Title: Naming, Classifying, Tracing: International Provenance Research and Archaeological Legacies 

Provenance research is increasingly associated with the restitution of cultural objects to nations and communities of origin. While such research has historically focused on Nazi-era looted art, museum professionals and archaeologists are now applying similar methods to ethnographic and archaeological objects. Colonial collecting practices not only removed cultural heritage from places of origin but also shaped, obscured, and sometimes distorted the records through which these histories are reconstructed. This symposium examines how provenance research is conducted, its evidentiary and interpretive challenges, and its significance for nations and communities worldwide.

Papers may examine methods used to reconstruct object histories and the relationship between provenance research and restitution. They may also consider how archaeological terminology, typologies, classification systems, and interpretive frameworks have shaped understandings of material culture with continuing implications for heritage and identity. How can provenance research incorporate Indigenous knowledge and encourage collaborative scholarship? How have assumptions about authenticity, shaped by the art market and museums, reinforced distinctions between ancient objects and contemporary traditional crafts and influenced Western interpretations of other cultures? How can provenance research challenge these established interpretations, advance collaboration across regions and communities, and support their ability to recover, redefine, and interpret their own cultural heritage?

 

Chairs:            Lyssa C. Stapleton, UCLA

                        Jason De León, UCLA

                        Ken Seligson, Cal State Dominguez Hills