Today, many forces—including: modernization, homogenization, migration, and the inevitable pressures of human habitation—threaten the archaeological, anthropological, and historical evidence for the evolution of human societies. As the world’s ever expanding population demands increasing amounts of the planet’s limited resources, such forces also threaten the individual identities of many social and indigenous groups, challenging the continued existence of unique systems of cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity.
Founded in 1999 as a non-profit institution, Archaeos’ mission is to engage in archaeological, anthropological, and historical research and documentation, in order to record and preserve information about civilizations and cultures, both past and present.
The looting of archaeological sites is the most widely recognized threat to our ability to understand how early civilizations evolved; but the unavoidable effects of sustaining an expanding human population present an even greater menace. Construction projects and the insatiable need to exploit natural resources such as minerals, gas, forests, and water destroy countless archeological sites each year. The erection of hydroelectric dams in Egypt, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, for example, have submerged and permanently destroyed thousands of early archeological sites dating as far back as 5000 BCE. And the building of roads, factories, and housing destroy many others. One scholar has recently written of this phenomenon:
The question is not if the battle to preserve archaeological sites and landscapes will be lost but how fast and how badly. When the last dam is flooded, the last minefield laid, and the last factory/strip-mall/apartment block finished, and when the few remaining big-name archaeological sites are fenced in and prettied up as “parks,” will more than a few people notice or care? Probably not [sic]. And that is a sad commentary on society at large and on us [sic].1
We believe that limited time remains to recover, record, and to preserve the histories of both past and present cultures and that, unfortunately, the current rate of archaeological, anthropological, and historical investigation will never allow us to capture much of the remaining evidence of human cultural diversity and sociological evolution.
Archaeos’ primary goal is to investigate, gather, document, and to preserve archaeological, anthropological, and historical information concerning human civilizations and cultures, both past and present and to make it accessible to both scholars and to the general public.
Archaeos’ three major projects, since 1999, have included:
Beginning in 2006, Archaeos will be documenting the last remaining operational "dragon kiln" in China. Known as the Nanfeng Kiln, this structure was built by the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, during the Zhengde period (1506-1521) to produce imperial porcelain and stoneware.
We consider this to be a particularly significant archaeological, anthropological, and historical undertaking. It was in such kilns—some 3500 years ago—that stoneware and subsequently porcelain were first invented. That invention was directly responsible for the creation of the principal commodity (porcelain) that eventually fueled and sustained the growth and expansion of the Chinese empires and cultures. Indeed, porcelain was for China something like a form of "white gold."
Situated in the Chancheng district of Guangdong province, the Nanfeng Kiln measures approximately 34.4 meters in length and is the last remaining, functioning dragon kiln in China. Since it has been in continual use for almost five centuries, the documentation of the kiln will provide an important and unique record concerning how traditional Chinese ceramics were made, and how the towns surrounding them function(ed) both socially and economically.
If the Nanfeng kiln is eventually shut down, many of its workers, the descendants of the original craftspeople who have been working there for five centuries, will eventually leave the town, migrating to take new and different jobs elsewhere in China’s exploding economy. When and if this eventually occurs, an important part of that country’s history will be irrevocably lost.
If possible, we also intend to eventually expand our project to include the documentation of other, now defunct, dragon kilns in China and elsewhere in Asia with the purpose of studying China’s expansion via the ceramic trade.
In 2005, Archaeos was invited by NATO to present its work on Iraq at the “NATO / PfP Symposium on Civil-Military Relations VIII / Military Ethics (III)—The Protection of Cultural Property and (Military) Leadership.” Archaeos has also presented its work at meetings, conferences, and seminars hosted by UNESCO, the University of Vienna, and other organizations.
A documentary film produced by Archaeos on mapping and surveying at Vijayanagara was screened at the following film festivals:
Articles about Archaeos’ work have appeared in the following newspapers:
The organization’s work has also been featured on:
1 Alexander H. Joffe, from review of Managing Archaeology and Archaeological Remains, in Situ Preservation, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 1999 Vol. 58, No. 2, p.137.
