Themes and presentations

Environmental change

Natural climatic fluctuations and the increasing environmental impact of human activity are issues of acute international concern. This theme explores how they have had, and will continue to have, major impacts on human habitation, agricultural systems, cultural and socio-economic development. The complex patterns of interaction between people and the natural environment in settings as diverse as the Jordan Valley, the central Sahara, an Aegean island, the flood plains of West Bengal and the Indo-Iranian Plateau illustrate important practical contributions to, for example, water management and sustainable development as well as offering broader insights into our past and place in the universe.

• 'Water, life and civilisation: 20,000 years of environmental change and human settlement in the Jordan Valley' Professor Steven Mithen FBA, on behalf of the Council for British Research in the Levant
• 'From crocodiles to gerbils and back: palaeoclimate change in the Libyan Fazzan' Dr Kevin White and Dr Nick Drake, on behalf of the Society for Libyan Studies
• 'Global perspectives on cultural environments and networks from the Greek archipelago' Professor Catherine Morgan, on behalf of the British School at Athens
• 'Water and the quest for sustainable development in West Bengal' Professor Graham Chapman, on behalf of the British Association for South Asian Studies
• 'Complexity on the margin: environmental change and socio-economic transformation in the Tehran plain' Professor Robin Coningham, on behalf of the British Institute of Persian Studies

Human migrations

From the dispersal of humans out of Africa, through the spread of farming, urbanisation and industrialisation around the globe, to the slave trade and twenty-first century economic and political migrations, our history has been characterised by dramatic population movements. Whatever their scale, these movements have all had major impacts, shaping new settlements and societies, and influencing both migrants and hosts. The case studies drawn from the rainforests of Borneo, modern-day Lebanon and Rome, and ancient Egypt and Anatolia offer a range of perspectives on an issue of significant contemporary concern.

• 'Why were modern humans such successful colonisers? The archaeology of the Niah Caves, Sarawak - learning to live in rainforest' Professor Graeme Barker FBA, on behalf of the Association for South-East Asian Studies (UK),
• 'The invisible cage: Syrian migrant workers in Lebanon' Dr John Chalcraft, on behalf of the Council for British Research in the Levant
• 'Migration to contemporary Rome: work, settlement and social exclusion' Professor David Forgacs, on behalf of the British School at Rome
• 'Saïs and its hinterland: dynamics and power in the western Nile Delta' Dr Joanne Rowland, on behalf of the Egypt Exploration Society
• 'The first steps in the spread of farming: migrations of people and ideas, and cultural 'revolutions' 10,000 years ago in Anatolia' Dr Douglas Baird, on behalf of the British Institute at Ankara

Nations, states and identities

In today's multicultural, global world, cultural diversities are perhaps more apparent than ever before, as individuals and communities seek to redefine and distinguish themselves. This theme explores the development and role of such identities within the construction, maintenance and destruction of nations, states and empires, and as expressed through historical, linguistic, artistic and material contexts. The case studies range over the contemporary legacy of the Ottoman Empire, power and politics in pre-Islamic and Islamic Iran, the significance of (and current threat to) Samarra in Iraq, identity and ceramic production in Tanzania, and the digitisation of Tibetan Buddhist scriptures.

• 'The frontiers of the Ottoman world' Dr Andrew Peacock, on behalf of the British Institute at Ankara
• 'Politics, myths and literature: the idea of kingship in Iran' Dr Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis and Dr Charles Melville, on behalf of the British Institute of Persian Studies
• 'Rescuing Islamic urbanism: Samarra and the Caliphs' Professor Alastair Northedge, on behalf of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq
• 'Pots, people and practice: ethno-archaeological research among the potters of Mafia' Dr Bertram Mapunda and Dr Stephanie Wynne-Jones, on behalf of the British Institute in Eastern Africa
• 'The E-Kanjur: electronic Tibetan Buddhist scriptures on the Web' Professor David Germano and Dr Ulrich Pagel, on behalf of the British Association for South Asian Studies

Art and heritage

Heritage management has been the subject of an explosion of public interest in recent years, and in this final showcase theme three very distinctive contributions are presented. The first is a programme of work with the Italian heritage authorities to protect the past as landscapes are transformed by urban development. The second is the Council for British Archaeology's programme to build a broad platform of public engagement as an essential element in heritage appreciation and protection. The third explores the economic, political and social significance of cultural tourism in South East Asia. Finally, the British School at Rome, which runs a distinctive Fine Arts programme, presents a short series of videos by British artists inspired by specific aspects of the city of Rome.

• 'The past at risk: the contribution of British archaeology to safeguarding Italian heritage' Professor Simon Keay, on behalf of the British School at Rome
• 'Archaeology enriches us all: the work of the Council for British Archaeology and its partners' Dr Mike Heyworth, on behalf of the Council for British Archaeology
• 'Tourism in South East Asia: heritage, identity and political change' Professor Michael Hitchcock, on behalf of the Association for South-East Asian Studies (UK)
• 'Viva Roma!' A screening of films by resident and visiting artists at the British School at Rome

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