[In lieu of an abstract, the following summary is provided.]
Radiocarbon Dating and the Trondheim Conference
Since the inception of archaeological radiocarbon dating around 1950, the assessment of the technique has suffered such ups and downs that one practitioner has likened its fortunes to those of the stock market (Ralph 1971). Since then, the amplitude of these fluctuations has decreased and the trend has been markedly positive due, principally, to two developments: 1) the recognition that the original assumption of the constancy of the natural radiocarbon levels was an oversimplification that could be corrected by the calibration of radiocarbon measurements against standards of known age, largely derived from the dendrochronology of bristle-conepine and oak samples, and 2) the reduction of sample size, improvement of precision, and lengthening of the accessible time span resulting from the introduction of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) (cf. Banning and Pavlish 1978).
The dramatic, even revolutionary, impact of these developments is strikingly evident in the proceedings of the 12th International Radiocarbon Conference, held at Trondheim, Norway, in June of 1985 and now published as Vol. 28, Nos. 2A and 2B of the journal Radiocarbon. The conference brought together 178 researchers from 27 countries.
Flint Conference at Budapest-Sumeg
The proceedings of the International Conference on Prehistoric Flint Mining and Lithic Raw Material Identification in the Carpathian Basin, held in Budapest-Sumeg on May 20--22, 1986, have been published by the Hungarian National Museum. The volume will be of interest to a much wider readership than the narrow geographic scope of the title suggests. Fundamental work on mining techniques, petrology, and their archaeological implications is not confined to the location of specific studies; in addition, many papers read at the conference lie far outside the specified bounds and deal with flint mining in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire in the U.K., in the Eastern Dolomite Alps, and at the Lousberg site in Aachen, West Germany.
The Coalition for Advanced Preservation Technology (CAPT)
The Coalition for Advanced Preservation Technology (CAPT) has been organized following a meeting in December 1986 of representatives from historic preservation groups with staff from the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) and the House Sub-Committee on Public Lands. At that time ways of applying technology to the general domain of historic preservation were discussed. Founding organizations of CAPT are the Society for American Archaeology, the Society for Archaeological Sciences, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History, the Society for Historical Archaeology, and the national Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers. These have extended an invitation to other societies and organizations to join them in this enterprise. CAPT has established five working groups: Research and development, application issues, technology transfer, public education and involvement, and preservation technology clearinghouse.
Archaeometry 88
The 26th International Symposium on Archaeometry will be held in Toronto from May 16--20, 1988.
Geoarchaeology, A New Journal
The new international quarterly Geoarchaeology began publication in January 1986. Its Editor-in-Chief is Jack Donahue of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh. The journal will explore the interface between archaeology and the earth sciences: geology, palaeontology, geography, oceanography and soil science with articles reporting on the environmental setting of archaeological sites, providing materials analysis of artifacts, synthesizing the broader aspects of geoarchaeology, and describing new techniques and equipment.
Ceramics and Civilization Series
Under this title the American Ceramic Society has been holding symposia in conjunction with their regular annual meetings. The symposia have been organized by W. D. Kingery (M.I.T.) and the proceedings, edited by him, are available in three volumes: Ceramics and Civilization I: From Ancient Technology to Modern Science; Ceramics and Civilization II: Technology and Style; and Ceramics and Civilization III: High Technology Ceramics---Past, Present, and Future.