Southeast Asian Archaeologies has been born with the intention to build bridges in the understanding of Southeast Asian prehistory and culture. Transcending traditional methods of regional analysis, we believe that it is necessary to adopt an interdisciplinary approach to cultural analysis, beginning with a reconstruction of the ancient environment before extending into the analysis of the material culture. Anthropologically, we believe that it is imperative to work for local cultures within archaeological teams, sharing technological and theoretical knowledge in order to facilitate lasting relationships.

First Objective

The first objective of Southeast Asian Archaeologies to provide the Archaeology department at the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh (RUFA) in Cambodia with physical materials. Our project was designed to enable the faculty and students of this university to develop and utilize their skills of archaeology so that they may contribute to the larger body of Cambodian archaeological research.
We are accepting computers, computer software, radiocarbon dating machines, lab equipment, textbooks, conservation supplies and equipment for a conservation laboratory. We are actively seeking university textbooks in all fields of the sciences, including social sciences, mathematics and archaeology. We accept books in both English and French. As well, we seek de-mining equipment and safety equipment for their department, so that field archaeologists and students may organize safety training seminars and will be safe in the field.
All donated goods will be shipped to RUFA once we have filled our container. Through fundraising initiatives, we hope to send this container to Cambodia no later than March of 2010. For this final expense, we greatly appreciate monetary donations. Through a multidisciplinary approach involving knowledge from around the globe, we hope to make a positive contribution to both the Archaeology and Anthropology departments at the Royal University of Fine Arts. As the RUFA is a dedicated member of the ASEAN Network of Universities, we hope to contribute to the larger body of study regarding the prehistory of Mainland Southeast Asia.

Second Objective

The second objective of Southeast Asian Archaeologies is to sustain a database, which is located on our website, on the upper right corner as DATABASE. This database was created to serve as a ‘tabula rasa,’ for knowledge of Southeast Asia. We seek academic, historical and colonial accounts, ethnographic alongside local and indigenous accounts of the region. Please begin now to contribute your constructive knowledge to the database. Our objective is to create a chronological prehistory and history for Southeast Asia, which may contribute to our global understanding of this region as a whole, allowing us to better understand how it has developed geographically and culturally throughout time.