Donors in the News

Henry Luce Foundation — Forging the Future, Understanding the Past

"Archaeology has come of age in the last century. Today thousands of archaeologists work across the globe to unearth remains of our collective ancient past. Asia’s rich archaeological record contains valuable clues regarding our origins and our transformations, and the more we learn about Asian archaeology the more we are forced to rewrite world archaeology.

Despite East and Southeast Asia’s obvious importance, most of its archaeological past remains obscure to the Western world. Few archaeologists are even familiar with the region beyond such world heritage sites as the Great Wall, Emperor Qin’s tomb, and ancient temples like Angkor Wat."

We are very happy to announce the award of $500,000 to the UH Mānoa Department of Anthropology from the Henry Luce Foundation’s Initiative on East and Southeast Asian Archeology and Early History. The funds will support the program "Building and Maintaining Asian Contacts: Enhancing Asian Archaeology, Training and Research at UHM."

The UH Mānoa Anthropology program has a longstanding tradition in Asian archaeology, and has produced graduate specialists in this field for more than 35 years. The department has long focussed on Southeast Asian archaeology, and UH Manoa continues to lead the country in training and graduating archaeologists with this geographic specialty. More recently this program has added East Asian archaeology, and the Luce Foundation’s institutional grant, including support for the new faculty line, will enable the department to dedicate more resources to teaching and research relevant to the region.

The goal of the training program is to equip Asian archeologists for greater involvement in the international world of archaeology.

Because many Asian archaeologists lack the time, funding, and linguistic skills to complete a graduate degree, the program will provide training opportunities for Southeast Asian and Chinese individuals at a junior stage in their careers who are involved in the archeology/heritage management field.

Dr. Miriam Stark consults with Ya Da in documenting a test trench across an ancient canal in the Mekong delta in 2001, which LOMAP has determined is 2000 years old.

Dr. Miriam Stark draws profile of 2000 year old brick perimeter wall at the archaeological site of Angkor Borei in southern Cambodia in 2001; LOMAP member Ya Da (Royal University of Fine Arts) assists.