A volunteer training session will be held on Saturday, February 17, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Paki II Conference Room at Bishop Museum . Call Judi McClain at 808.848.4180 to register for the training, or for more information about volunteer opportunities at Bishop Museum . McClain may also be reached by email at judim@bishopmuseum.org.
The training session will be conducted by Tianlong Jiao, Ph.D., Chair of the Anthropology Department, and the project director for Lost Maritime Cultures. Dr. Jiao will present an informational slide lecture about the excavation sites along the southeast coast of China where he and a team of anthropologists have unearthed a fascinating portrait of China 's earliest maritime cultures.
Also, Dr. Heidi Lennstrom, Senior Science Educator will give an overview of the educational components and activities associated with the exhibition. New volunteers to Bishop Museum will also receive information about techniques in interpretation to better share the exhibition content with visitors of all ages. No previous experience is necessary.
Bishop Museum scientists have been in search of answers to the question of the origins of the Pacific people and cultures since the inception of the Museum in 1889. They are about to place a few more pieces of the puzzle with the world debut of Lost Maritime Cultures: China and the Pacific, a groundbreaking exhibition of international significance. Organized by Bishop Museum , the landmark exhibition explores cultural and anthropological connections between ancient China and Oceania .
Included will be the finest examples of prehistoric seafaring civilizations of China , featuring many rare national cultural treasures that have never traveled outside of the country. Most scientists have determined that Southeast China is the original homeland of the Austronesians, a group that includes Polynesians, Melanesians, Micronesians and the indigenous people of the Southeastern Asian Archipelagos.
Some of the maritime cultures featured in this exhibition are believed to be the ultimate source of the seafaring Austronesian culture that eventually spread out throughout the Pacific, reaching as far as the Hawaiian Islands .
A Harvard University Ph.D., Dr. Jiao is a world-renowned expert in Chinese archaeology. He is directing this international research project with cooperation from the government of the People's Republic of China , the Fujian Provincial Museum , and the Zhejiang Institute of Antiquity and Archaeology, as well as the support of the Freeman Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation, the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, and a group of local supporters. -- www.bishopmuseum.org
Posted February 2nd, 2007 by ruzik_tuzik
