3rd SEAMEO SPAFA International Conference on Southeast Asian Archaeology (SPAFACON2019)

Southeast Asian archaeology is an emerging field of interest on the world stage. However, the sharing of information and research has been limited for local Southeast Asians due to various factors, especially language and lack of resources. Published research in most academic journals is beyond the reach of local Southeast Asians because of paywalls, and as such, conferences are one of the main ways locally-produced knowledge is shared within the region. In Southeast Asia, the main international conferences for archaeologists are the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association (IPPA) Congress held every four years in an Asian city, and the European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists which is held every two years in a European city. As such, participating in these conferences can be prohibitively expensive for local scholars and there is a need for a conference which is catered for Southeast Asian archaeologists, held inside Southeast Asia.

In order to facilitate the sharing and advancement of knowledge, SEAMEO SPAFA has been organizing the triennial International Conference on Southeast Asian Archaeology since 2013 with the two previous events having been held in Chonburi (2013) and Bangkok (2016). In both events, a majority of the participants came from Southeast Asia with numbers increasing from 120 to 220. As a feature of SEAMEO events, we facilitate the representation of all Southeast Asian countries through the provision of Country Reports, delivered by the nominees of the 11 Southeast Asian countries. The conference also promotes the discussion of regional issues, such as underwater cultural heritage, rock art and archaeology education, as well as provide platforms for countries such as Myanmar and Singapore that have emerging local archaeological research.