2010 Conference

Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference

Celebrating 40 Years

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2010 Conference

Text Box: MAAC 2010 ANNUAL MEETING
CALL FOR PAPERS, REGISTRATION, MEMBERSHIP March 18 - 21, 2010 Clarion Resort Fontainebleu Hotel
10100 Coastal Highway
Ocean City, Maryland 21842 1-888-833-1368 Researchers are invited to submit abstracts for papers on any topic related to archaeology in the mid-Atlantic United States to be presented at the 40th Annual Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference to be held Thursday, March 18 through Sunday, March 21, 2010 in Ocean City, Maryland. Your reservation at the Clarion allows MAAC to reserve conference space at a reasonable rate, please consider this as you make your arrangements. --- MAAC Room Rate is $123/night, please CALL to get special rate.--- MAAC PLENARY: Friday, March 19, 7:30 p.m. Speaker: Dr. Patrick E. McGovern Dr. Patrick E. McGovern is the Scientific Director of the Biomolecular Archaeology Laboratory for Cuisine, Fermented Beverages, and Health at the University of Pennsylvania Museum in Philadelphia, where he is also an Adjunct Professor of Anthropology. Over the past two decades, he has pioneered the exciting interdisciplinary field of Biomolecular Archaeology which is yielding whole new chapters concerning our human ancestry, medical practice, and ancient cuisines and beverages. UNCORKING THE PAST: ANCIENT ALES, WINES, AND EXTREME BEVERAGES Following a tantalizing trail of archaeological and chemical clues around the world and through the millennia, Patrick McGovern tells the compelling story of humanity's ingenious, intoxicating quest for the perfect drink. Whether it be mind-altering, medicinal, a religious symbol, a social lubricant, or artistic inspiration, fermented beverages have not only been a profound force in history, but they may be fundamental to the human condition itself. The speaker will illustrate the biomolecular archaeological approach by describing the discovery of the most ancient, chemically-attested alcoholic beverage in the world, dating back to about 7000 B.C. Based on the analyses of some of the world’s earliest pottery from Jiahu in the Yellow River valley of China, a mixed fermented beverage of rice, hawthorn fruit/grape, and honey was reconstructed. A recent finding by his laboratory and colleagues is a fermented beverage made from the fruit pod of the cacao tree, as based on analyses of ca. 1200 B.C. pottery sherds from the site of Puerto Escondido in Honduras. As the earliest chemically attested instance of chocolate in the Americas, this beverage might well have been the incentive for domesticating the cacao tree. Like grape and rice wine, chocolate “wine”—in time made only from roasted beans--went on to become the prerogative of royalty and the upper class, and a focus of religion. Some of these beverages, including the earliest alcoholic beverage from China (Chateau Jiahu), the mixed drink served at the “King Midas funerary feast (Midas Touch), and the chocolate beverage (Theobroma), have been re-created by Dogfish Head Brewery, shedding light on how our ancestors made them and providing a taste sensation and a means for us to travel back in time. Following the presentation, Dogfish Head Brewery of Rehoboth Beach will be hosting an “Ancient Ales” tasting. McGovern has worked closely with Dogfish Head over the years to utilize the archaeological residues he has recovered from prehistoric vessels to recreate the "ales" they once contained. You will have the opportunity to sample some of the beverages McGovern discusses in his presentation. Dr. McGovern will also be available to sign his new book: Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages (Berkeley: University of California Press). Presenter Guidelines:
Presenters must be members of MAAC for 2010. (For multiple authors, identify the presenter and list the presenter as the first author) Registration fees and membership dues are due no later than December 15, 2009. An individual can be the primary author on only one paper. Persons with unexcused absences from the 2009 meeting will be prohibited from presenting papers at the 2010 conference. An unexcused absence is defined as an absence without prior notification from a person who agreed to present a paper. The deadline for the paper title and abstract is December 15, 2009. In addition to the title and abstract (150 words or less), please provide name, affiliation, address, phone, and email address for each presenter. Finally, please include audio-visual requirements. Abstracts are to be submitted to the Program Chair in hard copy and on disk or attached to an e-mail in .doc format. Send Submissions To: Dr. Carole Nash, MAAC Program Chair Dept. of Integrated Science and Technology MSC4102 James Madison University 800 South Main Street Harrisonburg, VA 22807 Phone: 540-568-6805 E-mail: maac2010@gmail.com Download/Print the Call for Papers Flyer here.