ISA 2006

The Laboratoire d’archéologie of Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and the Groupe d’archéométrie, of Université Laval, at Quebec City, Canada, have the pleasure of inviting you to the 36th meeting of the International Symposium on Archaeometry.

VENUE

Quebec City, the “cradle of French civilization in North America” will be the host city of the 2006 Symposium, just two years short of its 400th anniversary commemorating its foundation by Samuel de Champlain in 1608. Quebec’s historical old city has earned it a place among UNESCO’s World Heritage sites, awarded in 1985. In fact, with its extensive fortification system including the authentic city wall surrounding the Upper Town (la Haute-Ville), as well as the Citadell, completed in 1831, perched on the steep Cape Diamond and overlooking majestically the St. Lawrence River waterway, Quebec City has been surnamed with good reason the “Gibraltar of North America” by 19th century visitors. Quebec, the “narrow passage”, as its originally algonquian name indicates, holds in fact a strategic position on this “highway to the interior” the St. Lawrence River used to be in the early colonial history: at this point, ships coming from the East reach the limit between the St. Lawrence estuary and the much narrower river leading further West.

In Upper Town, we also find Quebec’s Seminary (Séminaire de Québec), intended for the education of priests from its foundation in 1663 by New France’s first archbishop, Monseigneur François de Montmorency-Laval. Predecessor of Quebec’s Université Laval, its historic walls still house the university’s school of architecture and, since the beginning of 2005, its new archaeology laboratory facilities. It is here, in the heart of the old city, that will be held the 36th International Symposium on Archaeometry from May 2nd – 6th, 2006.

Scope of the Conference

The aim of the Symposium is to promote the development and use of scientific techniques in order to extract archaeological and historical information from the cultural heritage and the paleoenvironment. It involves all Natural Sciences and all types of objects and materials related with human activity.

In general, papers submitted should deal with the development and/or application of scientific techniques for extracting information related to human activities of the past, including the biological nature of man himself and the environment in which he lived.

Papers that deal with weathering and deterioration of archaeological objects or monuments will be welcome provided they are relevant to one of the main themes of the Symposium. Papers that deal solely with conservation techniques or the development of materials for conservation are outside the scope of this conference and normally will not be accepted.

The subjects covered by the Symposium are grouped into the following fields that form the sessions under which the papers will be presented either as oral or poster.

Sessions

As usual, the Symposium is composed of seven successive sessions; six of which are regular while a special theme session has been selected by the organizers. In addition, a special sub-session has been dedicated to isotope studies of glass. The special theme session of 2006 will address the problem of early settlement of the Americas, as it can be perceived from an archaeometrical perspective.

REGULAR SESSIONS:
- Field Archaeology (Remote Sensing and Prospecting) and Environmental Archaeology
- Dating (Organic and Inorganic Materials)
- Biomaterials (DNA, Diet, Organic Residues Analysis and Agricultural Archaeology)
- Technology and Provenance I (Stone, Pigments and Plaster)
- Technology and Provenance II (Ceramics and Glass)
    - Special Sub-Session: Isotope Studies of Glass
- Technology and Provenance III (Metals)

SPECIAL THEME SESSION:
- Early Man in America

Abstracts

Instructions for the submission of proposals for presentations at the ISA 2006 meeting are given under the Abstracts section. Please send us your proposal using the Abstract Submission Form by e-mail to registration@isa2006.ulaval.ca by December 15th, 2005 at the latest. The Quebec local organizing committee would, however, appreciate it if those who already plan to participate in ISA 2006 in Quebec City sent their abstract by October 15th, 2005 in order to help to get a grant to organize the Symposium.

Language
The official language of the symposium will be English.

Social Program
During the Symposium the organizing committee will take the participants on a sightseeing tour of the Old City of Quebec. As usual, a symposium banquet will be held (at additional cost to the participants). The day after the symposium (May 7th, 2006), an excursion will be offered for interested participants (also at additional cost). More information will be available soon.

Registration Fees

For your information, registration fees including access to all sessions, breaks, five lunches, and a sightseeing tour of Quebec City will be as follows:

Before March 1st, 2006:
- Symposium Participants: 300 $US
- Students: 150 $US (prove of student status is required)

On March 1st, 2006 or later:
- Symposium Participants: 350 $US
- Students: 175 $US

Key Dates

Deadline for submission of abstracts: December 15th, 2005
Notification of acceptance or rejection: January 30th, 2006
Deadline for registration and payment of registration fee: February 28th, 2006
Deadline for hotel reservations: February 28th, 2006
Symposium Reception and Registration: May 1st, 2006
Sessions: May 2nd - 6th, 2006
Symposium excursion or departure: May 7th, 2006

Martin Aitken Prizes for Best Student Posters

To encourage the active participation of students in the Archaeometry
Symposium, the Standing Committee offers two prizes of 200 $US each, for the
best posters representing the work of students enrolled in programs leading
to degrees in science or archaeological science. Students must attend the
Symposium to claim their prizes.

Additional Information

The organizers will continue to expand this website in order to provide you with detailed information on possible travel arrangements, hotel reservations and, eventually, registration, sightseeing tours, as well as other relevant subjects under the various sub-sections offered on this website.