International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences
Union internationale des sciences préhistoriques et protohistoriques | |
| Abbreviation | UISPP |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | International Congress of Anthropology and Prehistoric Archaeology |
| Formation | 1931 |
| Headquarters | Paris |
| Fields | Archaeology, Prehistory, Protohistory |
President | Jacek Kabaciński (since 2024) |
Vice-Presidents | Abdulaye Camara (since 2017), Erika Robrahn González (since 2018) |
General Secretary | Dirk Brandherm (since 2023) |
Treasurer | Éva David (since 2023) |
| Secessions | World Archaeological Congress |
| Affiliations | International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences, International Union of Academies |
| Website | www.uispp.org |
Formerly called | International Congress of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences |
The International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences (Union internationale des sciences préhistoriques et protohistoriques – UISPP) is a learned society, linked through the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences to UNESCO, and concerned with the study of prehistory and protohistory. In the words of its constitution:
- The UISPP is committed to promote prehistoric and protohistoric studies through the organisation of international congresses and of large-scale excavations of international significance; by sponsoring scholarly publications of international scope as well as conferences and other learned meetings; and in general by advancing research by the co-operation and mutual understanding among scholars from all countries.
Origins
[edit]The origins of the UISPP lie in an 1865 meeting of the Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali (English: Italian Society of Natural Science) that led to the creation of the Congrès paléoethnologique international (CPI; English: International Paleoethnologic Congress). The first meeting of the CPI was held in Neuchâtel in 1866. The following year, in Paris, the name was changed to Congrès international d'anthropologie et d'archéologie préhistoriques (CIAAP; International Congress of Anthropology and Prehistoric Archaeology).
A permanent council of the CIAAP was founded in 1880, and in 1931 a merger with the Institut International d'Anthropologie led to the creation of the Congrès international des Sciences préhistoriques et protohistoriques (CISPP). In 1954, the permanent council decided to affiliate the CISPP with a member organisation of UNESCO, the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences. This required a change of name, and the CISPP became the International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences (UISPP) in order to gain access to UNESCO funding.
UISPP became a member of the UNESCO-associated International Council of Philosophy and Human Sciences on 29 September 1955. In 2019, UISPP also joined the International Union of Academies (Union Académique Internationale – UAI). As an international scholarly body, the UISPP's aim is to provide a forum for the collaboration of scholars from all countries to further the advancement of prehistoric and protohistoric sciences. It is committed to upholding full academic freedom and refuses any sort of discrimination based on race, creed, philosophical or ideological stance, ethnic or geographical affiliation, nationality, gender, language or other, since discrimination is, by definition, the negation of any scientific approach. The UISPP does not exclude any bona fide scholar from its scientific activities and rejects any attempts of fictional rewriting of the past or of negationism.
Executive Committee
[edit]The executive committee is composed of the members of the board (president, general secretary, treasurer, vice-president(s)) and the presidents of all scientific commissions of UISPP. In collaboration with the board, its role is to uphold the principles of the UISPP and exercise oversight over the activities of scientific commissions and more widely within the organization. The executive committee also monitors the progress of preparations for the triennial world congress, but does only intervene in the organization of a congress in the case of unexpected events or of significant delays in the programme proposed by the national organizing committee.
Scientific Commissions
[edit]The general assembly decides of the creation of scientific commissions, after advice from the executive committee. Their objective is to promote and coordinate internationally research in a specific or specialized domain of prehistoric and protohistoric sciences between each world congress. The commissions are grouped into six larger domains. This list is not exhaustive.
- Historiography, methods and theories (history of archaeology, theories and methods in archaeology, scientific methods used in archaeology, e.g. from the natural sciences, applied sciences, biological sciences, social sciences, economic sciences, etc.),
- Culture, economy and environments (specific periods, diachronic themes, regional peculiarities),
- Archaeology of specific environments (deserts, mountains, volcanic areas, coastal areas, islands, etc.),
- Art and culture (all forms of artistic expression during prehistory and protohistory, including rock art and portable art),
- Technology and economy (invention and development of new technologies, raw material exploitation, including scientific techniques for the characterization of archaeomaterials and related processes),
- Archaeology and society (interaction between archaeology and current society, including strategies for heritage management or for scientific research, and questions of the public).
The principal activities of a scientific commission are:
- The organization of scientific activities (colloquia, sessions, symposia, workshops) during each triennial UISPP world congress and at least once during the inter-congress period in between; the proceedings from these activities are published,
- Holding an annual general meeting of the commission, to plan a programme of activities for the next year and accept the minutes from the previous meeting,
- Producing and distributing an electronic newsletter, at least once a year, for the members of the commission, with copy to the general secretary.
Congresses of the CISPP and UISPP
[edit]- First congress: 1932, London
- Second congress: 1936, Oslo
- Third congress: 1950, Zürich
- Fourth congress: 1954, Madrid
- Fifth congress: 1958, Hamburg
- Sixth congress: 1962, Rome
- Seventh congress: 1966, Prague
- Eighth congress: 1971, Belgrade
- Ninth congress: 1976, Nice
- Tenth congress: 1981, Mexico City
- Eleventh congress: 1987, Mainz
- Twelfth congress: 1991, Bratislava
- Thirteenth congress: 1996, Forlì
- Fourteenth congress: 2001, Liège
- Fifteenth congress: 2006, Lisbon
- Sixteenth congress: 2011, Florianópolis
- Seventeenth congress: 2014, Burgos
- Eighteenth congress: 2018, Paris
- Nineteenth congress: 2021, Meknes
- Twentieth congress: 2023, Timisoara
- Twenty-first congress: to be held in 2026 in Poznań
The Eleventh congress was originally to be held at Southampton in 1986, but the decision of the British organising committee, led by Peter Ucko, to exclude South African and Namibian delegates, despite their being opposed to apartheid, led to the foundation of the World Archaeological Congress and the postponement of the UISPP congress until 1987. Whereas the majority of UISPP members rejected the split as a divide of researchers and an opportunist move, writing in 1987, Peter Ucko still described the UISPP as:
- a dinosaur which continues to seek to manipulate the world situation according to its archaic Western European preconceptions about what is relevant and important and what is not. It does so by devices such as the imposition of white rules and regulations which no one bothers to explain and by the manipulation of bureaucratic procedures.[1]
UISPP lamented this approach and maintained its activity. Since 2005 relations between UISPP and WAC have resumed. Despite initial divides, UISPP remains focused on prehistoric and protohistoric research, while WAC evolved to focus primarily on politically committed approaches and advocacy, the two organisations therefore have different scopes.
The XVIII World Congress of UISPP was held in Paris in June 2018. It had as an overarching theme "Adaptation and sustainability of prehistoric and protohistoric societies confronted to climate change". This major congress formed part of the current refoundation of Humanities that is being led by the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (which includes UISPP) and UNESCO. While all UISPP congresses have a general theme, they remain open to sessions on any other topic, which can be proposed during the general call for sessions.
The XIX UISPP World Congress, originally planned to be held in 2020 in Meknes, following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was postponed to 2021 and then held as a fully virtual event.
Another new format, adopted alongside its triennial world congresses by UISPP, is that of continental congresses which focus on the prehistory and protohistory of a particular part of the world. The first congress in this new format is being held as a multi-venue event in Java, Indonesia in 2025 (main theme: "Asian Prehistory Today: Bridging Science, Heritage and Development").
UISPP Publications
[edit]In addition to the publication of the proceedings from its congresses, UISPP since the 1950s has been overseeing the publication af a number of international monograph series aimed chiefly at the systematic publication of primary archaeological source material (Inventaria Archaeologica, Prähistorische Bronzefunde, Fiches typlogiques de l'industrie osseuse préhistorique) but also at specific themes of global interest (Human Societies facing Climate Change). Since 2018, UISPP has been publishing the open access Journal of the International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences / Revue de l'Union Internationale des Sciences Préhistoriques et Protohistoriques (short: UISPP Journal).
References
[edit]- ^ Ucko, Peter (1987). Academic Freedom and Apartheid. London: Duckworth. ISBN 0-7156-2191-2.
