The Romance and Adventure of Archeology
with Dr. Don Hien and Dr. John Miksic
7pm, Thursday, 31 July 2014
Multi – Purpose Room, Central Public Library
Basement 1, National Library Building
100 Victoria Street Singapore 188064
About Dr. Don Hein
After a beginning as a high school art teacher and museum curator, he found his true occupation as a field archaeologist with a focus on Southeast East Asian high-temperature kiln-fired ceramics.
His entry into archaeology began in 1975 with his first independent work at the Sawankhalok kiln site, followed by a year at the Post-Graduate School of Archaeology at Silpakorn University. In 1980 he joined the Thai Ceramics Archaeological Project (TCAP) and from 1984 he and his wife Toni lived in Thailand excavating kilns in that country and in Laos, Cambodia and Burma. Along the way he completed a Master’s degree in history and a PhD in archaeology. He is currently committed to research and teaching in Cambodia and Burma.
Apart from some notable discoveries that he described in his talk, Don believed his greatest professional long-term contribution concerned a system of kiln excavation practice and computer database documentation.
About Dr. John N. Miksic
Associate Professor, Department of Southeast Asian Studies, National University of Singapore
As a student Prof. Miksic joined archaeological expeditions to northern Canada and Honduras, but over the last 40 years he has been based in Southeast Asia, conducting archaeological and historical investigations in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Burma and Cambodia.
He has conducted major excavations at 15 sites in Singapore, bringing to light details of 14C life there.
He is a widely-published author with key works including: Archaeological research on the “Forbidden Hill” of Singapore: excavations at Fort Canning (1985); Borobudur: golden tales of the Buddhas (1990); Old Javanese Gold (2010); Earthenware in Southeast Asia (2003); Early Singapore 1300s-1819: Evidence in maps, texts and artefacts (ed. with Cheryl-Ann Low) (2004); and the Historical Dictionary of Ancient Southeast Asia (2007).
Dr. Miksic’s interests include early Buddhist artefacts and monuments; ceramics of China and Southeast Asia; gold; urbanization; and maritime trade.
The archeologists talked about their careers with anecdotes and Powerpoints, answering questions posed by members of the round table.