This symposium will concentrate on the creation, transmission and movements of prehistoric collections –including natural history specimens, human remains, and artefacts–, from the colonial era to the present day. Particular emphasis will be placed on collections from Southeast Asia, however, case studies drawn from other historical and geographical contexts will also be represented.

Presentation

The International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences (UISPP) Commission on the History of Archaeology, in collaboration with the Commission “Southeast Asia : Human Evolution, Dispersals and Adaptations” is organising a symposium “Past and future of archaeological collections. Field exploration, movements, preservation (19th-21st c.)” to be held at the “Asian Prehistory Today Bridging Science, Heritage and Development” conference, 30 October 2025.

This symposium will concentrate on the creation, transmission and movements of prehistoric collections –including natural history specimens, human remains, and artefacts–, from the colonial era to the present day. Particular emphasis will be placed on collections from Southeast Asia, however, case studies drawn from other historical and geographical contexts will also be represented.

The programme of the symposium is organised around for sessions : 

• History, Politics and Practices of Colonial Field Explorations
• Diachronic Perspectives on Scientific and Heritage Collections : Governance, Narratives and Museography
• Movements, Distributions and Reconfigurations of Collections
• Special Session. The Return of the Dubois Collection : Research, Politics and the Futur of Heritage

Programme

30 october

8 :30 am Maddalena Cataldi, Adèle Chevalier, Géraldine Delley, Sébastien Plutniak

Introduction

Session 1 History, Politics and Practices of Colonial Field Explorations

• 9 am Robert-Jan Wille (Utrecht University) Fossil Infrastructures. The Dutch-German Science Complex, Javanese Aristocrats and the Construction of Indonesian Prehistory in the Nineteenth Century
• 9 :20 am Meilinda Pipit (Indonesian Heritage Agency) Colonial Collecting Practices, Monetary Incentives, and the Modern Stewardship of the Sangiran Collections
• 9 :40 am Adèle Chevalier (CNRS-Centre Alexandre Koyré, UMR 8560, Paris) Collect and dispersion of Cambodian prehistoric collections under colonial rule : Ludovic Jammes’ strategy (1880’s-1890’s)

10 am General discussion

10 :30 am Coffee break

Session 2 Diachronic perspectives on scientific and heritage collections : governance, narratives and museography

• 11 :00 am Unggul Prasetyo Wibowo (Badung Geological Museum) Bandung Geological Museum Through the Ages
• 11 :20 am Halmi Insani (Badung Geological Museum) Reroute and Resettle : Viewpoint on The Collection Conveyed by Von Koenigswald
• 11 :40 am Medha de Alwis (Postgraduate Institute of Archaeological Research, Sri Lanka) From Custody to Continuity : Law, Archaeological Collections, and Legacy of Sigiriya

12 :00 am General discussion

12 :30-2 :00 pm LUNCH

Session 3 Movements, distributions and reconfigurations of collections

• 2 :00 pm Narciso Sabão Domingos, François Bon and Isis Mesfin (Université de Toulouse Jean-Jaurès ; Instituto Superior de Ciências de Educação do Sumbe, Angola ; Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle (UMR 7194) ; Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park) Abbé Henri Breuil and the Circulation of Prehistoric Artifacts from the Belgian Congo
• 2 :20 am Garance Cachard and Amélie Vialet (Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (UMR 7194) Paris ; Université de Perpignan) Charles Varat’s Expedition to Korea during the Late 19th century and the Introduction of Korean Archaeological Collections in France
• 2 :40 am Clémence Le Meur (Centre de l’Asie du Sud-Est (UMR 8170), Paris) From Colonial Exhibition to Relative Oblivion : Fates of Đông Sơn Bronze Drums in French Museum Collections
• 3 pm Clément Ménard (Centre européen de recherches préhistoriques de Tautavel (UMR 7194)

 Out of Eastern Africa : movement of Prehistoric collections during the 20th century

3 :20 pm General discussion

4 :00-4.20 pm Break

Special session The return of the Dubois collection : research, politics and the future of heritage

• 16 :20-16 :50 Rosalie Hans (NIOD guest researcher) Research for Return : the process, findings and lessons of historical research into the Dubois Collection
• 16.50-17 :20 Ismu Ismunandar (Ambassador/Deputy Permanent Representative of Indonesia to UNESCO) The Homecoming of Java Man : A Milestone for Indonesia and a New Paradigm for Colonial Collections

17 :20-18 :30 General discussion