The 6th Symposium on Archaeomaterials Studies sponsored by Institute for Cultural Heritage and History of Science & Technology, USTB was held on September 25-26, 2021 with a combination of online and offline venues. More than a hundred scholars from three continents and eight time zones gather together for this symposium. The participants were from more than 20 academic institutions in China and beyond including Peking University, University of Science and Technology China, Northwest University, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jingdezhen Ceramic University, the Palace Museum, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, University of Science and Technology Beijing, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Needham Research Institute, University College London, University of Reading, the British Museum, Russian Academy of Sciences, University of Illinois, Silpakorn University, Heidelberg University, Cyprus Institute and Nara Cultural Heritage Research Institute.

The on-site session

    At the opening ceremony, Professor Wei Qian, the Director of Institute for Cultural Heritage and History of Science & Technology (USTB) extended his welcome to all participants and thanked their supports for this symposium. He expressed that the International Symposium on Archaeomaterials Studies and the journal Advances in Archaeomaterials (AiA) have been the two important academic brand marks of the institute, and dedicated to promote the impact of Chinese archaeomaterials studies in a global stage.

Professor WEI Qian spoke at the opening ceremony

    Professor QIANG Feng, Director of International Cooperation Office of University of Science and Technology Beijing, then gave a retrospect on the development of archaeomaterials research in China and the contributions of generations of USTB scholars in this process. He stressed that the importance of materials for human civilizations and to deepen our understanding of the development pattern of materials science, metallurgy and other subdisciplines of natural sciences through historical overview. He also said that USTB had always paid great attention to the international collaboration and would like to develop a close, friendly and cooperatively relationship with abroad institutions.

Professor QIANG Feng spoke at the opening ceremony

    Professor Kunlong CHEN, the host of the opening ceremony and the section one, reviewed the establishment and the development of the Symposium. He expressed the pity that not all the participants could come to Beijing’s venue this year due to the impact of COVID-19 but was happy to see that many scholars still managed to take part in online. He thanked everyone for the understanding and the support.

Professor Kunlong CHEN host at the opening ceremony

    In the two-day studies, surrounding different types of archaeomaterials such as ceramics, metal, paper and lacquer, scholars gave 17 presentations with focuses on material identification, technological reconstruction, as well as provenance and trade. Many cutting-edge academic issues and innovative methods and theories were covered. Each presentation was followed by a discussion of scholars both online and offline. The participants all agreed it was a quite successful and inspiring conference. It is expected that this symposium series will constantly provide new ideas and new horizons for the scholars interested archaeomaterials studies world-wide.

Online participants

Professor Alessandra Giumlia-Mair, Russian Academy of Sciences

Professor Jianfeng CUI, School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University

Professor Jianjun MEI of Needham Research Institute (online)

Dr. Wugan LUO from University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

The discussion after presentation

    The Symposium on Archaeomaterials Studies, sponsored by Institute for Cultural Heritage and History of Science and Technology (USTB) was founded in 2016, aimed at providing an academic platform for the scholars in China and abroad engaged in scientific studies of archaeological materials, and promoting inter-disciplinary cooperations.

Group photo of participants in Beijing