Page 8 - Archaeology - October 2017

FROM THE PRESIDENT
Archaeological
Institute of America
OUR HUMAN STORY

OFFICERS
President
ast spring, I gave a series of lectures aboard a cruise ship on behalf of the Jodi Magness
Smithsonian Institution. I’d boarded in Dubai and we docked in Abu Dhabi, First Vice President
Laetitia La Follette
LSalalah, Oman, and Aqaba, Jordan. From there we sailed to Egypt, up the Suez
Vice President for Outreach and Education
Canal, and on to Haifa where I disembarked. The trip allowed me to see parts of the Deborah Gangloff
Middle East that I had never before visited. In Dubai, I took an elevator to the top of Vice President for Research and Academic Affairs
Bonna Wescoat
the Burj Khalifa—the world’s tallest building—and wandered around the Dubai Mall,
Vice President for Cultural Heritage
marveling at the indoor ice skating rink, aquarium, and hundreds of upscale stores and Elizabeth S. Greene
restaurants. The lush coconut and banana groves of Salalah reminded me of parts of Treasurer
David Ackert
southern India. Arriving in Aqaba felt like coming home, just a stone’s throw from Eilat
Vice President for Societies
and close to the Late Roman fort at Yotvata in Israel’s Arava Valley, where I conducted Ann Santen
excavations from 2003 to 2007. Many of us in the West tend to view the Middle East Executive Director
Ann Benbow
as one big, undifferentiated region. But to visit it is to be reminded that geographically,
Chief Operating Officer
culturally, ethnically, and religiously it is incredibly diverse, and has been since ancient Kevin Quinlan
times. Whereas Dubai and Abu Dhabi GOVERNING BOARD
Prophet Jonah Shrine, Mosul, Iraq
glitter with tall skyscrapers and huge malls, Elie Abemayor
Salalah and Aqaba resemble more traditional David Adam
Deborah Arnold
Middle Eastern towns. Omani men dress in Andrea Berlin
white jalabiyas like their counterparts in the David Boochever
Bruce Campbell
United Arab Emirates, but wear distinctive Jane Carter, ex officio
caps that originated in Zanzibar. Some Arthur Cassanos
Derek Counts
differences, such as variations among Arabic Julie Herzig Desnick
dialects, are more subtle. Ronald Greenberg
Michael Hoff
As I enjoyed my travels in comfort and James Jansson
Lisa Kealhofer
safety, I thought about the irreversible damage to so many of the archaeological sites Mark Lawall
and monuments in the region wrought by years of war and upheaval. In fact, one day Deborah Lehr
Thomas Levy
during my trip, I watched a special broadcast documenting the devastation of Iraq’s Kathleen Lynch
Mosul Museum, which had been left as a burned-out shell littered by pieces of smashed Bruce McEver
Barbara Meyer
statues and other priceless artifacts. Meg Morden
Now, some months later, the conflict there, perhaps in its last days as of this writing, Sarah Parcak
J. Theodore Peña
is taking a toll on both cultural heritage and on hundreds of thousands of civilians who Kevin Quinlan, ex officio
call Mosul home. It has been observed by many that wherever archaeological sites and Robert Rothberg
Ethel Scully
cultural heritage are under attack, no civilian is safe either. For our part at the Archaeo- David Seigle
logical Institute of America, we claim as our mission the protection and preservation Monica L. Smith
Charles Steinmetz
of the world’s cultural heritage, which is bound inextricably with human identity and Claudia Valentino, ex officio
the human story. I hope you will consider supporting us. For more information, visit P. Gregory Warden
Michael Wiseman
our website at archaeological.org. And, if you are already a supporting member, please John Yarmick
contact your Local Society and ask how you can become involved. Past President
Andrew Moore
Trustees Emeriti
Brian Heidtke
Norma Kershaw
Charles S. La Follette
Legal Counsel
Mitchell Eitel, Esq.
Sullivan & Cromwell, LLP
Archaeological Institute of America
Jodi Magness 44 Beacon Street • Boston, MA 02108
archaeological.org
President, Archaeological Institute of America

6 ARCHAEOLOGY • September/October 2017