This years Australian Archaeology Conference is quickly approaching and with no less than seven keynote speakers it promises to be a fantastic event. Amongst the other archaeologists that will be presenting in Wollongong are two very talented archaeologists and all round wonderful people from the Sharma Centre for Heritage Education, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

In December last year Terra Rosa staff had the pleasure of meeting Dr Shanti Pappu and Dr Kumar Akhilesh, during a company trip to India. Our trip was an amazing time where we gained some excellent insights into Indian culture, history and archaeology, and shared some wonderful experiences thanks to the people we met. Shanti and Kumar were two of those people. Their hospitality, kindness, and willingness to share their knowledge made our trip all the more memorable.

Earlier this year we decided to return the favour, and bring Shanti and Kumar to Australia to let them experience Australian archaeology, and also allow them to share their experiences with the wider Australian Archaeological community at the AAA conference.

Since 1999, Shanti and Kumar have been involved in excavations at Attirampakkam,  a significant site containing Acheulian artefacts that date back as far as 1.5 million years. The archaeological record found at Attirampakkam shows a stratified cultural sequence comprising Lower, Middle and possibly Upper Palaeolitihc deposits. The two presentations by Shanti and Kumar both focus on different aspects of their work at Attirampakkam:

• Stone Tool Knapping Experiments in Investigating Acheulian lithic technology at the site of Attirampakkam, South India; and
• Lithics and Landscapes: Excavations at Attirampakkam and the Prehistoric Archaeology of Southeast India.

We’re looking forward to Shanti and Kumar’s presentations and hope that you will enjoy them too. To find out more about their work visit the Sharma Centre for Heritage Education’s website.

The AAA Conference 2012 is taking place in Wollongong from 9 to 13 December, registrations are available via the Conference website.