Andean Past Volume 6 Article 16 2000 The Origins and the First 25 Years (1973-1997) of the Midwestern Conference on Andean and Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory David L. Browman Washington University, St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/andean_past Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Browman, David L. (2000) "The Origins and the First 25 Years (1973-1997) of the Midwestern Conference on Andean and Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory," Andean Past: Vol. 6 , Article 16. Available at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/andean_past/vol6/iss1/16 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Andean Past by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE ORIGINS AND THE FIRST 25 YEARS (1973-1997) OF THE MIDWESTERN CONFERENCE ON ANDEAN AND AMAZONIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOHISTORY David L. Browman Washington University - St. Louis Conference Origins1 We kicked various ideas around, but no firm solutions were proposed. The idea for the Midwest Conference on Andean and Amazonian Archaeology and Sol Tax called a number of Americanists Ethnohistory (MWCAAAE) originated from together in Chicago on October 20-22, 1972, to some informal discussions that began in 1972. help him plan the 9th International Congress of The first of these connections occurred at the Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences 37th annual meetings of the Society for Ameri- (ICAES), to be held in August and September can Archaeology (SAA) at Bal Harbour, Flori- of 1973. At that meeting, Thomas P. Myers and da, which were held on May 4-6, 1972. As I had a chance to talk in greater detail about the newly minted Ph.D.s, William H. Isbell, Gor- idea of instituting a Midwestern meeting, and don C. Pollard, and I were grousing about the we decided that we had the necessary critical fact that, even then, it was difficult to interact mass of Amazonian and Andean specialists in at the SAA meetings, that there was no time for the Midwest to develop such a conference. discussion in the arranged sessions, and just Tom and I figured that we both were relatively when you started having an interesting conver- unknown, and that if the conference were to get sation with someone in the corridors, one or the off the ground, we would have better luck if we other of you was interrupted by a colleague, and secured the sponsorship of a well-known your conversation never seemed to come to scholar. Donald W. Lathrap, as Myers' and completion. Given our respective levels of Isbell's dissertation advisor, sprang immediately poverty, we could not hope to attend regularly to mind. the Institute of Andean Studies meetings held at Berkeley, California during the first week of Because I was the individual who seemed to January each year. We bemoaned the fact that be most concerned about forming the confer- there was no closer regional meeting of An- ence, and because I felt somewhat isolated in St. deanists, as well as one that also addressed the Louis, it was decided that I should move forward problems of Amazonian archaeology and the on this front. This was a period of intense linkages between the two geographic regions. conference organization for me. The meeting in Chicago had resulted in my agreeing with Sol Tax's suggestion that I organize and run five 1 separate sessions on Pacific Rim research at the William H. Isbell, Ronald D. Lippi, Thomas P. th Myers, Jeffrey R. Parsons, Gordon C. Pollard, and Ronald 9 ICAES in the fall of 1973. I was in the midst L. Weber provided suggestions on a 1996 preliminary draft of arranging a session on the "Economic and copy on the conference history, allowing me to correct Socio-Political Development of the First An- some omissions, and to enrich the history, which improved dean State" for the 38th SAA meetings in San this paper. This Andean Past paper is a revised version of Francisco in May of 1973. Tom Myers and I a presentation and bound handout given at the 25th meeting of the MWCAAAE in February of 1997 also were working on developing a session (Browman 1997). entitled "Sistemas ecológicos prehistóricos de los ANDEAN PAST 6 (2000): 345-362. ANDEAN PAST 6 (2000) - 346 Andes" for the 41st International Congress of tional specific details on the proposed first Americanists, to be held in Mexico City in conference, including a list of all individuals September of 1974. Now during this same invited, and a revised proposed meeting agenda period, I had just agreed also to get involved in (Figure 1). In the text of the cover letter of this the formation of the MWCAAAE. second mailing, it was noted that several respon- dents to the first mailing had "suggested that Accordingly I find in my files a series of one most valuable item could be an informal communications relating to the birth of the report on research in progress by individual organization. On October 25, 1972, I wrote participants". Tom Myers: "I haven't talked to Don Lathrap yet -- but I need to get in touch with him about As noted in Appendix I, a total of 11 indi- the SAA meetings, so I'll bring up the idea of a viduals gave informal presentations at this first gathering of South Americanists at Urbana." In conference, although because of the explicitly his reply of November 6, 1972, Tom encouraged informal status, I do not have titles or topics for me to action, saying that: "The more I think all presentations. The meeting was judged about it, the more I would like to see a regional successful, and it was decided to continue it on meeting of South Americanists at some place a permanent basis. The group decided not to like Urbana. I am sure Don Lathrap would be have the meeting hosted by the same institution willing to preside and we all would get a lot out each year, but rather to move it around to of it". universities or museums situated in the geo- graphic midwest; to schedule the meeting early The upshot of several more mail-based in the spring semester, well before the SAA or discussions was the development of the first other competing meetings; and to continue the formal letter of invitation to participate in this same informal format. Tom Myers offered to newly proposed regional conference, which I host the second meeting at Indiana University - sent out to 15 scholars in Illinois, Indiana, Bloomington, with the blessings of Wesley R. Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin on January Hurt. 17, 1973. This invitation announced that the first meeting would be held on Friday, March 2, The theme of informality was maintained at at Urbana, and that Don Lathrap would serve as the second conference. As Tom wrote in his chairman, but "because of Don's heavy obliga- letter of October 11, 1973, sending out notice of tions at the Center, I have agreed to take over the meeting date for the second session at the preliminary organization of the conference". Bloomington: "At last year's meeting, the format was very unstructured -- people just got up and The MWCAAAE conference started out talked about what they were doing, often ac- with an explicit emphasis on informality. As the companied by slides. Most important is that announcement indicated, "The idea behind this there is plenty of time for discussion. We plan conference is to try to set up a meeting in more to follow essentially the same format this year." relaxed circumstances where we can discuss The unstructured, informal meetings continued, various problems and research interests held in but only for a few more years. common in a more productive atmosphere than occurs at national meetings." In response to the The third meeting moved back to Urbana, very positive reaction and encouragement from and was scheduled to be hosted by Don Lathrap. those contacted by this first mailing, a second However, because of the pressures of an im- mailing went out early in February of 1973, now pending grant, Don contacted me in December addressed to 22 individuals in 7 states (the new of 1974 to indicate that he would have to with- mailing now integrating South Americanists in draw as host and organizer. Consequently, once Ohio and western Pennsylvania), with addi- more a letter went out over my name, inviting 347 - Browman: Midwestern Andean Conference History colleagues to participate in the conference at distributed an unofficial list of individuals plan- Urbana.2 As the letter emphasized: "The ning to attend the meeting, to make sure that meetings again stress informal presentations -- a we could arrange sufficient time and space. By chance to explore current research problems, the fourth meeting, we began to prepare a with plenty of give and take. This meeting is “meeting program”, listing presentation topics designed to provide the maximum atmosphere by presenter and title, and assigning specific for discussion, to provide a forum and sounding time slots. In 1978, at the sixth conference, we board not available in the 'hurly-burly' of na- officially established the last weekend in Febru- tional meetings." Jeffrey R. Parsons carried this ary as our meeting date, after having met on presentation format forward the next year at Fridays or Saturdays from the first week in Ann Arbor, noting in his letter of December 6, February to the first week in March, depending 1976, announcing the fourth conference: "In on the inclinations of the host institution, for keeping with past tradition, I favor another our first six meetings.