Early Cities: New Perspectives on Pre-Industrial Urbanism

Organized by Joyce Marcus and Jeremy Sabloff
National Academy of Sciences Building, Washington, DC
May 18-20, 2005

Click here to Register for the Colloquium

Meeting Overview
Registration Information (Reduced Registration Fee)
Hotel Information
Student Travel Grants
Preliminary Program

Meeting Overview
Many disciplines (including Sociology, Demography, Geography, Architecture and Urban Planning, Economics, Anthropology, History) are increasingly interested in "urbanism," particularly since much of the world is being converted into cities and vast metropolitan areas.

Although scholars in these fields are committed to understanding and helping to resolve today's urban problems, our knowledge would clearly be enhanced by:

(1) studying the origin and development of the world's early cities,
(2) utilizing a comparative perspective to document urban developments, and
(3) taking a regional approach that combines the study of cities with studies of their geographical setting and their social, political, and economic networks.

A diverse group of scholars, who have employed different methods and a wide array of perspectives in their study of early cities, are featured at this colloquium. Evaluating the data from archaeological case studies of ancient cities around the globe will enable us to compare and contrast different cities and geographic sectors of the world, as well as isolate specific and general patterns. By examining the conditions that fostered the development of the first cities and looking at their subsequent development over centuries and millennia, it may be possible to discover trends and patterns and thus gain insights that not only will better illuminate the past but will be relevant to the modern world. The ten archaeological case studies will be commented on by a group of discussants from fields such as geography, economics, urban planning, architecture, and environmental psychology.

Internationally renowned archaeologists Prof. Bruce Trigger (McGill University) and Prof. Colin Renfrew (Cambridge University) will give the Sackler Lecture and the Colloquium keynote lecture, respectively, to open what promises to be a very exciting and informative event.

Registration Information
Registrations will be accepted only when the registration fee is included and in the order in which they are received. The general registration fee has been reduced to $150, which includes the cost of meals and receptions. Please note that the registration fee will increase to $250 on May 6, 2005. A reduced all-inclusive registration fee of $100 is offered to Graduate Students and Postdocs.

Hotel Information
Once the registration form is completed, you will receive an email confirmation of your registration form including details on reserving your hotel room. A block of hotel rooms has been reserved at the Wyndham Washington at 1400 M Street, NW, Washington D.C., 20005 at a discount rate of $150, plus tax, for a single or a double. Hotel rooms must be reserved no later than April 22, 2005. After April 22, 2005, we cannot guarantee that a hotel room will be available. Please keep in mind that it is graduation week in Washington D.C. and hotel rooms are limited.

Student Travel Grants
Attendance at the Colloquium is limited to 250 registered individuals. To facilitate the participation of younger anthropologists and social scientists, we request that you extend this invitation to interested graduate students and postdocs. The NAS has provided funds to supplement the expenses of participating graduate students and postdocs up to $100 for hotel costs and $150 for air travel. A maximum of 25 awards will be granted, with priority based exclusively on the order in which requests (accompanied by the registration fee) are received. Notification of the award will be made shortly after receiving the application but the awards will be paid after the Colloquium, upon documentation of qualifying expenses.