The conference of the International Association for Caribbean Archaeologists (IACA) will be held for the first time in Jamaica. It will be hosted by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT) from July 23-27.

The IACA, which began hosting conferences in 1961 and does so every two years in different states in the Caribbean, will this year be dedicated to the memory of the abolition movement.

“We are encouraging teachers and students to avail themselves of this opportunity,” said Roderick Ebanks, acting executive director of the JNHT, at a press briefing last week where he disclosed that the organisation would this year be offering bursaries to 10 persons attending the conference.

Among the topics for discussion this year is the ‘Archaeology of Enslavement, Abolition and Emancipation’ in recognition of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic trade in Africans for the English-speaking Caribbean.

The IACA is a regional body that promotes archaeological research in the Caribbean.