CENTRO CAMUNO DI STUDI PREISTORICI
25044 Capo di Ponte, Italy (Bs)
valcamonica.symposium@gmail.com
www.ccsp.it
XXIV Valcamonica Symposium
Art and Communication in Pre‐literate societies
Capo di Ponte, July 13 to 18, 2011

Dear friend and colleague,

According to the deliberation of the final session of the XXIII International Valcamonica
Symposium, the title of the forthcoming XXIV Symposium will be “Art and Communication in
Pre-literate societies”. It is planned to take place July 13 to 18, 2011. It is my pleasure to invite you
to be an active participant, presenting a communication or a topic for debate, or suggestion for a
session.

Prehistoric and tribal art is the main vehicle to convey and memorize information in preliterate
times. It is also the main source on the human intellectual adventures of pre-literate cultures.
Rock art was preserved where it was produced since 50,000 years ago in over 160 countries.
Millions of images are still present on many thousands of rock surfaces around the world. Mobiliary
art, such as message sticks, cult and ritual objects, masks, amulets, representations of ancestors and
spirits, are still in use among tribal societies, while ancient objects are found in museums and
collections and emerge again and again from explorations and excavations. This immense
patrimony was never produced just to embellish the landscape. These items of mobiliary and
immobiliary art are ment to convey messages and they make the major existing archive on the preliterate
history of mankind. The decoding of prehistoric art is a challenge of contemporary
research. Knowing the past is the first step to discover the present. It is a pleasure to invite you to
join this event.

The past 23 International Symposia of Valcamonica have been landmarks in the progress of
our understanding of the past and we expect that this new joint effort, of the participants and the
organizers, will stand up the tradition.

The written papers presented for publication are expected to be pertinent to the theme and to
contribute to the advancement of knowledge. They should have a text of up to 20,000 – 25,000
types, and up to 12 high quality illustrations. You are invited to send us a preliminary short
summary of 15 lines. Communications accepted for presentation will be published in full in a
volume to be distributed at the Symposium. Oral presentations should consist in essential abstracts;
the encounter lasting six days will have short oral presentations and broad debates. Communications
will concern general decoding and analysis themes of global interest, as well as specific regional
topics on Africa, Asia, America, Australia and Europe.

Thematic sections will involve anthropologists, archaeologists, prehistorians, art historians,
semioticians, psychologists, sociologists and experts of other disciplines, and promote
interdisciplinary research and cooperation.

Museum operators, art collectors, art experts, teachers,students and other people interested in the topic are cordially invited to attend. Reservation is advisable as the Symposium hall will dispose of no more than 220 places. The Symposium will include also exhibitions, documentary films and video presentations.

As a first step please confirm your interest in attending and, if you wish to present a paper,
kindly send us the title and the summary (email address: valcamonica.symposium@gmail.com).
We look forward to hearing from you and to welcoming you.

Best regards,

Emmanuel Anati
Prof. Emmanuel Anati,
Director, Centro Camuno di Studi Preistorici,
Chairman of the XXIV VC Symposium