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P.E. MacAllister Field Archaeology Award - Gary Rollefson

     The P.E. MacAllister Field Archaeology Award "honors an archaeologist who, during his/her career, has made outstanding contributions to ancient Near Eastern and Eastern Mediterranean archaeology." This year's awardee is Gary Rollefson-to many of us the dean of prehistoric archaeology in Jordan. Perhaps more than any other specialist among us, it is Gary whose fieldwork and publications have brought the prehistoric archaeology of Jordan to the attention of anthropological archaeologists worldwide. Beginning in 1970, his broad-ranging fieldwork has extended from the Lower Paleolithic to the Neolithic and, since 1980, has led to more than 200 professional articles and edited volumes on the prehistoric occupations of the Levant, from the Acheulian to the Early Bronze Age. While his work has primarily focused on Jordanian prehistory, his contributions have had a major impact on the archaeology of the greater Levantine area and have helped to configure modern perceptions of its prehistory.
    Gary's signature project is, of course, the singularly important Neolithic village of 'Ain Ghazal in Jordan. His understanding of the behavioral implications of its archaeological record changed our perceptions of the Neolithic of the Levant. He led the way to a new appreciation of the complexities of Neolithic life, of the "Neolithic Revolution," and of its collapse. Simply put, his work is rewriting the "prehistory book."
     Beyond this, he is renowned as an editor and reviewer, promoting archaeology and anthropology in countless venues. And more than any other individual that most of us know, he reaches out to help his fellow archaeologists, to push for better science and for a better discipline. Well done, Gary! And thank you!

- Leslie Quintero

G. Ernest Wright Publication Award - Larry Herr

     The G. Ernest Wright Award honors "an author or editor of a substantial volume dealing with archaeological material, excavation reports and material culture from the ancient Near East." This year's recipient is Larry Herr, the driving force behind the Madaba Plains Project seasonal report series, of which 5 very substantial volumes have now been published. In particular this award honors Larry for the most recent volume in this series, of which he is both the lead editor and lead author: Madaba Plains Project: The 1994 Season at Tall al 'Umayri and Subsequent Studies, published by Andrews University Press in cooperation with Andrews' Institute of Archaeology.
     As with the other volumes in the series, this fifth volume provides our community of scholars with the sort of substantive reporting of discoveries--including a wealth of tables, plans, drawings and photographs--that cumulative understanding in our discipline depends on. In addition to six chapters presenting the results of each of the five fields being excavated at Tall al 'Umayri, the volume also includes a most welcome series of studies dealing with burial practices, human and animal bone finds, metal objects, inscribed seals, seal impressions, and much more. Previous volumes in the series have also included reports on the hinterland surveys in the vicinity of the site.
     More than any other member of the Madaba Plains Project leadership team, Larry Herr has assured that the tradition of prompt and detailed publishing following each field season that was begun by Siegfried H. Horn and Roger Boraas during the Heshbon Expedition is being carried forward. We can only hope that as associate editor of BASOR, his hand has been strengthened to also champion prompt and detailed publishing of preliminary and final reports within our community of scholars as a whole. May his tribe prosper and grow!

- Øystein LaBianca

Frank Moore Cross Publication Award - Ziony Zevit

     The Frank Moore Cross Award is presented to the author or editor of the most substantial volume(s) related to Near Eastern and Eastern Mediterranean's epigraphy, texts, and/or traditions. The winner of the 2004 Cross prize has written a volume that has done that all that, and more-for this year's award is being given in connection to the recent publication of a book that is no less than monumental.
     Well over a decade in the making, its size and scope and scholarship all place it in a class by itself. Not simply a work of epigraphy, it is also a model of superb interdisciplinary research, both in the materials it examines and in the paradigms it invokes to understand those materials. Its title promises the investigation of a major aspect of ancient Israel; and it delivers that but also much more. Full of original insights and comprehensive beyond imagination, this work deals with an extensive array of data-both textual and archaeological. The sources are deftly presented and critically analyzed; yet the author is refreshingly careful not to overinterpret. Moreover, despite the detailed and complex archaeological and philological arguments, this volume will not be relegated to the arena of arcane and difficult albeit brilliant scholarship. Rather, with ample illustrations (line drawings and photographs), careful explanations, and lucid prose, it is eminently accessible to students and scholars alike. Privileged to see a copy of it in manuscript stage, I immediately added it to the list of required reading for our Duke PhD students even before it was published.
     It is a great pleasure to present the 2004 Frank Moore Cross award to the author of a book that will surely be a classic for generations to come. The book is The Religions of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of Parallactic Approaches; and the author is Professor Ziony Zevit.

- Carol Meyers

W.F. Albright Award (CAARI) - Vathoulla Moustoukki

    There is no need for me to play games tonight and keep people guessing the identity of the person who is about to receive the W.F. Albright Service Award in recognition of special support and outstanding service contributions to the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute. It is an open secret. Anybody who has ever used CAARI will have met and almost all would have been helped by Vathoulla Moustoukki, simply known to many as "Vathy."
    Her devotion to CAARI is legendary, in fact, to many she embodies the very spirit of the Institute: welcoming, helpful and, above all, just plain fun to be with.
    It was a joy for me to see Vathoulla evolve from a simple phone answerer, to Secretary, to Administrative Assistant and de facto Director when I attended the ASOR meetings in the USA or conferences outside Cyprus. As I once said in some report " Presidents, Trustees and Directors come and go, but Vathoulla stays!" Indeed, she has worked for every director since the foundation of CAARI in 1978 which amounts to six Directors and two Assistant Directors.
    We have been fortunate to have Vathoulla working for us - but it does not stop there - we also got her family! How many times has my family and numerous CAARI residents enjoyed "loukmades" (a special type of deep fried Cypriot pastry puff ball) or wonderful feasts in her courtyard prepared by Kyria Anna, her mother, or "kleftico" (lamb grilled on a spit) cooked by her father?
    Nothing is too small, or too big for her to tackle. One Christmas I needed a piglet for a skit we were doing - of course a cousin of Vathoulla's had a pig farm nearby, and off we went to get it. On the way home the CAARI car broke down and I had to hail a taxi for pig and all. No problem, this was Cyprus and the driver did not mind putting the little porker in the boot! Or when we needed a midwife for an event CAARI was preparing on old Cypriot traditions in celebration of Nicosia being nominated as Cultural Capital of Europe for a month. Who could I call upon - Vathoulla of course.    
    A few weeks ago a great compliment was paid to Vathoulla by a recent Director of the Department of Antiquities, who told me that when he needed quick and reliable information on the whereabouts of a foreign archaeologist or researcher working on a Cypriot topic, she was the first person he would contact...
    Vathoulla is not an archaeologist, but she knows how to excavate having periodically worked with me in the field since the 1980s. This is definitely fortunate because she has to excavate her desk every morning to find the phone - locating a pen takes slightly longer!!
    I conclude by reading a letter, one of many, that I received from an eminent scholar who you all know, at least by name: "Dear Stuart: Hope things work out and wish that I could be in San Antonio for the celebration. As with almost everyone who has spent any time at CAARI, Vathoulla always has been and will always remain one of my all time favorite people. She has been the heart and soul of CAARI for as long as I can remember and I do not even want to think about what the Institute would do without her. Regards, Jim Muhly."
    Vathoulla, I present you this award with deep affection, respect and gratitude from me, Laina and literally hundreds of your friends around the world.

- Stuart Swiny

W.F. Albright Award (ACOR) - S. Thomas Parker

    The W. F. Albright Award honors an individual who has shown special support or made outstanding service contributions to one of the overseas centers, or one of the overseas committees. This years' recipient of the Albright Award is S. Thomas Parker. Tom has been a trustee of the American Center for Oriental Research for nearly eighteen years-since 1987. He has served as Second Vice President since 2002.
   To his work on the ACOR board Tom has brought many assets-the most important of which is his knowledge of Jordan, its history and archaeology, and its international community of archaeological practitioners. In this community Tom is held in the highest esteem for his pioneering work on the Limes Arabicus Project and, more recently, the Roman Aqaba Project. In his role as director of both projects, Tom has helped advance best practices-both with regard to fieldwork and publication.
    And it is for this reason that he has been such a valuable asset to the ACOR board. His service has been wide-ranging, to say the least, including serving on numerous sub-committees, screening candidates for directors of ACOR, assisting with fund raising, and advocating on behalf of ACOR to its numerous scholarly and lay constituencies. His contributions over the years have surely been essential to the ACOR story-a story which is surely one of ASOR's great successes.
    But most of all, those of us who have had the privilege of serving with Tom on the board have come to appreciate him as a truly wonderful human being-as someone we have all been able to count on for good conversation, great humor, and yes, a ribald story or two. I am thus delighted to be able to present the W.F. Albright Award to S. Thomas Parker.

Membership Service Award - Jonathan Tubb

     In the beginning, there was Jonathan Tubb. Well, at least for me and many other people involved with ASOR over the past 15 years, Jonathan Tubb's service to the organization has been a constant factor in its success. He has served on many different committees, and is currently a member of the Committee on Publications. However, I first got to know him as part of the Program Committee back in the days when ASOR still held its annual meeting in conjunction with SBL/AAR.
    Of course, at that point email was not as ubiquitous a medium of information sharing as it is today and we often found ourselves relying on faxes and even overseas phone calls to communicate about the "program-in-the-making." Rap ups after the meeting usually consisted of sitting in a hotel lounge for a joint support session (I particularly remember the one in New Orleans since the meeting rooms in the antiquated hotel where we were meeting were too few and too small).
     I find it incredible, given our much smoother process today, that we were ever able to get it together. And yet, it always did, and Jonathan was the driving force behind it. I know from personal experience that organizing the program units, and coordinating meeting space and a-v requirements was also the source of many headaches, anxiety attacks, and suppressed desires to run screaming into the night, but that would not be appropriate for someone who always kept his cool and modeled the professional attitude we needed to get the job done well.
    Jonathan is richly deserving of this honor and I am pleased that the membership has chosen to recognize his many years of service to ASOR.

- Victor Matthews

Membership Service Award - Albert Leonard, Jr.

     My acquaintance with Albert Leonard goes back to the long ago days of Gezer, where he was an Area Supervisor in the late 1960s. Al received a B.A. degree from Boston University under Emily Vermeule; an M.A. from the University of Chicago, with thesis director R. S. Scranton; and his Ph.D. in 1976 from the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, in part guided by Helene Kantor.
    Professor Leonard has held teaching posts at the University of Minnesota, University of Missouri, Visiting Professor at Berkeley, and since 1985 has been teaching in the Department of Classics, Near Eastern Studies and the Department of Anthropology of the University of Arizona, where he is at the present.
    Al has directed too many excavations to list them all. They include Larnaca and Kourion in Cyprus; Naukratis in Egypt; Kataret es-Samra, Jerash, and 'Ain Ghazal in Jordan; and other excavations in Portugal, Italy and Greece.
    The publications, both books and articles, that Al has written take over six pages in his curriculum vitae, the most important being his three volumes on Ancient Naukratis.
    We are especially honoring Al for the service that he has rendered to the American Schools of Oriental Research over the years. To list the positions Al has filled for ASOR would be very long. He has been Book Review Editor for BASOR; co-editor for BASOR; and Publications Chair of the ASOR for nearly ten years, overseeing the many publications of ASOR that are familiar to all of you.
    One must mention Al's zest for life, his engaging personality, his knowledge of wine and cooking, his love of travel and adventure. I myself took a cooking class last year from Al on the food served in ancient Egypt, based on studying foods in the Egyptian tombs. At least as envisioned by Al, the food was delicious.
    It is with great pleasure that I announce that the ASOR Service Award of 2004 is being given to Albert Leonard, Jr. We are sorry that Al cannot be with us tonight but know he will be pleased with this recognition of his many accomplishments.

Special Recognition Award - Elizabeth Stone

     The recipient of this award has an international reputation as a scholar. Fighting to protect the cultural treasures of Iraq, she has been outspoken about the shameful looting of the Baghdad Museum and archaeological sites. Beyond this, for ten weeks during the 2004 summer, she held classes for 55 Iraqi professionals from the Iraq Museum, Baghdad, Qadisiya and Mosul Universities with lectures and workshops encompassing subjects from remote sensing, cuneiform, and digital photography to database management. Weekly lectures by Iraqi and Jordanian archaeologists and field trips to Jordanian sites were supplemented by international scholars' lectures. She empowered Iraqi archaeologists by conducting a program with a broad-based spectrum of subjects with a technological infrastructure. These extraordinary efforts involved her soliciting financial support, committed vision, personal time and expertise, and the relentless drive to design an educational program with a multi-disciplinary infrastructure including historic, environmental, cultural and socio-economic issues. With this holistic approach to archaeology, she conveyed a passionate commitment to the discipline and to the preservation of the past.
    Today it is my great privilege and pleasure to honor a person with a passion for teaching and research. Elizabeth Stone an outstanding archaeologist, research scientist and educator. The American Schools of Oriental Research wishes to commend Elizabeth for her significant service to the profession and honor her with this special ASOR Recognition Award. If there is to be a future for our past, Elizabeth, you, have set an example and brought us all hope.

- Martha Sharp Joukowsky

Special Recognition Award - Dick Ballou

     It is a distinct privilege for me to present this special ASOR Recognition Award to Dick Ballou, recently retired Development Officer at Brown University. I became personally acquainted with Dick nearly one year ago when, through contacts with Artie and Martha Joukowsky, he invited me to his home in Providence and I later asked him to visit the Boston Office in order to assist ASOR in its quest to enlarge and enhance its fund-raising capacity, particularly by helping us plan toward establishing a Development Director position in ASOR.
    On his own time, he would board a bus in Providence, then a taxi on a smattering of Tuesdays throughout the spring, summer and fall. We at headquarters now refer to many Tuesdays as Ballou Days, days filled with discussions about ASOR and its potential.
    Always the consummate gentle person, Dick brought with him a wealth of background and information gained from decades of successful fund-raising, particularly at the Coastguard Foundation and Brown University. Advice rolled off his lips as we gathered around the ASOR Conference Room table, taking notes like crazy.
     Never one to give free advice, he always exacted a price - our accountability to act on what we covered. Because of his consultations and personal involvement in ASOR's challenges to rise to a new level of fiscal enhancement, we have imagined, systematically planned and hope soon to realize our goals of creating a new position for ASOR, that of Development Director. All is now in place, except for one third of the external funding support.
     For this advance in ASOR's strategic planning, we owe Dick Ballou a tent full of gratitude. His considerable expertise, dispensed graciously and generously, has allowed us to dream new dreams about ASOR's future and has brought us to the verge of notching ASOR up for the challenges lying ahead.
    With appreciation and affection, we award to Dick Ballou this special ASOR Recognition Award.

- Douglas Clark