Second CircularInternational Obsidian Conference (IOC)Engaru 2023, 3–6 July
Engaru Metro Plaza, Engaru Town, Hokkaido, Japan(https://engaru-metroplaza.jp/)
Official website in English: https://sites.google.com/view/iocengaru2023/home
Overviews in Japanese/English: http://geopark.engaru.jp/ioc2023/
Greetings: We invite those interested in all aspects of obsidian studies, from natural sciences toarchaeology, to IOC Engaru 2023. We hope to maintain a global scope by highlighting obsidianstudies throughout Northeast Asia at the conference. In addition, we will focus on geological
heritage studies with regard to the development of public education and tourism in rural areas.
Finally, we hope this conference will promote transdisciplinary obsidian studies and sustain ourcommunities.
n

Engaru Town and Shirataki Geopark•

Engaru Town is in Eastern Hokkaido, Japan. Participants can reach Engaru Town by train
from New Chitose Airport (CTS) via Sapporo and Asahikawa. The journey takes about five
hours. For more information, see the following websites.

•²

Engaru Town (https://engaru.jp/information/page.php?id=224)²

New Chitose Airport (https://www.new-chitose-airport.jp/en/)

The mean daily temperature in Engaru Town during early July is about 20°C, with apossibility of cold nights.

•

Shirataki Geopark is a National Geopark that includes the Shirataki obsidian source andUpper Paleolithic sites of geological and archaeological significance, distributed mainly
within Engaru Town. For detailed information on Engaru Town and Shirataki Geopark,see the following files and websites.
²

http://geopark.engaru.jp/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/SHIRATAKI-GEOPARK-GUIDEBOOK2009.pdf²

http://geopark.engaru.jp/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/The-Shirataki-GeoparkProject2009.pdf²

Engaru Town (https://engaru.jp)²

Shirataki Geopark (http://geopark.engaru.jp/)

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n

Visas

•

If you require a visa to visit Japan, please inform the Contact Persons as soon as possible.
²

Visa requirements for Japan can be found at https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/index.html.

Locations of Engaru Town in Hokkaido and Engaru Metro Plaza (venue)nConference Sessions

1.

Formation of obsidian2.

Obsidian sources and their characterization

3.

Analytical methods and databases of obsidian data

4.

Cultural aspects of obsidian during different archaeological periods

5.

Lithic technology and traceological studies

6.

Regional development in relation to geological heritage and archaeological obsidiannConference Format•

IOC Engaru 2023 will be held in a hybrid format as scheduled.

•

The official language of the conference is English.

•

Oral presentations will be both onsite and online; poster presentations will be onsite.

•

Conference participants can select their presentation style, either oral or poster. Online
presentations are oral only. Conference Session 6 is poster presentations only.

•

We request that online presenters send video files in advance.

Presentation guidelines•

Abstracts must not exceed 300 words (excluding title and author affiliations).

•

All abstracts accepted for presentation will be published in the Program and Abstract Book
and posted on the official website.

•

Oral presentations are limited to 15 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of discussion.
Presenters are asked to use a standard PowerPoint presentation format.

•

Posters should be in portrait format and must not exceed A0 paper size. Presenters will
present a summary at the beginning of the Poster Sessions on Day 1.
2nSchedule

Day 0: Sunday, 2 July 2023
15:00–17:30

Conference registration

Engaru Metro Plaza

17:00–19:00

Obsidian knapping workshop

Engaru Metro Plaza

19:00–20:00

Ice-breaker gathering

Engaru Town

9:00–15:00

Opening ceremony, Keynote
lecture, and General sessions

Engaru Metro Plaza

15:30–17:30

Poster sessions

Engaru Metro Plaza

18:30–20:30

Mayor’s reception

Engaru Town

9:00–17:00

General sessions

Engaru Metro Plaza

18:00–19:30

Public lecture

Engaru Metro Plaza

8:20–16:00

Excursion

Field trip and Museum Tourin Shirataki

17:30–19:30

Conference dinner

Shirataki Geopark Center

9:00–17:00

General sessions

Engaru Metro Plaza

17:00–17:30

Closing ceremony

Engaru Metro Plaza

Post-conference excursion

Field trip in Shirataki

Day 1: Monday, 3 July 2023

Day 2: Tuesday, 4 July 2023

Day 3: Wednesday, 5 July 2023

Day 4: Thursday, 6 July 2023

Optional: Friday, 7 July 2023

8:20–13:30
nFees
Categories

Fees*Registration for onsite participants:
ØRegular presenters (both oral and poster)

20,000 JPY

ØAttendees not presenting a paper or poster (non-presenters)

10,000 JPY

ØStudents (presenters and non-presenters)

10,000 JPY

ØAccompanying persons with presenters or non-presenters

10,000 JPY

Registration for all online participants

3,000 JPY**Post-conference excursion (optional)

1,000 JPY

*Registration fees for onsite participants include the costs of the excursion on Day 3, the icebreaker gathering, the Mayor’s reception, and the Conference dinner.
**Register for the post-conference excursion using Form A or C (see Registration Forms,
Payments, and Deadlines for more information).
3Registration Forms, Payments, and Deadlines•

Online registration (Forms A to C) is now available on the Official website for IOC Engaru
2023.

•

Register accompanying persons using Form A (for presenters) or C (for non-presenters).

•

We use Google Forms for registrations. If you cannot use the Google system, please
complete the forms in Excel format available from the following website,²

https://1drv.ms/u/s!As2QeUP1f9efq1EadlIjxMC6gQmq?e=1pbFdM

and submit them to Contact Persons by email.
•

There are few hotels in Engaru Town and we will accept booking requests for conference
participants (Check in 2 July; Check out 7 July).

•

An online payment system will be available until 1 May 2023. Further information will beavailable in due course.
Categories

Forms

Deadlines

Registration for presenters

Form A

17:00 JST, 1 January 2023

Submission of abstracts

Form B

17:00 JST, 1 March 2023

Registration for attendees notpresenting a paper or poster

Form C

17:00 JST, 1 May 2023

*Submission of video files for oralpresentations by online participantsUpload

17:00 JST, 15 June 2023

Payment of conference fees

In preparation

17:00 JST, 15 June 2023

Payment of accommodation fees

In preparation

17:00 JST, 15 June 2023

*We request that online presenters submit pre-recorded video files in advance. Please use theMP4 file format and upload files on Google Forms as indicated above. If you cannot use theGoogle system, send the files to the contact person using any bulk file transfer system.

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nExcursions•

We will visit obsidian sources in Shirataki and the Shirataki Geopark Center, as shown on
the following website.
²•

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1CSJs5dN25IyZQSZcpxsnXcLNRjQvfFOb&usp=sharing

The local organizing committee has special permission from the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry, and Fisheries, Japan, for obsidian sampling of one plastic bag per person at asingle location. Please state that the sample was collected during the IOC Engaru 2023
excursion when publishing any related data.

•

Lunchboxes and drinks will be provided for participants during and after excursions at no
extra cost.

Day excursion during the conference (Day 3): Wednesday, 5 July 2023

8:20

Departure

Parking place (Engaru Metro Plaza)

9:00–10:00

Briefing

Shirataki Geopark Center

10:30–11:30

Hachigo-sawa outcrop(43.93956N 143.12317E)

12:00–13:30

Mt. Akaishi (West Atelier)
Mt. Akaishi (East Atelier)Lunch(43.94148N 143.13543E)(43.93885N 143.13924E)

14:30–15:30

Tokachi-ishizawa River(43.89848N 143.15906E)

16:00–16:30

Break

Shirataki Geopark Center

16:30–17:30

Museum Tour

Shirataki Geopark Center

17:30–19:30

Conference Dinner

Shirataki Geopark Center

20:00

ReturnEngaru Metro Plaza

Optional post-conference excursion, Friday, 7 July 2023

8:20

*Departure

Parking place (Engaru Metro Plaza)

9:30–11:30

Ajisai-no-taki Fall outcrop(43.94098N 143.15689E)

12:00–13:00

Lunch

Shirataki Geopark Center

13:30*Return

Engaru Metro Plaza*Attendees of the Post-conference excursion may leave their luggage in the Engaru Metro Plaza
during the excursion. We will return to the Engaru Metro Plaza at 13:30 for the departure of
express trains bound for JR Sapporo station: 14:24 Engaru–16:19 Asahikawa (Daisetsu No. 4)
and 16:30 Asahikawa–17:55 Sapporo (Lilac No. 34).

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MembersnContact Persons²

Prof. Akira Ono (ono@tmu.ac.jp)²

Dr. Yoshimitsu Suda (geosuda@nagasaki-u.ac.jp)²

Mr. Yoshifumi Matsumura (y.matsumura@engaru.jp)n

IOC Scientific Committee²

Katalin T. Biró — Hungarian National Museum, Budapest, Hungary²

Michael D. Glascock — University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA²

Yaroslav V. Kuzmin — Institute of Geology & Mineralogy, Siberian Branch of the Russian
Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia²

François-Xavier Le Bourdonnec — University Bordeaux Montaigne, Pessac, France²

Jaroslav Lexa — Earth Sciences Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava,
Slovakia²

András Markó — Hungarian National Museum, Budapest, Hungary²

Akira Ono — Professor Emeritus of Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan²

Robin Torrence — Australian Museum, Sydney, Australia²

Robert Tykot — University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA²

Andrea Vianello — University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USAnLocal Organizing Committee for IOC Engaru 2023²

Akira Ono (Chairperson) — Professor Emeritus of Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo,
Japan

²

Yoshimitsu Suda (Contact Person) — Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan²

Yoshifumi Matsumura (Secretariat) — Engaru Town Office, Hokkaido, Japan²

Jun Hashizume — Niigata Prefectural Museum of History, Niigata, Japan²

Nobuyuki Ikeya — Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan²

Makoto Kumagai — Geo. Labo Co., Ltd., Engaru, Hokkaido, Japan²

Kyohei Sano — University of Hyogo, Hyogo, Japan²

Kazutaka Shimada — Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan²

Katsunori Takase — Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan²

Keiji Wada — Professor Emeritus of Hokkaido University of Education, Hokkaido, Japan²

Satoru Yamada — Kitami City Board of Education, Hokkaido, Japan

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Application forms and submissionsnForm A

Registration for presenters (Deadline: 17:00 JST, 1 January 2023)
ØAccess Form A via the following link (Google Forms)²

https://forms.gle/mX2MjgvgvvQzkMx47

The items in the form begin with your email address and end with Submit, after submission,
you will receive a confirmation email.
ØEmail addressØName (Given name, Middle name, Family name)

Ø

Title

Ø

Gender (optional)£ Male£ FemaleØ

NationalityØAffiliation (Department, Institution, Position/Grade)ØInstitution or home address (Street address, City, Region, Postal/Zip code, Country)Ø

Telephone number (Office/Home/Mobile)ØParticipation mode (select either mode)£ OnsiteØ£ Online

Post-conference excursion for onsite participants (optional, fee ¥1,000)£ I will attend£ I will not attend

ØStudent registration (please enter your student ID number)ØHotel booking in Engaru Town (Check in 2 July; Check out 7 July)£ RequiredØ£ Not required

Registration of accompanying person(s): Name, hotel booking, room requests, attendanceof excursions, conference dinner, and receptions.

Ø

Any special request(s)ØPresentation session (select one session: R)Ø£

1. Formation of obsidian£

2. Obsidian sources and their characterization£

3. Analytical methods and databases of obsidian data£

4. Cultural aspects of obsidian during different archaeological periods£

5. Lithic technology and traceological studies£

6. Regional development in relation to geological heritage and archaeological obsidian

Presentation type (Online presentations are oral only; Conference Session 6 is poster
presentations only.)£ OralØ£ Poster

Tentative paper title and author(s)7nForm B

Submission of abstracts for presenters (Deadline: 17:00 JST, 1 March, 2023)
ØAccess Form B via the following link (Google Forms)²

https://forms.gle/6k2NcQPEd6Pv8MML6

The items in the form begin with your email address and end with Submit, after submission,
you will receive a confirmation email.
ØEmail addressØName (Given name, Middle name, Family name)ØParticipation mode (select either mode)£ Onsite£ OnlineØ

Presentation session (select one session: R)£

1. Formation of obsidian£

2. Obsidian sources and their characterization£

3. Analytical methods and databases of obsidian data£

4. Cultural aspects of obsidian during different archaeological periods£

5. Lithic technology and traceological studies£

6. Regional development in relation to geological heritage and archaeological obsidianØ

Presentation type (Online presentations are oral only; Conference Session 6 is poster
presentations only.)£ Oral£ PosterØPaper titleØ

Author(s): Given name, Middle name, Family name, and AffiliationØ

Abstract (300 words maximum): All abstracts accepted for presentation will be publishedin the book and on the website.

nForm C

Registration for attendees not presenting a paper or poster (Deadline: 17:00 JST, 1 May)
Ø

Access Form C via the following link (Google Forms)²

https://forms.gle/pghNTash5PXFhBQRA

The items in the form begin with your email address and end with Submit, after submission,
you will receive a confirmation email.
ØEmail addressØName (Given name, Middle name, Family name)

Ø

Title

Ø

Gender (optional)
8£ Male£ FemaleØ

NationalityØAffiliation (Department, Institution, Position/Grade)ØInstitution or home address (Street address, City, Region, Postal/Zip code, Country)Ø

Telephone number (Office/Home/Mobile)ØParticipation mode (select either mode)£ OnsiteØ£ Online

Post-conference excursion for onsite participants (optional, fee ¥1,000)£ I will attend£ I will not attend

ØStudent registration (please enter your student ID number)ØHotel booking in Engaru Town (Check in 2 July; Check out 7 July)£ RequiredØ£ Not required

Registration of accompanying person(s): Name, hotel booking, room requests, attendanceof excursions, conference dinner, and receptions.

Ø

Any special request(s)nSubmission of video files for online presenters

Upload your pre-recorded video file (Deadline: 17:00 JST, 15 June 2023)
Ø

Use the following link to upload your pre-recorded video file (Google Forms)²

https://forms.gle/rhB6MuWnNX6GgCc37

The items in the form begin with your email address and end with Submit, after submission,
you will receive a confirmation email.
ØEmail addressØName (Given name, Middle name, Family name)Ø

Presentation session (select one session: R)£

1. Formation of obsidian£

2. Obsidian sources and their characterization£

3. Analytical methods and databases of obsidian data£

4. Cultural aspects of obsidian during different archaeological periods£

5. Lithic technology and traceological studies

Ø

Upload your video file (MP4 format only; maximum file size 1GB).

9