October 2019

The 9th International Conference on
the PPN Chipped and Ground Stone Industries of the Near EastTokyo, November 12–16, 2019

FOURTH CIRCULAR
We are very pleased to distribute the fourth circular for the PPN9, which will be held in Tokyo
this November. There will be more than 90 registered participants, including accompanied
persons, from 17 different countries and regions. As organizers, we once again appreciate yourinterest in this conference and look forward to having lively and social interactions with you inTokyo.
VenuesKoshiba Hall (Hongo Campus, University of Tokyo)
Koshiba Hall, Faculty of Science Bldg. 1, Hongo Campus is the main venue where most of thesessions will be held. Registrations will also be carried out here.
Map: https://www.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/map/map01.html
INTERMEDIATHEQUE (IMT, JP Tower)
The closing session will be held on November 15 at the INTERMEDIATHEQUE, one of thesatellite facilities of the University Museum, University of Tokyo. After the early afternoon
session at Koshiba Hall on November 15, the participants will be requested to move here by taking
a metro (Marunouchi subway line) from the Hongo-Sanchome station to the Tokyo station.
Webpage: http://www.intermediatheque.jp/en
It is here that a lecture will be given on the Japanese "Neolithic" from a Levantine perspective, as
an introduction to the post-conference excursion.
Wi-Fi
At the Koshiba Hall and several public places on the Hongo campus, eduroam will be available.
Free wi-fi will be accessible at the IMT. Guest account IDs with a password will be issued at theregistration desk to those without an eduroam account.
Registration
All registered participants will receive conference goods from the registration desk at theKoshiba Hall. The desk will be open from November 12–14 between 09:20 and 18:00 hours.
Although registration for the conference is already closed, we will allow a small number of ourcolleagues in Japan, including students, to attend the lecture and poster sessions. Theirregistration desk will be set up separately.
ProgramPlease find attached with this circular a summary time table and preliminary program for theworkshop. It includes information on the oral and poster sessions, stone knapping demonstration,1

hands-on exhibition, opening and closing sessions, and social events. As the program shows,scientific reports cover a wide range of subjects from regional surveys of the most recent
discoveries (Cyprus, Levant, Zagros, Anatolia, Caucasus, and even beyond), technologicalapproaches, micro-wear studies, ground stone research, and provenance analyses of the Neolithic
lithic assemblages. Changes in the program, if any, will be announced on the conference’swebpage.
Presentation guideline
LectureDue to the large volume of presentations, each oral presentation will be strictly limited to 20
minutes (15-min. talk and 5-min. for discussion). A Windows computer is available at the venue
for this. Those presenting are requested to hand over their slide data well in advance of theirsession. Those presenting in the morning session on November 12 are requested to provide theirdata to the organizers at the registration desk.
PosterPosters must be within the A0 size maximum in the vertical position and must be submitted
upon arrival at the registration desk. The posters will be exhibited until 12:00 hours on
November 15. They can be collected between 12:00 and 15:00 hours on the same day.
Otherwise, the posters will be disposed of.
All the poster presenters are requested to make presentations next to their posters between
12:40 to 13:20 hours on November 13.
Hands-on of lithic artifacts
We will organize a Hands-on session between 18:00 and 19:00 hours on November 14. During
this session, selected lithic artifacts from Neolithic sites excavated by Japanese teams in the Near
East and other regions including Japan will be exhibited in the conference room.
Stone knapping demonstration
The focus of this session, held along with the Hands-on session on November 14, is pressure
debitage for blade production. This served as a fundamental technological basis not only for theNeolithic communities in the east wing of the Fertile Crescent but also in the Upper Paleolithic
regions of Northeast Asia including the Japanese Archipelago. The demonstrations, organized by
Kats Ohnuma, Kokushikan University, include hand-held, crutch, chest, and lever pressure.
Anyone who wishes to join in is welcome.
Excursion
The post-conference excursion on November 16 is a day trip from the University campus to thewestern suburbs of Tokyo, the Yamanashi Prefecture. Located at the foothills of Mt. Fuji,
Yamanashi is known to have fostered Jomon communities’ adaptation to the mountainous
environment and has a rich history related to this symbolic mountain of Japan. Our plan is to visit
museums and tourist spots in this picturesque region, which will include:
Yamanashi Prefecture Archaeological Museum (https://www.pref.yamanashi.jp/kouko-hak/),Fujisan Museum (http://www.fy-museum.jp/forms/top/top.aspx), andOshino Hakkai (http://oshino.jp.e.nz.hp.transer.com/spot_8lakes.php).
The tour is expected to commence at 09:00 am and end at 19:00 pm, but the schedule of the busexcursion will depend on the weather, travel conditions, and other such factors.

2Social events
The registered participants and the people accompanying them are cordially invited to thewelcome and farewell dinners. The welcome dinner on November 12 will be held at a Japanesepub, izakaya, near the university campus and the farewell dinner on November 15 at a modern
restaurant near the INTERMEDIATHEQUE.
Please go through the above information carefully to plan your travel and stay in Tokyo, likewise.
However, inquiries will be always welcome. Whenever you have something unclear, please do
not hesitate to contact the organizing committee.

Faithfully yours,Yoshihiro Nishiaki
Makoto Arimura
Sumio Fujii
Osamu Maeda
The Organizing Committee
Masashi Abe (Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties), Chie Akashi(University of Tokyo), Makoto Arimura (Tokai University), Sumio Fujii (Kanazawa University),
Seiji Kadowaki (Nagoya University), Osamu Maeda (University of Tsukuba), Yoshihiro Nishiaki(University of Tokyo), Takahiro Odaka (University of Tokyo).

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