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

FIRST CIRCULAR

We are very pleased to announce that the 9th International Conference of thePre-Pottery Neolithic Chipped and Ground Stone Industries of the Near East (PPN9)
will be held in Tokyo from November 12 to 16, 2019. The conference will be hosted at
the University Museum, the University of Tokyo. This workshop series has enjoyed aconsiderable development since the first one in Berlin, in 1994, organized by theinitiative of Hans Georg K. Gebel and Stefan K. Kozlowski, and it is now one of themost important international meetings for Neolithic archaeologists of the Near East. It is
our great honor to organize this meeting for the first time in East Asia, a region far fromthe Near East but with a research community on this subject.
As in the previous meetings, the PPN9-Tokyo aims to provide a forum to bring together
the latest studies of the Near Eastern Neolithic from lithic perspectives, based on fielddiscoveries, material analyses, theoretical considerations, and so on. At the same time,
partly reflecting a general research trend, the geographic location of the venue, and theorganizers' interest, we plan to hold a session focusing on the Neolithization of theregions situated to the east of the Near East, like the Zagros and Central Asia. There has
been a recent trend of increasing research on the regions beyond the Levant, an example
being the very successful PPN8 in Cyprus, which focused on the Neolithization of theislands. Whatever the cause, the trend undoubtedly contributes in turn to the Neolithic
research in the Levant, the core region of important socio-economic transformation, as
well as to interpreting the Neolithic of the Near East from a more balanced perspective.
Including this special session, the possible sessions of the PPN9-Tokyo would consist ofthe following. Proposals for more are very welcome so long as they are concerned withlithic analysis:- Post-chaîne opératoire approaches to the Neolithic lithic analyses- Cultural and social dynamism in the Neolithic- Neolithization processes in the Fertile Crescent and Beyond- Introduction and development of pressure debitage in the Neolithic- New discoveries from recent fieldwork- Others

The conference will include an excursion (November 16, Saturday) to museums andarchaeological sites, as well as a hands-on session of examining the Near Eastern
Neolithic materials that have been excavated by Japanese teams. All those who wish toparticipate in the PPN9 are kindly requested to fill in the pre-registration form before
November 30, 2018 athttps://goo.gl/forms/vNt5AIMoHUFMB0ys2
The form, asking for your personal information, a provisional title of your oral or poster
presentation if any, and accommodation requests, will allow us to draft a preliminary
program and a financial plan.
You shall hear from us soon after regarding the acceptance of oral and poster
presentations, and a formal call for abstracts will be announced. Information about
conference fees, social events, and details about the venue will also be posted in thenext circular, February 2019. For further information, please contact the organizing
committee at
ppn9tokyo@gmail.com
Please feel free to forward this invitation to any colleagues you think may be interestedin.
We cordially look forward to your positive responses.

Faithfully yours,

Yoshihiro Nishiaki
Makoto Arimura
Sumio Fujii
Osamu Maeda
The Organizing Committee
Masashi Abe (Tokyo National Institute of Cultural Properties), Chie Akashi (TheUniversity of Tokyo), Makoto Arimura (Tokai University), Sumio Fujii (KanazawaUniversity), Seiji Kadowaki (Nagoya University), Osamu Maeda (University ofTsukuba), Yoshihiro Nishiaki (The University of Tokyo), Takahiro Odaka (TheUniversity of Tokyo)