September 15, 2011 Deadline for registration & receipt of abstract
(flight and hotel information is required by this time if you need the entry VISA)

Auditorium at the National Museum of Nature and Science
Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan
http://www.kahaku.go.jp/english/

• November 26 (Sat): Registration, Public lecture, Welcome reception
• November 27 (Sun): APA oral and poster sessions, APA board meeting
• November 28 (Mon): Field trip
• November 29 (Tue): Symposium Day 1 (oral session)
• November 30 (Wed): Symposium Day 2 (oral and poster sessions)
• December 1 (Thu): Symposium Day 3 (oral session), Farewell party

http://www.kahaku.go.jp/english/event/2011/06sympo/ (English)
http://www.kahaku.go.jp/event/2011/06sympo/ (Japanese)

English

Secretariat for the Dual Symposia

Dear colleagues and guests:
We are pleased to announce that 4^th Annual Meeting of the Asian Palaeolithic Association (APA) will be held on November 26 and 27, at the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo. The APA was established in 2008. It is currently organized by, in alphabetical order, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Russian Palaeolithic organizations.

Recent Progress of Palaeolithic Research in Asia Subtopics are as follows:
1. Palaeoenvironment and humans in Pleistocene
2. Behavioral Strategy and lithic technology
3. Paleontological and Paleoanthropological Research
4. Emergence and diversity of modern human behavior

Chair

Akira Ono (Meiji University)

Secretary General

Miho Suzuki (Meiji University)

Committee Members

Kaoru Akoshima (Tohoku University)
Masami Izuho (Tokyo Metropolitan University)
Yousuke Kaifu (National Museum of Nature and Science, Japan)
Shinji Kato (Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties)
Eiji Miyata (JPRA)
Atsushi Noguchi (Meiji University)
Hiroyuki Sato (The University of Tokyo)
Jun Suwama (Odawara City)

Secretaries

Seiji Kadowaki (Nagoya University)
Takuya Yamaoka (Tokyo Metropolitan University)

Dear colleagues and guests:
We cordially invite you to the Symposium on Emergence and Diversity of Modern Human Behavior in Palaeolithic Asia

Yousuke Kaifu (National Museum of Nature and Science, Japan)
Masami Izuho (Tokyo Metropolitan University, Japan)
Akira Ono (Meiji University, Japan)
Hiroyuki Sato (The University of Tokyo, Japan)
Ted Goebel (Center for the Study of the First Americans, Texas A&M University, USA)

 The origin and nature of modern human behavior have been one of the most important topics of human evolutionary studies in recent years. At present, a substantial part of the contribution to this question comes from studies in Europe and Africa (Mellars et al., 2007; Klein, 2009). However, recent studies emphasize regionally variable expression of Palaeolithic modern human behavior, and the definition of behavioral modernity is also debated (Henshilwood and Marean, 2003). In this context, it is essential to further document the evidence of modern human behavior from the other regions of the world. Eastern Asia is a vast terrain and was a stepping stone to the Sahul, the Americas, and the Pacific islands. The aim of the present conference is to gather and synthesize information from this important region. Except for some attempts (Kaifu, 2005; Barker et al., 2007; Habgood and Franklin, 2008; Norton and Jin, 2009), discussion of modern human behavior in these regions has so far been rare. However, this is not necessarily because of the lack of studies and evidence but partly due to the lack of attention and, more importantly, the language barrier between English-speaking and non-English-speaking communities. We expect that the conference would be the place to learn what is already known and not known in the region, and to plan effective research strategies for the future. The region to be covered during the conference includes Siberia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, India, and Australia, and major topics are as follows:

1. Palaeoenvironment in the late Pleistocene.
2. Skeletal and genetic evidence of dispersal and migration of modern humans.
3. Archaeological records of modern human behavior.
4. Definition of modern human behavior.

Day I

Keynote speeches: Palaeolithic modern human behavior from global perspectives
Session 1: Palaeoenvironment, dispersal and migration

Day II

Session 2 :Modern human behavior in North and East Asia
Poster session

Day III

Session 3: Modern human behavior in South and Southeast Asia
Session 4: Modern human behavior in Wallacea and Sahul

title	updated date	file size	file type	Download
Program of the DUAL SYMPOSIA (tentative)	17th Aug.2011	78.3KB	PDF

A) APA meeting

The APA meeting offers the opportunity to deliver presentations in a poster or in a podium format, with an oral presentation limited to 15 minutes. Authors must state their mode of delivery preference for their presentation in the abstract. All abstracts are read by members of the Program Committee chaired by Akira Ono. The maximum number of oral presentation will be around 16. The committee may recommend some participants to change from oral to poster presentation in case we have too many requests for the former.

B) Modern Human Behavior Symposium

Oral presentations in the symposium is limited to about 40 invited speakers due to time constraints, but there will be room for poster presentation of other participants. We also welcome those researchers who would like to join the audience and participate in discussions.

Contributed posters will be held during the Symposium and APA meeting. Each poster should not exceed the size of 84 cm wide and 120 cm high. Poster mounting materials will be provided.

Please prepare your abstract according to the instruction below on a MS-Word file, and e-mail it to the following address by September 15, 2011.
Mrs. Junko Nikkawa (Secretariat for the Dual Symposia)
junko_nikkawa@99.catv-yokohama.ne.jp

• Abstracts will be accepted only from delegates who have submitted their registration form.
• Use a template available from here(Word file) and prepare your abstract accordingly on a MS-Word file. Do not modify the format of this template because we print your submitted files directly without further editing.
• The abstract should not be longer than one sheet of A4 sized paper (including titles, names, etc.).
• The abstract must be in English and include the title, authors' names, affiliations and e-mail addresses. You can include figures or tables directly in your abstract file as far as the space allows.
• Please indicate at the end of your abstract file if you intend to submit a paper in the APA meeting oral session, the APA meeting poster session, or Modern Human Behavior Symposium poster session.

One-day filed trip is planned on Monday, November 28. The destination will be the Mt. Fuji area where a number of Palaeolithic sites are known in the thick eolian deposit with well-stratified tephra layers.

JPY 10,000 per person. This includes transportation, lunch, and dinner. The fee will be collected on site at the registration desk. Please note that we only accept cash in Japanese Yen.

Please download the registration form from here (Word file).

Fill out the Registration Form and submit it by e-mail to the Secretariat for the Dual Symposia (junko_nikkawa@99.catv-yokohama.ne.jp) by September 15, 2011. All participants and accompanying persons must register.

Payment of registration fees should be made in Japanese Yen. Please note that we only accept cash. Credit cards or checks will not be accepted.

APA meeting

JPY 5,000 per person. For those who attend the APA meeting only.

Modern human behavior symposium + APA meeting

JPY 15,000 per person. For those who attend the symposium, irrespective of he/she attends the APA meeting or not.

The registration desk will be located on the ground floor of the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo. Registration packages, final program details, abstracts, name tags, and field trip tickets will be distributed at the registration desk. You will be required to attach your name tag when entering the symposium venue.

Opening hours (provisional)

November 26 (Sat) 10:00-17:00	November 29 (Tue) 8:30-17:00
November 27 (Sun) 8:30-17:00	November 30 (Wed) 8:30-17:00
November 28 (Mon) closed	December 1 (Thu) 8:30-12:00

Hotel discount information to be informed later.

Visitors from all nations are welcome to Japan but must have a passport that is valid for at least six months after the arrival date. For visitors from many countries a visa is also required. Please consult your travel agent or a Japanese Embassy well in advance regarding visa requirements. You can check your status at:
http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/

Upon request, the Symposium manager will send a personal invitation to participate in the Dual Symposia. Such an invitation does not represent a commitment on the part of the organizers to provide any financial support.

The Organizers and Secretariat for the Dual Symposia cannot accept liability for personal accidents, nor loss of or damage to private property of participants, either during or directly arising from the Dual Symposia. Participants should make their own arrangements with respect to health and travel insurance.

Public Lecture for citizens (with Japanese translation)
Saturday, November 26 13:30-16:30
1. Prof. Sir. Paul Mellars (University of Cambridge)
2. Prof. Mikhail V. Shunkov (Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences)

APA Board Meeting
Sunday, November 27 18:00-19:00

We hope that participants will enjoy an exhibition presenting the world-wide dispersals of modern humans at the National Museum of Nature and Science, which opened in 2005.

To be informed later.