World Archaeology Congress (WAC) Inter-Congress Osaka 2006
12–15 January 2006

General title of the Congress “Kyousei-no-Koukogaku: Coexistence in the Past? Dialogues in the Present”. It included 23 sessions structured in three main themes:

1) Coexistence in the Past;
2) “Variation” and “Symbiosis”;
3) Heritage, Archaeology and the Public.

Lorenc Bejko of the ARAU participated in the session organized by Dr. Simon Kaner “Transcendental representations: tradition, iconoclasm and symbiosis in representations of humans and animals forms.” This session has addressed a number of contemporary approaches to the study of representation, particularly of human and animal forms. Evidence from distant cultural areas such as Jomon and Yayoi in Japan, Neolithic Albania and Iberian Rock Art brought together some interestingly similar processes where anthropomorphic and zoomorphic representations were seen as expressions of changing identities among those who make, use, discard and destroy such images.

Papers presented and discussed included:

Simon Kaner:   “Creativity and duplicity in the representation of humans and animals.”

Ines Domingo:  “Continuity and change in Levantine Rock Art through the study of human figures.”

Jane Oksbjerg:  “Cosmological degeneration in Yayoi two-dimensional art iconoclasm in the late Middle Yayoi.”

Lorenc Bejko:  “Neolithic terracotta figurines from Albania.”

Elisa Ferroni : “Body modifications and Jomon figurines.”

Ilona Bausch:  “Middle Jomon clay figurines in central Japan: fragmentation and sharing practices.”

During their visit in Japan Dr. Simon Kaner and Lorenc Bejko visited the Laboratory of Archaeology at Kokugakuin University, Tokyo. Fruitful discussions with Professor Tautsuo Kobayashi here encouraged the idea of future possible collaborative projects between Kokugakuin University, Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures and International Centre for Albanian Archaeology. Further contacts and prospects of future joint projects were made with other individual scholars and Institutions such as Kyushu University, Graduate School of Social and Cultural Studies, Department of Archaeology, Okayama University, Osaka City Board of Education.