Following the very successful 1st Conference on the Early Neolithic in Europe (ENE2019) in Barcelona, we are pleased to announce that the 2nd Conference on the Emergence of the Neolithic in Europe (ENE2025) will take place from May 22-25, 2025, in Zadar, Croatia.

Zadar, situated in the heart of the Adriatic, serves as the administrative and cultural center of Zadar County in northern Dalmatia, a region extending from the slopes of the Velebit Massif to the Adriatic coast, encompassing numerous islands and inland plains. With over 2,000 years of rich and dynamic history, Zadar is a city deeply intertwined with the sea. However, the region's interior, characterized by fertile plains, a favourable climate, and mild terrain, is among the most productive agricultural areas in Dalmatia. This area hosts the largest concentration of Neolithic sites in the region, with the earliest agricultural settlements dating back to c. 6000 cal BC.

Recognizing the complexity of the Neolithisation process in Europe—its arrhythmic nature, regional variations, and the prolonged coexistence of the first farmers and the last hunter-fisher-gatherers in some regions—we have slightly adjusted the conference title. While retaining the acronym ENE, the term "Early Neolithic" has been replaced with "Emergence of the Neolithic" to more accurately reflect the broader scope and nuanced dynamics of this transformative process. Despite this adjustment, the conference retains the same objectives as those established in Barcelona in 2019. It aims to provide a platform for discussing the Neolithisation process in Europe in all its diversity and complexity, balancing regional specificities with the shared Near Eastern origins of the Neolithic way of life.

To address these topics comprehensively, the conference is structured around eight thematic sessions:

1. Mesolithic–Neolithic Transition: Dynamics of Interactions among Hunter-Fisher-Gatherers and Farming Communities
2. Modelling and Population Dynamics: Formal Approaches for the Understanding of European Late Hunter-Gatherers and Farmers
3. People, Settlement and Territory: Constructing Communities from Local to Regional Scale
4. Human-Environment Dynamics: Environmental Archaeology and Paleoclimate
5. Subsistence and Health: Archaeology of the Emerging Food Systems, Dietary Patterns and Lifestyle Maladies
6. Innovation and Tradition: Technological Perspectives on Europe's Neolithisation
7. Figurative Expressions and Socio-Symbolism
8. Intersecting Identities and Social Dynamics During the Neolithisation of Europe

The Call for Papers is now open and will close on January 20, 2025. Please find more information in the Call for Papers and visit the conference website.