In this special issue, Species selection for wooden artifacts by prehistoric men, the abstracts of the conference papers are presented. In the Kanto plain, central Japan, during the Jomon Period (about 6000-3000 BC), natural forests mostly consisted of deciduous broadleaves such as <i>Alnus</i>, <i>Gymnothyrsus</i>, <i>Quercus</i>, <i>Aegilops</i>, <i>Prunus, Castanea crenata, Aesculus turbinata, Acer</i>, and <i>Fraxinus</i>. <i>Torreya nucifera</i> and <i>Cephalotaxus harringtonia</i> were among the evergreen conifers present. During this period, men made wooden artifacts with stone tools, and preferred deciduous <i>Quercus</i> and <i>Castanea crenata</i> for lumber and stakes, and <i>Prunus, Aesculus turbinata</i>, and <i>Cephalotaxus harringtonia</i> for lacquer ware. In the Kofun Period, after the introduction of iron tools, conifers such as <i>Abies, Cryptomeria japonica</i>, and <i>Chamaecyparis</i> were preferred for lumber, and both evergreen and deciduous <i>Quercus</i> were used for ploughs.