Welcome to the proceedings of the 2005 International Conference on Emb- ded Software and Systems (ICESS 2005) held in Xian, China, December 16-18, 2005. With the advent of VLSI system level integration and system-on-chip, the center of gravity of the computer industry is now moving from personal c- puting into embedded computing. Embedded software and systems are incre- ingly becoming a key technological component of all kinds of complex technical systems, ranging from vehicles, telephones, aircraft, toys, security systems, to medical diagnostics, weapons, pacemakers, climate control systems, etc. The ICESS 2005 conference provided a premier international forum for - searchers, developers and providers from academia and industry to address all resulting profound challenges; to present and discuss their new ideas, - search results, applications and experience; to improve international com- nication and cooperation; and to promote embedded software and system - dustrialization and wide applications on all aspects of embedded software and systems.

This research is the first study in Taiwan trying to combine both morphological and genetic evidence to understand the biological nature of one prehistoric population. Because the dental morphological study and ancient DNA analyses seem to suggest a Northeast Asian origin for the San-Pau-Chu people, it is proposed here that approximately 2,500 BP, some prehistoric Taiwanese came from mainland East Asia. However, the WCTS people, contemporaries of SPC, show a closer relatedness with the Namu from the Hawai'i. Therefore, a multiple set of models must be considered as suggested by Matisoo-Smith (2004). Studies in larger samples sizes and wider range of archaeological sites in the future will also help to gain insights.