diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 0501471..82318ad 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 
 AC_CONFIG_AUX_DIR([.])
 
-AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE
+AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([1.9 tar-ustar])
 PKG_PROG_PKG_CONFIG
 
 AC_ARG_VAR([PY_PREFIX], [Prefix for installing Python modules.