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NIHON KÔKOGAKU 11 Abstracts
[A] : Article, [RN] : Research Note, [PR] : Preliminary Report of Excavation, [ER] : Event Report, [SL] : Special Lecture
Pottery-producing Villages and Clay Quarries: The Relation between Sites No. 245 and 248, Tama New Town
OYOGAWA Yoshihiko and YAMAMOTO KôjiAbstract:
The study of Jômon pottery production has a long history of research, involving techniques from the fields of archaeology, chemistry and physics, ethnology, and experimental archaeology. But while approaches have been made mainly in terms of manufacturing technology, vessel shapes, methods of decoration, and studies of the clay paste, there has been little advance until now, with the exception of a certain amount of ethnological research, in the study of places where the clay that serves as raw material for pottery is quarried and of the methods of quarrying, and of the relation between the locus of pottery production or the pottery-producing village, and that of the clay quarry site.
It has become clear that clay quarrying was conducted continuously from the Middle into the Late Jômon at Tama New Town Site No. 248, which at 5,500 m2 in estimated area is the largest clay quarry site in the entire country. At the contemporaneous settlement in the adjacent Site No. 245, it is evident from the recovery of scorched and unscorched clay lumps, and of unfired vessels, that pottery production was conducted within the village. Moreover, artifacts of two different types of materials, shallow bowl-shaped vessels and percussion-made stone axes, have been reconstructed from fragments distributed at both sites. This demonstrates archaeologically that potters from this village frequently visited the clay quarry.
From such demonstrations of the production of pottery from the artifacts and features, and of methods for the recognition of clay quarrying pits, it is shown that these two sites will prove to be a model case for future research on pottery production. In addition, by provisionally calculating the amount of clay taken from the quarry, and converting this into the number of vessels, various cases for the number of households, the length of the quarrying period, and so forth, were estimated. It was found as a result that at the very least, the clay from Site No. 248 was amply sufficient to supply vessels for settlements in a region of the upper Sakaigawa river drainage centered on the site and between five and ten kilometers across, over a period of 1,000 years from the Middle into the Late Jômon, and this is assumed to be the minimal sphere of consumption of the clay. By inferring further that Site No. 245 was not just a pottery-producing village, but also one that oversaw the quarrying of clay, a step is taken towards constructing a model of pottery production and consumption. The above observations are one of the results of research on the Tama New Town site group.
Keywords:
Pottery production; Jômon pottery; clay and clay quarrying sites; pottery-producing villages; scorched clay lumps; unfired pottery; artifact reconstructions spanning multiple sites; research on groups of sites; Jômon period; Sakaigawa river drainage; Tama New Town site group; Tama hills; Kanto region
Site Locations and the Beginnings of Rice Agriculture in the Chûbu Region as seen from Plant Opal Analysis of Ceramic Clay Paste: With a Focus on Samples from Yamanashi and Niigata
TOYAMA Shûichi and NAKAYAMA Seiji Abstract:Based on evidence for the presence of rice recovered from archaeological sites, the current contribution aims to clarify the beginning and expansion of rice cultivation from the Final Jômon to the beginning of the Middle Yayoi periods (3,000 - 2,100 B.P.) in the Chûbu region of central Japan.
In this study, combining plant opal analysis of 55 samples of pottery from sites in Yamanashi and Niigata with a consideration of these sites' topographical characteristics, we clarified the relationship between the beginning of rice cultivation and site locations. Our analyses found plant opal of the motor cell of rice (Oryza sativa) in 14 samples from the first half of the Early Yayoi period. In addition, paddy remains have been found at one of the sites, Miyanomae in Yamanashi, from the middle of the Early Yayoi. As a result of these findings, attention is concentrated on the period of fusenmon style pottery, when rice came to be cultivated in paddy in Yamanashi and Niigata prefectures. The location of such sites in central Japan underwent a diversification during this period.
Careful examination of the topographic settings and periods of these sites suggest the pattern of rice cultivation can be divided into two stages. During the first, which divides into two sub-stages, the various elements of the rice agricultural complex were adapted locally in independent ways. During the second stage, these elements were combined into a pattern of rice agriculture based on intensive cultivation.
Many other types of plant opal were identified, mostly Pleiobtastus sect. Nezasa in sites in Yamanashi and Sasa in Niigata. The results of analysis point to regional differences in the distributions of these species, and further suggest differences in the types of locations used as sources of clay, or the possibility that these materials were mixed into the clay paste in the production process.
By determining the presence of rice through plant opal analysis of ceramic clay paste, it becomes possible to address the issues of the beginning and expansion of rice cultivation. It is important in this regard to know the actual conditions of rice cultivation during this period, and plant opal analysis combined with topographic considerations of the sites in question provide a means to do this.
Keywords:
Plant opal analysis; beginnings of rice cultivation; topographic locations of sites; Final Jômon period; Yayoi period; Chûbu region of Japan
Relations between Kaya and Northern Kyushu: The Emergence of Kingly Graves in Izumo and Other Phenomena as seen from the Perspective of Ceramic Typologies
NAKAMURA Gorô Abstract:1. Interchange between the Korean peninsula and the Japanese archipelago has long been studied in the Northern Kyushu region with an emphasis on imported pottery. In this study the emphasis is placed on the imitation of pottery, and while interchange along the Japan Sea coast over the span from Izumo to Hokkaido was also taken into consideration, relations between Izumo and the Korean peninsula in particular received focus, and interrelations with Kaya in terms of ceramic typologies are summarized in Table 1.
2. In the course of performing this study it was discovered that a type of vessel shape of Shiomachi style pottery has a similar component in the northern Kyongsang-do region, and it was also thought that low-footed vessels and pedestaled dishes on shafts of cylindrical form came from Kaya and spread across the archipelago by way of Izumo. In particular, even though it exhibited pronounced change, the pedestaled dish seen as characteristic of Shônai style pottery probably developed in Yamato from the latter type of vessel.
3. It is only natural that the close interchange seen in the above manner between the Korean peninsula and the archipelago can be expected to have extended to the distribution of iron as well.
4. Based upon the latter premise and reviewing the archaeological data on Izumo, the suspicion deepens that the two extraordinary caches of bronze implements in the region were connected with this trade in iron.
5. From the above four points, and also taking into consideration the discovery in the city of Izumo of the Nishitani No. 3 mounded burial, the conclusion is reached that Himiko of the Wei zhi arose from the Izumo region to be selected as ruler.
Keywords:
Ceramic typologies; Lelang pottery; Ma-Han pottery; Yayoi pottery; early Haji ware; interregional exchange; incipient Yamato polity; Yayoi period; Kofun period; Korean peninsula; Japanese archipelago
A Reevaluation of Ring-Pommel-shaped Stone-made Objects
HÔJÔ Yoshitaka Abstract:Among the ring-pommel-shaped stone-made objects in the Munro Collection held by the National Museums of Scotland, from an examination of the material and condition of wear, and of the technique of manufacture, there is one item which has been confirmed as a genuine article. As a result, it becomes possible to make a reexamination of fragmentary materials surviving in Japan, and it has become clear that two examples which until now have been considered special types of ring-shaped bracelets should rather be regarded similarly as ring-pommel-shaped stone-made objects. This means that a total of three such items are known, including the one examined here. They are all recognized as materials from the latter half to the end of the Early Kofun period, are made from green volcanic tuff, and are moreover representations of decorative items for weapons. This poses an important question for research on stone-made objects of the Kofun period, indicating that significant adjustment is needed to received views which have been taken as established theories. Namely, it must be regarded that the basis for making a clear distinction between jasper and green tuff stone-made objects as precious items having inherent value, and steatite imitative objects as ritual goods, has almost entirely disappeared. Rather, it is more appropriate to reassess the two in comprehensive fashion as stone-made ritual objects, and evaluate them in terms of the process of change in ritual practice during the Kofun period.
Munro introduced the item examined here to the academic community at the beginning of the twentieth century, and also gave a detailed account of the results of his consideration on the question of its authenticity. In spite of this, until very recently researchers of stone-made objects in Japan have not taken this item into consideration. This is because at the time of its initial publication, Japanese archaeologists regarded the item as an imitation. But on what grounds did this item come to be receive such treatment, and thus be excluded from consideration thereafter? From an examination of this problem, it is possible to see the outlines of an answer in the writings of Takahashi Kenji and Gotô Shuichi. In the first half of the twentieth century, the basic perception of stone-made objects of jasper or green tuff versus steatite imitation objects as clearly differentiated, and of each type having its own unique inventory of shapes had already become established, and it appears very likely that the current item was disregarded because it contradicted this basic perspective. And as the subsequent development of research continued to follow these classic works, it must be concluded that opportunity for this item to receive consideration has been delayed. From this perspective the results of the current examination can be regarded as a reevaluation of Munro in the realm of research on stone-made objects.
Keywords:
Ring-pommel-shaped stone-made objects; Neil Gordon Munro; imitations; Kofun period; Japan
A Database Solution for Ceramic Data
OGINO Shigeharu Abstract:This paper describes various aspects of the development of a database for handling ceramic data. In preparing academic papers and in sorting and processing archaeological materials, the ability to handle large amounts of data in quick and easy fashion is desirable. In the case of research on ceramics in particular, as it is necessary to process large amounts of data, it is no longer sufficient merely to apply traditional methods of research. In light of this the author has devised a new method for rapidly processing ceramic data with a computer.
For the past ten years the author has been compiling the Medieval Ceramics Database (MCD). Data processing is conducted mainly with 17 of its 54 fields. The field used to define a site is of great importance, as the number of sites varies based on the way a site is defined. Table 1 shows the approximate minimum number of vessels estimated from sherd counts for various archaeological contexts; a large difference in the number of sites represented emerges based on which criteria are selected, those of field "Iseki" versus "Iseki 1."
What kinds of output tables are called for in research on medieval ceramics? In most cases, these consist of the numbers of sites or items recovered for various production centers or vessel forms. Accordingly, a total of 70 different output forms have been envisioned, and ways were considered for producing them with a computer.
As a means centered on the Macintosh, which can also be used with Windows, the automated processing of data using AppleScript and Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) was envisioned. After several methods were considered, data processing which links AppleScript and VBA was taken as the basis. In other words, an AppleScript program is used to convert a FileMaker Pro database into Excel format, after which the data can be processed and an output of the results made with VBA programming.
An explanation is given of a VBA program “PC(Sanshutsu)," which outputs the amounts of recovered ceramic materials per production center.
With AppleScript or VBA programming it is possible to control the orders to be executed and thereby obtain a high level of data processing, and moreover to utilize other applications, and to devise and employ user interfaces. The author has developed two GUI (Graphical User Interfaces), one for AppleScript programming and the other for VBA. By utilizing these GUI, it is possible for the user obtain output results in dialog fashion by simply clicking buttons.
This application makes it possible to obtain output tables as desired in simple and easy fashion for large amounts of ceramic data.
Keywords: Database, Macintosh; Windows; FileMaker Pro; Excel; AppleScript; VBA; programming; ceramics; Medieval period; western Japan
Excavation and Study of Jômon Obsidian Quarrying Sites at the Hoshikuso Pass
AMBIRU Masao and SHIMADA KazutakaAbstract:
The Takayama site group, formed from the Paleolithic through the Jômon periods, is located in the obsidian producing region of Hoshikuso pass in the central highlands of Nagano prefecture. The existence at Hoshikuso pass of Jômon period obsidian quarries?was established in 1991. Since then, excavations and topographic surveys have been carried out continuously from 1992 through 1999. As a result, sites such as quarries for obtaining obsidian as a raw material dating from the Incipient and Late Jômon, and a work site for the preliminary processing of quarried obsidian from the Incipient Jômon, have been excavated. These quarries cover more than 45,000 m2 in area. More than 195 crater-shaped depressions still lie one after another as the remains of quarrying activities.
In the excavations conducted thus far, it has been found that beneath any single quarry site there are multiple shafts, intersecting one another, and leading to a vein of obsidian. Also, the method of digging the shaft down in stages has been reconstructed. The quarry remains which are visible on the surface represent a man-made topography developed through quarrying activity over the Jômon period. The obsidian vein is currently not exposed on the ground surface, but comprises a subterranean lode.
The following example illustrates the degree of quarrying activity at the site. When the condition of the accumulated fill produced from quarrying was examined at the crest of the Hoshikuso pass, between 1 to 2 m of deposit were found as an accumulation overlying the natural loam layer, which had been dug down as a result of the quarrying. The lowest portions of quarry remain No. 39 and shaft No. 1, dug down into the yellow-brown loam, reached 2.5 m below the modern ground surface.
From the tool-working site excavated at the crest of the Hoshikuso pass, large numbers of pieces esquillees, used cores, obsidian as raw material, flakes, detritus, and so forth were recovered. Pottery belonging to the latter half of the Incipient Jômon period was found together with these stone tools. The current contribution aims to summarize what has become clear to date about quarrying activities, and by sorting out the topics remaining for study, to obtain at the same time a guide for comprehensive research on quarrying in the future.
Keywords:
Obsidian quarry sites; Paleolithic, Jômon, and Incipient Jômon periods; central highlands of Nagano prefecture
Excavation of the Haneo Shell Mound and Its Significance
TODA Tetsuya and TATE HirokoAbstract:
The Haneo shell mound and peat bed site, belonging to the middle portion of the Early Jômon period, was discovered at Haneo in the city of Odawara, Kanagawa prefecture, and excavated by the authors in 1998 and 1999.
The site is located approximately 2.5 km west of JR Ninomiya station on the Tôkaido line, in an area lying about 1 km inland from the present shoreline of Sagami bay. Shell mound remains and artifact-bearing peat layer are located between 2 to 4 m below the modern ground surface, and have been detected at three locations, along both sides of the tip of a narrow ridge, and at a topographically similar point nearby. In addition to small-scale shell mounds formed at these locations, numerous tree remains and wooden oars thought to have been washed up on the shoreline of that time are also found in scattered fashion, and these materials are believed to follow the shoreline of the advancing bay of the Early Jômon marine transgression. Numerous man-made artifacts and natural remains were left at this shoreline, and as the site became increasingly submerged and surrounding soil conditions grew wet, a thick layer of peat formed as an accumulation covering the shell mound.
The shell mound formed on the slope over elevations measuring from 22 to 24 m, starting from the Sekiyama II style of the Early Jômon and continuing to the older phase of the Kurohama style. Within the shell layers, which had remained completely undisturbed, pottery, stone tools, bones of animals and fish, and bone implements were found in good states of preservation, and from these it was learned that offshore fishing of dolphin, skipjack, swordfish, shark, Japanese giant sea bass, and so forth was actively pursued through the use of boats in Sagami bay of the time. In addition, the bones of one individual thought to have been buried in a flexed position were recovered from the edge of the shell layer.
After the Kurohama period, at the end of the time when the shell layer was formed, while no further accumulation of shell took place, large numbers of abandoned artifacts were recovered from within the peat layer stretching down slope from the lower edge of the shell layer.
Among the many remains recovered, animal bones of deer and wild boar, and those of marine fauna such as dolphin and skipjack were so numerous as to leave no place on which to step, reminding one of a butchering site at the water's edge.
In this manner it was possible to learn from the Haneo shell mound and peat bet site of the conditions of livelihood with respect to the gathering of floral and faunal materials on land, and also to the fishing activity at sea, during the Early Jômon period on Sagami bay. In addition, together with other cultural materials including abandoned lacquered articles and artifacts showing a rich woodworking technology for making wooden implements, it was possible to obtain valuable research materials which can literally be called a time capsule of the Early Jômon period.
Keywords:
Shell mounds; man-made and natural remains; middle portion of the Early Jômon period; southern Kanto region; Pacific coast
Excavation of the Nakappara Site
MORIYA MasafumiAbstract:
The Nakappara site is a representative settlement site dating from the Early through the Late Jômon periods, located on the northwest side of the southwestern foothills of Mt. Yatsugatake, in the Kohigashi Yamaguchi district of the city of Chino, Nagano prefecture. It has been possible to ascertain the basic form of the settlement through a series of archaeological excavations conducted at the site. According to the results, the site was a moated settlement in which eastern and western moated precincts were linked as parts of a chain, while another moated precinct was made at the end of a tableland slightly removed from these. The area covered by the site is approximately 43,000 m2 in all.
In the excavations of Fiscal Year 2000, a large masked figurine of the latter half of the Late Jômon period was recovered in nearly perfect condition, and in a manner suggesting it had been deliberately buried, from pit No. 70 occupying the central portion of a group of pits opening onto the central plaza of the eastern moated precinct. The pit that yielded the figurine was built in a cemetery district thought to have been opened up for burial pits containing jar burials. From its manner of construction and horizontal outline, and from the nature of the fill and so forth, pit No. 70 may be considered to have been a burial pit as well.
The figurine buried within the pit is a large-scale item measuring 35 cm in height, with its face depicted in a way reminiscent of a mask assuming the shape of an inverted triangle, and its legs and body made in hollow fashion with the belly protruding markedly outward; this is a distinctive type of figurine found in a portion of the Chûbu region.
The figurine was placed intentionally in the pit, and while it is not clear whether it was buried as a grave offering or whether the figurine itself was the main object of the burial, it may be considered from the manner of its burial to have been intimately linked with the nature of the pit itself. From aspects such as the damage to the right leg appearing deliberate, it is possible to suppose a series of actions in which the right leg was removed at the time the pit was filled, and the body of the figurine then stuffed with some material and the leg replaced, before it was buried lying on its left side; it may be regarded as an invaluable example permitting observations of great interest for considering the nature of such figurines, and for making new suggestions about the nature of rites involving these items.
Keywords:
Late Jômon masked figurines; Jômon period; Mt. Yatsugatake foothills; Chûbu region
Results of the Excavation of the Izumo Taisha Precinct Site, Taisha-chô, Shimane Prefecture
KAGEYAMA Shinji and ISHIHARA Satoshi Abstract:The Izumo Taisha shrine precinct site is located in Taisha-chô, Hikawa-gun, Shimane prefecture. Within the precinct of Izumo shrine, visited by many worshippers annually, a portion of a single pillar made of three Japanese cedar logs bound together was found in April 2000. A drawing which shows three logs tied together as a single pillar is in the possession of Izumo shrine, and the pillar found in the current excavation is in nearly perfect agreement with this document.
The height of the Izumo shrine building has long been a topic in the shrine's architectural history. It is recorded in a Heian period document that the shrine was taller than the building housing the great Buddha of Nara (45 m). A tradition handed down at the shrine holds that the building was 48 m, possibly making it the tallest building in Japan at the time. It is also known from documentary sources that the building collapsed repeatedly because it was too tall, with records of six incidences of collapse surviving from the end of the Heian through the Kamakura periods.
For the pillar recovered in the current excavation, a combination of documentary and archaeological evidence, and scientific radiocarbon dating show it is very likely part of the remains of the main shrine erected in 1248. This is possibly the last time the main shrine was erected as a high-rising structure.
The Izumo Taisha shrine precinct site also contains multiple strata of artifacts and archaeological features which tell of the history of worship at Izumo shrine from the Early Kofun through the Early Modern periods.
The investigation will continue in Fiscal Year 2001, and it is hoped that the colossal shrine building of Izumo Taisha will become known in greater detail.
Keywords:
Ceremonial sites; Early Kofun through Early Modern periods; Izumo
Excavation of Early Modern Nagasaki: The Results of Recent Investigations
KAWAGUCHI YôheiAbstract:
The port of Nagasaki was opened by ?mura Sumitada in the year 1570 (Genki 1), and soon gained prominence in Japanese history as European ships came to call. Subsequently, despite the limitations on trade imposed by the bakufu, it flourished as an international trading port and came to hold a singular position throughout the Early Modern period. The current contribution is an attempt to outline by chronological period the results of excavations of Early Modern Nagasaki, which have become numerous in recent years, and to point out thereby current problems and topics for future research.
The excavation of Early Modern Nagasaki, which began in the 1980s, was conducted in earnest during the 1990s. While the efforts gained attention as artifacts rich in international flavor, such as items from China, Southeast Asia, and Europe were recovered, the data on features and occupational levels are extremely complex and it has been difficult to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the entire site. In order to alleviate these problems, and with the aim of helping future work, the author redefined the site as the "Nagasaki site group" and reorganized the method for naming locations within the area. In addition, in order to outline the results of investigations in chronological order, a system of chronological divisions has been devised. From an archaeological perspective based on artifacts and stratigraphic sequences, a sevenfold chronological division is established from the Nagasaki I through VII periods. Also, from the perspective of political and economic changes in the historic background, eight divisions are established as the Port-opening, ?mura Domain, Church Domain, Lord Toyotomi Domain, and Lord Tokugawa Domain I through IV periods.
The Nagasaki I period corresponds closely with the time covered by the Port-opening through Lord Toyotomi Domain periods, and is characterized by medieval archaeological features and an artifact assemblage centered on seika ware. Also, European glass cups are known as materials of this period, and links with European trade draw attention. The Nagasaki II period corresponds with the first half of the Lord Tokugawa Domain I period; seika remains numerous, but a change in the vessel types comprising the assemblage is witnessed. Ceramics from Southeast Asia and domestically produced Seto and Mino ware items also become plentiful. The increase in ceramics from Southeast Asia is thought to be related to the vermilion-seal ship trade (shuin bôeki). The Nagasaki III period corresponds with the second half of the Lord Tokugawa Domain I period, and includes early Imari ware. Nagasaki IV and V periods correspond with the Lord Tokugawa Domain II period, and sizeable portions of Bizen porcelain believed to have been for export are found from the scorched layer produced by the great fire of the Kanbun era. Nagasaki VI and VII periods correspond with Lord Tokugawa Domain III and IV periods, with items like Qing dynasty porcelains and "VOC"-marked plates for export being recovered, documenting the overseas contact that lasted to the bakumatsu period.
Regarding the direction of subsequent research on the Nagasaki site, a comprehensive examination of the layers of occupation and of archaeological features for the entire area is felt necessary. The pursuit of broad-based research, through cooperation with related scholarly disciplines, on the structure and changes exhibited at the site over time is also a task felt in need of promoting.
Keywords:
International trading port cities; Early Modern period; city of Nagasaki, Nagasaki prefecture
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