"NIHON KÔKOGAKU" 4 Abstracts
[A] : Article, [RN] : Research Note
| [A] | YAMADA Yasuhiro |
Mortuary Practices for Children in Jomon Japan: An Approach to Jomon Life History | 1-39 |
|---|---|---|---|
| [A] | KUZE Kenji, KITANO Hiroshi and KOBAYASHI Masashi |
Reconstruction of firing techniques of Yayoi pottery based on firing cloud patterns | 41-90 |
| [A] | INOUE Iwao |
Analysis of Clay in Ceramic Materials: Identification of the Production Sites of Haniwa from Kilns in Osaka Prefecture | 91-107 |
| [RN] | NAKADA Shigeji |
Change in Ceramic Assemblages from the Fifth to Seventh Centuries in Northern and Northeastern Japan | 109-121 |
| [RN] | YAJIMA Kunio |
Current Problems Concerning Archaeological Heritage Management in Japan | 123-130 |
Mortuary Practices for Children in Jomon Japan: An Approach to Jomon Life History
YAMADA YasuhiroA model of Jomon life history was generated through an analysis of data collected on children's burials. The data were first classed by the age of the child, as divided into the five stages of neonatal period (up to six months), later infancy (six months to two years), early childhood (two through five years), later childhood (six through twelve years), and adolescence (thirteen through sixteen years). Patterns of burials were then examined for variation by region and temporal period, with burial practices assessed in terms of type of burial facility, number of burials per facility, sex of other individuals in cases of multiple burial, and whether the burial is primary or secondary. The results show that, as for adults, single, primary burials are most prevalent for children, with jar burials most numerous up through infancy, and multiple burials most numerous from then on.
Further examinations were made of characteristics stemming from the time of burial, such as burial posture, location of the burial near or away from a residence, use of red pigment and of bodily ornaments; the age in weeks of infants in jar burials, and the sex of children in multiple burials were also considered, and the following observations were made. Burial posture differs little from that of adults. Burials connected with residences are common. Red pigment is used from the neonatal stage, but varies regionally. Ages of 38 weeks or more are common for infants in jar burials, which are thought to be examples of early infant deaths. Also, weekly ages of 38 weeks and less are common in pit burials. For burials of children together with adults, interment with women is common through infancy, with burial together with men being practiced from early childhood on. This means that early childhood is a point of change in the child's sphere of activity. Full-scale use of bodily ornamentation is practiced from early childhood on, but is limited to necklaces and bracelets mainly of beads and shell; no ornamentation is known for the head, waist, and so forth. This is thought due to different principles governing the use of bodily ornaments for adults and children.
Six sites in which both child and adult burials are known were then examined to provide clear and concrete illustrations of differences in characteristics stemming from the time of burial.
A model of Jomon life history, summarizing these observations is presented showing the child's position with age in the transition to adulthood.
Keywords:
Children; mortuary practices; life history, Jomon period; Japan
Reconstruction of firing techniques of Yayoi pottery based on firing cloud patterns
KUZE Kenji, KITANO Hiroshi and KOBAYASHI MasashiThe aim of this paper is to reconstruct firing techniques of Yayoi pottery based on firing cloud patterns. A series of pot-firing experiments were conducted to correlate various types of firing clouds with firing methods. Previous studies have demonstrated that Jomon pottery was made with an 'open firing method,' in which pots were surrounded by firewood without any covering materials, whereas Yayoi pottery was made with a covered firing method,' in which pots were placed on firewood and covered with silica-rich grasses. The latter method is more fuel efficient, in that the silica-rich grasses burn into a layer of ash which produces a kiln-like structure. Based on an ethnographic analysis of pottery making in the rice-producing culture area, where the covered firing method is commonly used, pot-firing methods were examined for the effects of variation in the setting of fuel under the pots, the placement of the pots (the pot placement angle and the presence/absence of piling), and the kind of materials covering the grasses in the top layer.
Early Yayoi pottery in the northern Kyushu district and Middle Mumon pottery in south Korea (slightly earlier than the Early Yayoi pottery) show distinct similarities in firing cloud patterns: a relatively low frequency of firing clouds on the interior surface, which indicates that hot flames penetrated well into the interior, and the presence of major firing clouds on the upper and/or lower exterior surface, indicating that pots were laid laterally on the fuel bed. These facts suggest that the covered firing method diffused from the Korean peninsula to northern Kyushu at the beginning of the Yayoi period, when wet rice farming was introduced.
Changes in firing cloud patterns from the Early to the Middle and Late Yayoi periods suggest that pot firing techniques changed in accordance with changes in vessel shape, size, and thickness, in the following manner. First, Middle and Late Yayoi pots (wide-mouthed jars and necked jars) were placed at a higher angle (closer to upright) than Early Yayoi pottery. This is because as the pots became more constricted in the neck, they need to be placed at a higher angle so that flames could penetrate into the interior surface.
Second, Early Yayoi and Korean Mumon pottery tends to have a more yellowish surface color than Middle and Late Yayoi pottery in the Honshu areas, suggesting that the former pots were fired in a strongly reducing atmosphere. Coupled with the fact that the method of firing with a mud covering (found in the contemporary Yunnan area) was present in the Early and Middle Yayoi period in the northern Kyushu district, it is hypothesized that Early Yayoi pots, which tend to be thicker than Middle and Late Yayoi pots, were fired with a more complete covering in order to improve the circulation of heat.
Keywords:
firing cloud patterns; firing techniques; Yayoi pottery; Yayoi period; Western Japan; Korea
Analysis of Clay in Ceramic Materials: Identification of the Production Sites of Haniwa from Kilns in Osaka Prefecture
INOUE IwaoFor low-fired pottery such as Jomon, Yayoi, haji, and haniwa, the effects of heat on the minerals of clay and the rock-forming minerals which comprise the clay body is relatively low, enabling detection of these minerals with X-ray diffraction, and a good approximation of the original mineral composition of the clay body itself. Determination of the mineral composition of a ware permits clarification of the geological environment of the clay used, and thus allows inferences about the region in which it was produced. Also, the proportion of sand mixed into the clay body is a characteristic specific to the pottery-producing group, and varies little for the ware produced by that group; identification of the pottery-producing group is therefore possible from a comparison of these proportions. In ceramics fired at high temperature ranges like porcelain or sue and other stonewares, however, breakdown of the minerals due to heat is severe, with most of them transformed into glass. Whereas the original clay and rock-forming minerals cannot be determined with X-ray diffraction analysis, it is possible to detect mullite and cristobalite, formed at high temperatures, and quartz, which is only slightly affected by heat; these results serve as basis for inferring the heat range of firing.
Florescent X-ray analysis of the chemical elements of pottery is relatively unaffected by the heat of firing, as the original elements of the clay body remain regardless of whether the firing temperature is low or high. (For some of the lighter elements such as alkali metals there is a tendency toward dispersion through excitation brought by heat, but the amounts thus lost are very small and have minimal effect in terms of percentage of overall weight). Sue, other stonewares, and porcelains have distinct compositions of elements, reflecting the geology of the regions in which they were produced, and enabling identification of the locus of production.
It is difficult to determine the mineral composition from an analysis of composition in terms of chemical elements alone. But through the use of X-ray diffraction analysis in tandem with florescent X-ray analysis, the shortcomings of each method are complemented by the advantages of the other, permitting more accurate analysis of the clay body for potteries from both low and high temperature firing ranges. The results of an analysis of cylindrical haniwa produced at representative kilns in different parts of Osaka Prefecture show that a combination of these methods is able to provide clear identifications of the region of production.
Keywords:Clay analysis; haniwa kiln identification; Kofun period; Osaka prefecture
Research Notes
Change in Ceramic Assemblages from the Fifth to Seventh Centuries in Northern and Northeastern Japan
NAKADA ShigejiThis paper approaches the temporal change in ceramic assemblages in different regions of northern and northeastern Japan, based on a typological framework applied to a broad geographical area stretching from Hokkaido to the Tohoku region. Ceramic typologies in Japan have tended thus far to be regionally compartmentalized, impeding an understanding of interaction among different regions as reflected in ceramic assemblages.
In southern Tohoku, individual serving vessels were adopted in the early fifth century, as evidenced by the appearance of pedestalled bowls. In the late fifth century, earthen cooking stoves were adopted, which also resulted in a change in the ceramic assemblage. This change was associated with one in the Kinai region where the central political authority was located. On the other hand, whereas Epi-Jomon pottery was still dominant in the ceramic assemblages of northern Tohoku and Hokkaido, specific functional types of haji and sue wares commonly used in central Japan were transported into these regions as prestige goods.As a general trend, from the mid-sixth to the early seventh centuries, haji bowls came to be modeled after sue shapes then in use. Southern Tohoku was part of this tendency. In the mid-sixth century in northern Tohoku, and in the late sixth and early seventh centuries in central and southern Hokkaido, ceramic assemblages typical of southern Tohoku and other parts of Japan were incorporated into local assemblages. Local assemblages in the former regions were distinguished from those of southern Tohoku, however, in that storage jars comprised a higher ratio in the assemblage and the bowls were larger.
Keywords:
Ceramics; chronology; regional interaction; protohistoric Japan (Kofun period)
Research Notes
Current Problems Concerning Archaeological Heritage Management in Japan
YAJIMA KunioThis paper raises serious questions associated with recent statements released by the Japanese government concerning archaeological heritage management. One is an official advisory statement issued in 1995 by the Management and Coordination Agency, the other two are reports made in 1995 and 1997 by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. These statements were meant to remedy current problems involved in archaeological heritage management in Japan, where more than ten thousand archaeological excavations are carried out yearly at an expense of 125,225,340,000 yen (approx. one billion U.S. dollars), with 97% of these being rescue excavations prior to the destruction of archaeological sites.
Despite their original aim, the government statements have serious problems that might in reality lead to considerable destruction of archaeological sites. First, the 1995 advisory statement fails to specify who should be held responsible for the cost of excavations. Second, "the more efficient, standardized, and objective" management of archaeological heritages that the government calls for would in reality result in the destruction of archaeological sites without proper and scholarly excavations, and in the disposal of recovered artifacts without utilizing them for future empirical research and public education.
Archaeological excavations must be conducted by experienced people. Archaeological interpretation should be based on all the available data; when sampling is necessary, appropriate standards and procedures must be specified. As professional archaeologists, representing all those concerned with our cultural heritage, members of the Japanese Archaeological Association should establish and publicize clear ethical standards regarding archaeological excavations, as a contribution to the protection of archaeological sites for future empirical research.
Keywords:
Archaeological heritage management; Japan
JAA