"NIHON KÔKOGAKU" 5 Abstracts
[A] : Article, [RN] : Research Note, [ER] : Event Report
| [A] | TANAKA Yoshiyuki | 
A Reconsideration of the Concept of Descent in Japanese Archaeology | 1-18 |
|---|---|---|---|
| [A] | SHIMIZU Nobuyuki |
Roof Tiles with Inscriptions found from Kaet'ae-sa Temple, Nonsan-gun (Korea) | 19-46 |
| [A/ER] | TAKAHASHI Ryuzaburo, TOIZUMI Takeji and KOJO Yasushi | Archaeological Studies of Japan: Current Studies of the Jomon Archaeology [in English] | 47-72 |
| [ER] | ONO Akira | 35th ICANAS Report: Photo Panel Exhibition "Recent Achievements in Japanese Archaeology" | 73-77 |
| [ER] | MIZOGUCHI Koji | Presentation: "Japanese Archaeology: Recent Achievements and Prospects" | 79-83 |
A Reconsideration of the Concept of Descent in Japanese Archaeology
TANAKA YoshiyukiThis paper demonstrates that the concept of descent adopted by most Japanese archaeologists is different from that used in European and American archaeology, and also questions whether this concept is still useful in the study of kinship. Further, it challenges the validity of ritual tooth-extraction studies, which have been influential in Japanese archaeology for more than twenty years, as an approach to the study of prehistoric kinship. Finally, it asserts the importance of studying genetic traits of skeletons in Japan.
Japanese archaeologists studying prehistoric kinship systems share a common premise: whenever a cemetery or group of dead divide into two groups on spatial or other criteria, the two groups indicate a difference in descent; i.e. one represents persons native to a local residential unit, and the other those who married into it. Japanese hypotheses on post-marital residence rules, such as patrilocality, and on kinship systems as a whole, are based on this kind of premise. I argue that this premise has not been adequately tested against archaeological data, and that the Japanese concept of descent based on it should not be confused with the concept of descent found in European and American archaeology.
First, the term "descent" as used in Japanese archaeology refers to one's natal village, in clear contrast to the descent groups implied by the term as used in European and American archaeology and anthropology. Moreover, this Japanese concept of natal village as the referent of descent is based on folklore studies of funerary practices of the early modern family, which does not extend back to prehistoric times at all.
Second, descent in tribal societies is based not on one's natal village but rather, as supposed by European and American archaeologists, on descent groups which may be dispersed. Accordingly the premise on which most Japanese archaeologists approach kinship is unsound. Only in cases where a society is divided into moities or phratries might such an approach be useful, but even in these instances, it is not suited to the study of kinship organization.
Although studies of ritual tooth-extraction have been considered useful as an approach to prehistoric descent and kinship, I argue that they also might be effective only in cases of moiety organization. But patterns of ritual tooth-extraction fail to correlate with either village of origin or with sex. Accordingly these patterns are not suited to investigations of kinship. Only research based on genetic studies of skeletal materials may prove effective in the study of kinship organization.
Keywords:
Kinship; descent; mortuary archaeology; Prehistoric Japan.
Roof Tiles with Inscriptions found from Kaet'ae-sa Temple, Nonsan-gun (Korea)
SHIMIZU NobuyukiThe present writer had the opportunity to study roof tiles found at the Kaet'ae-sa temple in Nonsan-gun, Korea, which have been kept in the Chung Nam University Museum. The purpose of this article is to describe the manufacturing techniques and dates of the tiles, and to discuss the date of the reconstruction of Kaet'ae-sa temple, based on an examination of these materials.
The specimens dealt with are limited to flat roof tiles with inscriptions stamped on the convex surface. Some of the tiles are stamped with dates, thus providing the date of manufacture. Characteristics related to manufacturing techniques, such as aspects of the color, clay, firing, and designs stamped on the surface, are discussed first. Similar observations are then made for date-bearing tiles found at other archaeological sites from the Koryo period.
Based on these observations, stamped roof tiles from Kaet'ae-sa temple are classified into types A through D. This classification is then expanded to include tiles from sites other than Kaet'ae-sa temple, which are found to divide into types A, E, and F. At the same time, it is clearly shown that techniques of manufacture are the same for tiles bearing dates from the same period, even when they are found at different sites. It is further pointed out that the method of writing inscriptions, reading vertically in lines which begin at the left and go to the right, can be used as an indication of the age of the tile. In this manner, the dates of all stamped tiles from Kaet'ae-sa temple are discussed.
Finally, based on the dates of stamped roof tiles from Kaet'ae-sa temple and on their archaeological contexts, and in conjunction with passages from the Koryo chronicles, a consideration is made of the date of reconstruction of the main hall, in the second phase of building, after the main hall of the first phase was abandoned. In addition, the reason why the buildings of the second phase were lost in fire, as conjectured from the Koryo chronicles, and the date of reconstruction in the third phase of building, are discussed.
Keywords:
Koryo period; Korea; Kaet'ae-sa temple; roof tiles with stamped inscriptions; roof tile manufacturing techniques.
JAA