"NIHON KÔKOGAKU" 7 Abstracts
[A] : Article, [RN] : Research Note, [PR] : Preliminary Report of Excavation
| [A] | CHIBA Mototsugu | 
Dolmen Research: Table-shaped Dolmens | 1-24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| [A] | UNO Takao |
Innovations in Food Vessels and Cooking Styles in the Middle and Late Kofun Period: The Process of Establishing Food Vessel Styles in Ritsuryo Society | 25-42 |
| [A] | UNO Masatoshi |
Manufacturing Techniques of Early Pendant-bearing Gold Earrings and their Derivation | 43-57 |
| [A] | OGASAWARA Yoshihiko |
The Founder of the Temple at Okuyama Kume as Seen from Duplicate Eave Tiles | 59-73 |
| [A] | TAKAKURA Jun |
Inter-site Variability and the Reconstruction of Residence-mobility Patterns | 75-94 |
| [PR] | KAWKAMI Kunihiko, IZUMI Takeshi, MIYAHARA Shin'ichi, URABE Yukihiro, OKABAYASHI Kosaku, NAGURA Satoshi |
Excavation of Kurozuka Kofun in Yanagimoto, Tenri City, Nara Prefecture | 95-104 |
Dolmen Research: Table-shaped Dolmens
CHIBA MototsuguAbstract:
The "First Torii Ryuzo Southern Manchurian Survey" of 1895 marked the start of dolmen research. Torii regarded the stone chambers called Kososeki of Sekibokujo as what are known as "dolmens" in Europe. These were the northern style, now called "table-shaped" dolmens. Further, Torii later extended his survey to the Korean peninsula, and recognized the existence of "go board shaped" dolmens, now classed as the southern style. Torii pointed out the existence and distributions of these two styles, and regarded the go board shape as older. This was the start of the single origin, unilineal approach to dolmen research. Subsequently, this remained the framework until the appearance from the 1960s of single origin, multilineal studies by Arimitsu Kyoichi, Komoto Masayuki, and Seki Koshun, who posited a plurality of forms deriving from a single stock. But the unilineal approach to dolmen research is not yet finished.
Based upon what can be learned from the cairn-marked burials, pottery, and bronze implements of the Liaotung region, as a single type of ground stone sword was used as a burial good in several types of dolmens, the author has previously expressed doubts about the traditional approach. Namely, it was pointed out that while the table-shaped style assumed that form from the very start, the southern or go board style traces back to the cairn-marked burials of the Liaotung peninsular region, which the author has termed tosekibo.
In this paper, the northern, table-shaped dolmens are called shisekibo. The position of the rear orthostat, or upright stone, in relation to those left and right of the entrance, is taken as the key point in further dividing these dolmen into the Shokanton type, in which the rear orthostat abuts the ends of the lateral stones, and the Koryu type, in which it is positioned within the inward facing surfaces of the laterals. Both types have examples exhibiting additional elements, and along with conjectures about their original forms, typological sequences and chronologies are described in which multiple forms were possibly made in parallel fashion.
Although dolmens are believed to have been made by several regional cultures of Liaoning, Jilin, and the Korean peninsula, treatment limited to any particular region is not appropriate. But rather than assume the existence of a common culture and society throughout this area, the evidence indicates a change towards particularization of a common original form, as dolmens were made in several regional cultures.
It is not clear what type of culture produced dolmens in the Jilin region. For the Liaotung peninsular area, dolmens are presumed to have been the major form of burial in the first part of the Bronze Age, and in the western Korean peninsula, from the time of the Komagata pottery culture on.
Keywords:
Dolmens; Table-shaped dolmens; Bronze age; Northeastern China; Korean Peninsula
Innovations in Food Vessels and Cooking Styles in the Middle and Late Kofun Period: The Process of Establishing Food Vessel Styles in Ritsuryo Society
UNO TakaoAbstract:
The current contribution examines the transformation of food vessels and cooking styles from Yayoi times to that of the Ritsuryo order, taking into consideration relations with China and Korea during this period, and also seeing the innovations made during the Middle and Late Kofun periods as especially important in this process. The analysis is based upon typologies of food vessels, together with reconstructions of their methods of use through observations of wear marks.
As a result of this examination, it is thought that a cultural complex related to food vessel use which originated in northern China was introduced into Japan via the Korean peninsula in full-scale fashion during the fifth century. This cultural complex included the stratified use of tableware, cooking with steamers and pans on stoves, and the use of large storage vases for brewing and many other purposes. The addition of elements such as the Korean usage of stoneware pedestaled dishes, and the traditional Japanese use of earthenware pedestaled dishes plus the innovation of Sue ware dishes with fitted covers, gave added complexity to the situation. This is understood to have led to the smooth integration of northern Chinese methods of cooking and storage, but with the continuation of practices for tableware which involved ceremonial and religious meanings. Also, fifth century society saw differences, based on class and group affiliations, in the level of incorporation of the imported cultural elements.
In the Late Kofun period (6th century), these innovations spread to all social classes in the central region of the Japanese archipelago. At the same time, however, a distinct regional difference emerged between eastern and western Japan in terms of tableware and cooking gear. In eastern Japan in particular, the relationship between Sue dishes with fitted covers and imitation earthenware dishes is noteworthy as the starting point of a northern Chinese style of stratified use of tableware.
In the Asuka period (7th century), traditional regional styles of food vessels became unified, and based on the full-scale incorporation of Buddhism, the systematic use of tableware to indicate social status developed. This involved the emulation of metal vessels as the apex of a system of imitations, which was actualized through the differentiation in sizes and compatibility between earthenware and Sue vessels, completing the development of a Ritsuryo complex of food vessels, a reform based upon that already achieved for cooking and storage vessels. Within the central region of Japan, there developed a number of regional styles of food vessels including that of the capital area itself, providing valuable information for considerations of the nature of Ritsuryo society.
Keywords:
Food vessel styles; cooking vessels styles; wear marks; Kofun period; Ritsuryo period; East Asia; Japan
Manufacturing Techniques of Early Pendant-bearing Gold Earrings and their Derivation
UNO MasatoshiAbstract:
In the study of pendant-bearing gold earrings, it has not been possible thus far to trace the origins of the technology, nor the changes over time in the techniques of manufacture, due to the variety found in the decorative links on the chains, and to other differences in decoration between individual examples. For this reason, nearly all pendant-bearing earrings have been regarded by some as imports, or in reverse fashion, based on their relations to gilt bronze items such as visored helmets, belt ornaments, crowns, etc., nearly all of these items have been seen by others as domestic products.
The present contribution clarifies the existence of two types of link chain used in early examples of these earrings, indicating a difference in the tools used for their manufacture. A chronological difference is observed between these two types, with a transition ascertained from Type A to Type B. Further, types are specified for the pendants suspended from these chains, and a change is demonstrated from smaller to larger types of leaf-shaped pendants in conjunction with the transition from one type of link chain to the other.Further, in the manufacture of both the smaller and larger leaf-shaped pendants, the use of a single pattern is posited, with changes executed in the decoration of the pendant and the type of decorative links used to join it with the chain, in order to make each pendant-bearing earring appear to be a uniquely decorated item. From this use of a single pattern, a single line of artisans and workshops is presumed, and it is felt that the earliest domestic production of these earrings was conducted by this artisanal line in concentrated fashion, rather than being carried out in various regions. Moreover, from the productive techniques used for the link chain and from the shape of the ornamental pendant, this line can be traced to the area lying west of the Naktong-gang river on the Korean peninsula. But from the differences in length of the chain, and from the smooth transition from smaller to larger leaf-shaped pendants, it is thought that these items were made in Japan by a line of immigrant artisans who came from that region, rather than being made there and exported to Japan.
It is also thought, based among other factors on the distribution of the earliest examples of pendant-bearing earrings, that these items were produced in workshops maintained by the central polity in the Kinai region, and bestowed upon chiefs and locally powerful persons in the various regions.
Keywords:
Pendant-bearing gold earrings; Kofun period; Japan
The Founder of the Temple at Okuyama Kume as Seen from Duplicate Eave Tiles
OGASAWARA YoshihikoAbstract:
Beginning with Asukadera, a large number of temples were built in Asuka during the Asuka period, when the imperial palace was located in that region. Among these, there are many for which the identity of the founder is still unclear. The temple at Okuyama Kume is one such example. This ancient temple was built in the central portion of the Asuka River basin, and a type of eave tile used for its roof, bearing a simple lotus blossom design with the inflection of the petal ends represented by small dots, is widely known as the "Okuyama Kume temple style." As tiles found at this temple also include items made from the same molds as tiles used in the initial phases of Asukadera and Toyuradera, the temple is thought to have belonged to a collateral line of the Soga clan; further, based upon the recovery in recent investigations of an ink-inscribed vessel bearing a temple name, it is presumed that the site was called "Oharidadera," and that Oharida no Omi was the probable founder.
In the research conducted to date, however, the relationship between the founder of this temple and the kilns which produced the tiles still appears inadequately examined. This paper accordingly attempts a consideration of this problem, giving weight to links with the kilns which supplied eave tiles for the construction of the temple at Okuyama Kume. From this, based on the relation to the locations of the kilns and the clans which owned them, it is proposed that temple s founder was Sakaibe no Omi Marise, regarded as the younger brother of Soga no Umako, rather than Oharida no Omi. In addition, this paper takes up the question of the historical significance of the distribution of duplicate tiles made from the same mold, which are prominently seen in ancient temples of this period.
Keywords:
Temple at Okuyama Kume; duplicate eave tiles; temple founders; Sakaibe no Omi Marise; Soga no Umako; Asuka period; Yamato, Yamashiro, Harima, and Yoshino regions (Japan)
Inter-site Variability and the Reconstruction of Residence-mobility Patterns
TAKAKURA JunAbstract:
In order to understand the behavioral system of prehistoric hunter-gatherers, reconstruction of a residence-mobility pattern capable of supporting a hunter-gatherer group throughout the year is essential. The aim of this paper is to review the numerous studies that have been made of residence-mobility patterns thus far, and to present what are seen as dominant themes and problematic issues in them. The examples to be used to support this discussion are taken from the Mesolithic of Northwest Europe, and the Upper Paleolithic and early Jomon of Japan.
Until recently, more specific approaches such as site catchment analysis have focused on small areas or on single sites, and have involved an examination of those sites for evidence of economic activities and seasonality. Any single site, however, is not likely to represent more than a fraction of the total activities carried out by a particular group. At the same time, we can never hope to identify all of the sites used by any single group of hunter-gatherers. Accordingly, it is imperative to take a broader focus, encompassing numerous sites distributed over a wide landscape, and to analyze them for inter-site variability.
The dominant approach to understanding the residence-mobility pattern of Mesolithic Northwest Europe is one which stresses the behavioral relationships across differing landscapes. These understandings, which recognize a difference in subsistence activities between lowland and upland regions, fall under the general label of "transhumance model." This perspective interprets the roles of various Mesolithic sites in terms of the seasonal progression, which is derived from analyses of the lithic and faunal assemblages. The value of such interregional approaches to hunter-gather behavior is beyond doubt, not only because of the logical coherence given to inter-site variability by such approaches, but also because they permit evaluations of the behavioral planning of prehistoric hunter-gatherers over a broad landscape, based on the spatial patterning of the archaeological record.
On the other hand, some Japanese archaeologists have tried to propose residence-mobility patterns based largely on comparative analyses of lithic reduction sequences among sets of sites. The observation of such sequences provides concrete evidence for behavioral relationships between the sites in question. Despite the apparent significance of such a perspective, these discussions have paid less attention to other aspects of the archaeological record in generating their hypotheses. Accordingly, they have overlooked certain problems of the spatial patterning of hunter-gatherer behavior, such as seasonal mobility.
In conclusion, it is necessary to exercise extreme caution when reconstructing the various activities carried out by prehistoric populations, and in postulating the reasons for behavioral relationships between the sites they used.
Keywords:
Residence-mobility pattern; inter-site variability; Mesolithic; Upper Paleolithic; early Jomon; Northwest Europe; Japan
Preliminary Excavation Report
Excavation of Kurozuka Kofun in Yanagimoto, Tenri City, Nara Prefecture
KAWKAMI Kunihiko, IZUMI Takeshi, MIYAHARA Shin'ichi, URABE Yukihiro, OKABAYASHI Kosaku, NAGURA SatoshiAbstract:
Kurozuka Kofun is a keyhole-shaped mounded tomb 130 m in overall length, with the rectangular portion of the keyhole facing west, located in the district of Yanagimoto in Tenri City, Nara Prefecture, in the southeastern portion of the Nara basin. A large number of Early Kofun period tombs lie concentrated in the surrounding area, a formation called the Oyamato tomb group. From August 1997 to May 1998, and from July 1998 to February 1999, excavations for the purpose of research were carried out by the Oyamato Tomb Group Investigation Committee, comprised mainly of personnel of the Kashihara Archaeological Institute of Nara Prefecture and the Board of Education of Tenri City. The burial facility was a large-scaled vertical stone chamber measuring approximately 8.3 m internally in length, placed in a north-south orientation in the center of the round portion of the mound. Stones used for the chamber included round river stones, and slabs of andesite from Kasugayama, and basalt from Shibayama, both in Kashiwara City, Osaka Prefecture. In addition to being furnished with a stone-lined drainage ditch, it became evident that during the construction of the stone chamber, the mound featured a work road cut through its round portion and leading toward the rectangular part of the keyhole. The coffin placed within the stone chamber was in the shape of a split log, hewn from a single large tree of the mulberry family, 6.2 m long and over 1 m in greatest width. During the medieval period the chamber was extensively dug by grave robbers, but fortunately because it had collapsed prior to that time, the digging did not for the most part extend to the chamber floor. As a result, the bulk of the grave goods escaped disturbance subsequent to interment, and the state in which they were buried was miraculously preserved. The grave goods were rich, including thirty-three deity-and-beast mirrors with rims that are triangular in cross-section, another deity-and-beast mirror having a wide image band (gamontai) near the perimeter, plus large amounts of iron weapons, armor, and agricultural tools. The thirty-three triangular-rimmed mirrors were all imported items, including no examples bearing a three-deity/three-beast arrangement, and comprising the oldest known cache of such items to date. Fifteen of the triangular-rimmed mirrors have duplicates within the same cache, representing seven different sets each of which was made from a single mold or model, and ten such duplicate sets are also shared with the Tsubai Otsukayama tomb in Yamashiro Town, Kyoto Prefecture. Only the single gamontai mirror was placed within the coffin, accompanied by swords, with the remaining mirrors inserted in the interval between the coffin and the chamber walls. All of the triangular-rimmed mirrors were placed with the reflecting surface facing the coffin, seventeen on the western and fifteen on the eastern sides, with the single mirror on the short northern side completing a U-shaped arrangement around the coffin. These materials are of great value as a rich and concrete example of Early Kofun grave goods and their placement at the time of burial. At the same time, from the existence of the drainage ditch, the work road, the structure of the chamber walls, along with the placement of the grave goods, excellent data have been obtained for making a detailed reconstruction of the tomb and the rituals which attended it. The date of the tomb's construction is thought to be in the first half of the Early Kofun period.
Keywords:
Early keyhole-shaped mounded tombs; triangular-rimmed mirrors; Early Kofun period; Nara basin (Japan)
JAA