"NIHON KÔKOGAKU" 8 Abstracts
[A] : Article, [RN] : Preliminary Report of Excavation
| [A] | HUANG Weiwen | 
A Message from Early Man: New Finds from Research on the Lower and Middle Paleolithic of China | 1-17 |
|---|---|---|---|
| [A] | KUSE Kenji, KOJIMA Toshiaki, KITANO Hiroshi, and KOBAYASHI Masashi |
Reconstruction of Firing Techniques of Jomon Pottery Based on Firing Cloud Patterns | 19-49 |
| [A] | YOSHIMOTO Yoko and WATANABE Makoto |
A Preliminary Study of Jomon Period Deep Bowls with Anthropomorphic Decorations (II) | 51-85 |
| [A] | NISHIKAWA Toshikatsu |
Sankakubuchi shinjukyo (Triangular-rimmed mirrors) and the Mirrors Presented to Himiko | 87-99 |
| [PR] | NAGANUMA Takashi, KOSHIDA Masashi, MUNAKATA Koji, SUZUKI Hiroyuki, SAKAMOTO Naofumi, NAOEYasuo |
Excavation Report on the Shirataki Site Group, in Shirataki Village, Monbetsu District, North Hokkaido | 101-116 |
| [PR] | HANATANI Hiroshi |
The Excavation of the Asuka'ike Workshop Site and Its Significance | 117-126 |
A Message from Early Man: New Finds from Research on the Lower and Middle Paleolithic of China
HUANG WeiwenAbstract:
This contribution is a report on the most recent archaeological findings for the Lower and Middle Paleolithic periods of China, to which a few observations are added by the author. Its contents can be summarized under the following three points.
1. The most significant recent finding for the Lower Paleolithic, based on paleomagnetic dating and other methods, is the discovery of sites dating to the Olduvai period of normal polarity, or about 1.8 million years ago, or perhaps even earlier. These are the Renzidong Cave Site in Anhui (2-2.4 million years ago), the Longgupo Site in Chongqing, and the Xiaochangliang Site in Hebei. The period 1.8 million years ago is the time of the emergence of Homo erectus in east Africa, and the age estimated for the Renzidong parallels the stage of Homo habilis. Such an age for the site would thus be at odds with the main theories held worldwide in anthropology and archaeology, but if this is indeed the case, then we may see new theories advanced, such as suggestions that the time for the dispersal of early man to Eurasia must be pushed back, or that perhaps the principal figure in this dispersal was Homo habilis.
2. The Movius Line, proposed fifty years ago by Hallam Movius Jr. as dividing the ancient land mass of the Lower Paleolithic into "handaxe" versus "chopper-chopping tool" regions, does not exist. The latter cultural sphere, to which Asia was held to belong, was supposedly backward in cultural development because of the lack of stimulus provided humankind by the meagre climatic change. With advances in archaeological and quarternary research, however, it has become clear that climatic change in Asia was as severe as in other regions, and that handaxes and cleavers were also present in Asia.
3. The period from approximately 260,000 to 30,000 years ago in China is best thought of as the Middle Paleolithic, which preceded the emergence of fully-developed blade and microblade techniques. The start of this period corresponds to the latter third of the Middle Pleistocene. As cultural characteristics of this period, the influence of late Acheulean culture can be seen in the tool kits at the Dingcun Sites and elsewhere, that of the Levallois technique at the Panxian Dadong Site, and that of the Levallois technique together with the blade technique of early Aurignacian culture at the Shuidongguo Site. In this manner it can be seen that in the Middle Paleolithic period there was already a movement of peoples and culture between the eastern and western parts of Eurasia.
Keywords:
Early and Middle Paleolithic periods; China; Eurasia; chronology; environment; lithic industry
Reconstruction of Firing Techniques of Jomon Pottery Based on Firing Cloud Patterns
KUSE Kenji, KOJIMA Toshiaki, KITANO Hiroshi, and KOBAYASHI MasashiAbstract:
Firing cloud patterns and other traces left by the firing process provide critical data for reconstructing the bonfire technique used to manufacture Jomon pottery. As it is difficult to observe firing cloud patterns that are as distinct as those of Yayoi pots, clarification of the process of firing cloud pattern formation through bonfire experiments, and the accumulation of comparisons between the experimentally produced patterns and those of Jomon pots are essential. In the current contribution, based on the results of a series of experiments with open bonfires, cloud patterns were classified from the process of formation as "firewood contact patterns produced by soot from wood which burns with a relatively strong flame (typically in inverted U-shapes or spots appearing in pairs)," "rod-shaped firewood contact patterns," "contact patterns from embers," "patterns made by soot residues," etc. As a result of observations made with five data sets of Early and Middle Jomon pottery from eastern Japan, it was found that this classification could be applied in a great many examples, verifying that the bonfire technique had been reconstructed to a certain degree from the perspective of the process of formation of cloud patterns. From this, the following has become clear.
1. As cloud patterns produced by soot from firewood which burns with a high flame were observed in many of the archaeological examples examined for this contribution, the use of open bonfires, rather than those having some kind of covering, was reconfirmed. Cloud patterns from contact with firewood formed on the inside surface, and also the outside surface, of the side of the vessel which lay on the ground, and on the outside surface of the opposite side; it was accordingly clear that large amounts of firewood were placed underneath and alongside pots which were laid on their sides. On the other hand, in experiments with covered bonfires, conditions within the enclosed space approached those of kilns, and cloud patterns produced by soot from high flames were few.
2. From the observation of cloud patterns produced by contact with firewood or embers on the inside of the majority of pots in the five data sets, it is clear that fuel had been placed inside the pots. In contrast to Yayoi pottery, in which no firewood is placed within the vessel, the insertion of fuel in Jomon pots is thought to be due to the difficulty for combustible gasses to circulate otherwise, as shown in the bonfire experiments.
3. In addition to the points in common noted in observations of cloud patterns in the five sets of Early and Middle Jomon pottery from eastern Japan, the following differences were also found. The Ento kaso b style vessels (especially large items) from the no. Vb peat layer of the Sannai Maruyama Site were laid horizontally on top of the firewood, with firewood and grass placed on their sides and tops; in this regard these materials differ from those of the other four sets, for which there is a high possibility that the pots were toppled into a horizontal position during firing. Conceivable reasons for using this method include (1) a deficiency in the flame reaching the rims of the vessels, if the pipe-like form of the Ento kaso b style vessels were set upright, and (2), the use of grass as fuel, in conjunction with firewood, as a means of economizing on the latter, with the large-scale production of pottery.
4. As to variation among the materials in whether the color of the pot is red or whitish, as relationships can be observed between this difference and the characteristics of cloud patterns on the inner and outer lateral surfaces of the pots, and with the presence or absence of cloud patterns on the inner and outer surfaces of the bases, it is possible that these features reflect differences in the strength of the temperature increase as well as variation in the atmosphere during firing. For the Sannai Maruyama Vb layer, most of the smaller vessels of 5 liters or less capacity were reddish, whereas in large pots whitish items were slightly more numerous; this is perhaps the result of the practice of leaning firewood and grass fuels up against the larger vessels.
Keywords:
Bonfire techniques for pottery production; open versus covered bonfires; firing cloud patterns; experimental archaeology; Early and Middle Jomon periods; eastern Japan
A Preliminary Study of Jomon Period Deep Bowls with Anthropomorphic Decorations (II)
YOSHIMOTO Yoko and WATANABE MakotoAbstract:
In 1994, in the inaugural issue of this journal, the authors published a compilation of anthropomorphically decorated deep bowl-shaped vessels, the shape that forms the mainstream of Jomon pottery bearing human faces and figurines, and presented the results of basic research on their classification, distribution, function, and so forth. We have subsequently made examinations of vessels bearing handles for suspension, censer-shaped vessels, spouted vessels, and vessels of related shapes, clarifying the various concepts held by people of the Jomon period regarding death and rebirth, and as it has become definite that the chronological and regional spheres of these items are all subsumed by those of the deep bowl-shaped vessels, we believe it necessary to conduct basic research on the distribution of deep bowl-shaped vessels in constant fashion, and have therefore compiled the materials which have accumulated over the past five years.
Whereas we reported 443 examples of anthropomorphically decorated vessels in 1994, the current contribution presents 601 items, representing an increase of approximately 36 percent. There is no change observed in the distribution, however, ranging from the southwestern part of Hokkaido to Gifu Prefecture, verifying that the broad-leaf deciduous forest belt, for which the change of seasons is most pronounced, stands as a background factor. Within this area, high increases in the number of examples are observed for Yamanashi and Fukushima Prefectures; for the former this well illustrates its position as the center of distribution of Type IV examples, during the period of greatest fluorescence. Also, the latter clearly shows, along with data for its neighboring areas, that it is not only the Chubu region, which has generally been thought of in this regard, which forms the sphere of distribution of anthropomorphically decorated deep bowl-shaped vessels.
In chronological terms as well, there was no change in the development of the classic Type IV in the first half of the Middle Jomon period, but with the increase in examples from the Early Jomon, which had formerly been sporadic, the view that handles bearing animal faces evolved into handles with human faces has become difficult to sustain. Further, among these items there are examples which are significant in functional terms as well, bearing signs of having been placed inside the hearth on a daily basis for use as pedestals. Examples have also increased for the Late and Final Jomon periods, making the continuity with anthropomorphically decorated deep bowl-shaped and vase-shaped vessels from the Yayoi period a step clearer.
In morphological terms, foot-shaped decorative handles are seen from Niigata and Fukushima to Aomori Prefectures, and moreover an example has been recovered from Fukushima Prefecture in which this element appears as part of a set with a handle bearing a human face, showing more clearly the aspect of food being borne from the body of a female deity.
Keywords:
Deep bowl-shaped vessels bearing human faces and figurines; Jomon period; eastern Japan
Sankakubuchi shinjukyo (Triangular-rimmed mirrors) and the Mirrors Presented to Himiko
NISHIKAWA ToshikatsuAbstract:
From what part of the Asian continent were the imported mirrors found in ancient burial mounds and other contexts obtained? The author has conducted an analysis by region of different mirror styles and their incidences of discovery for mirrors found in China. The result was that mirrors from Japan failed to match those for any region in China. Only for the mirrors recovered from the Lelang area was there a close agreement in styles and incidences with Japan.
Were mirrors perhaps made in marginal areas such as Lelang? Among the mirrors whose distribution is centered on the Late Han to Wei period city of Luoyang there is the shihokyo (four-phoenix) style. The author made a comparison of examples of this mirror discovered in the center of its sphere of distribution with those recovered from the periphery. As a result, those mirrors recovered from the center were seen to consist of classic examples only, exhibiting typical patterns and compositional elements. By contrast, substyles having omissions and alterations in their patterns and design elements were numerous in the periphery. Such substyles were seen in large numbers for other styles as well. From this, the possibility was inferred that there were artisans in all parts of China producing mirrors.
Moreover, there were many substyles based on classic Chinese styles recovered from the Lelang region. Mirror production was active in this region as well. The author has labeled these the Lelang Mirrors. Lelang Mirrors were imported into Japan, and there are some examples in which the pattern and inscriptions are identical.
In addition, the author made an overview of Tang style mirrors based mainly on the mirrors in the Shosoin. As a result, it was shown that these mirrors could be easily ranked from the highest on down as: jeweled mirrors decorated with gold and silver leaf applique designs, inlay, and mother-of-pearl inlay; jeweled mirrors gilded or coated with sheets of gold leaf; large mirrors bearing minutely detailed patterns; and medium and small-sized mirrors made in large numbers by casting from replicas. The highest ranked decorative mirrors date from various periods from the Warring States and Early Han on, when similar examples are known from royal tombs. It is evident that the relative rankings of these mirrors were established from the time they were first transmitted to Japan.
If the highest ranked mirrors thus transmitted to Japan can be evaluated as of royal rank, then the mirrors given by the Wei Court to the Queen of Yamatai should also have included items of the highest rank. But the triangular-rimmed mirrors which are assumed to have been received by Himiko lack jeweled decorations, and the workmanship is rough.
It can be surmised that the one hundred mirrors bestowed on Himiko were not all of the same quality, and that they included several jeweled examples of the highest grade which were intended to remain in Himiko's possession. These jeweled items would have been made at the Wei capital of Luoyang. But if the triangular-rimmed mirrors were mass produced based on jeweled mirrors as models, there is no reason why the locus of production would be limited to Luoyang. From the perspective of pattern and manufacturing techniques, one portion of the triangular-rimmed mirrors bear an extremely close relationship to Lelang. The author surmises that triangular-rimmed mirror production was initiated in Lelang, and that these mirrors were then bestowed by Himiko on persons of lower rank.
Keywords:
Sankakubuchi shinjukyo (triangular-rimmed mirrors); jeweled mirrors; mirror ranking; Yayoi period; Kofun period; Japan; China; Korean peninsula
Preliminary Report of Excavation
Excavation Report on the Shirataki Site Group, in Shirataki Village, Monbetsu District, North Hokkaido
NAGANUMA Takashi, KOSHIDA Masashi, MUNAKATA Koji, SUZUKI Hiroyuki, SAKAMOTO Naofumi, NAOE YasuoAbstract:
Shirataki Site Group is a general term for the Paleolithic sites lying the village of Shirataki, located on the northern base of Mt. Taisetsu in Hokkaido. Shirataki is also famous as a source of obsidian, and the volume of stone tools recovered from sites in the group is vastly greater than in other regions. This rich assortment of stone tools is noted not only within Hokkaido, but on a worldwide basis as well. Excavations in conjunction with the construction of a major road were begun in 1995 by the Hokkaido Archaeological Research Center, and five years later in 1999 the greater part of the work has been done, with investigations completed in the Oku Shirataki and Kami Shirataki sectors where large-scale sites concentrate. The nine sites excavated are Oku Shirataki 1 and 11, Hattoridai 2, Kami Shirataki 2 and 5-8, and Hokushi Yubetsu 4, totaling approximately 70,000 m and yielding 3.16 million items found. All of these items were stone artifacts, with no ceramic materials recovered at all. The great majority of artifacts were from the latter half of the Paleolithic period, with a small amount from the Jomon. The bulk of the stone items were flakes of various sizes produced in the process of stone tool manufacture, with tools of regular shapes counting about 20,000 items in all, or 0.65 percent of the total. The tools could not be classified stratigraphically, but clusters discerned in terms of their horizontal distributions can be regarded as forming assemblages. The chronological ages of these assemblages can be divided broadly into those dating to before and after the appearance of microblade cultures. Those thought to predate the appearance of microblades are the assemblages from the Kami Shirataki 8 and Oku Shirataki 1 sites which include a trapezoid-like stone tool, and those from the Kami Shirataki 7 and 8 sites which include the Hirosato shape knife; the former do not exhibit blade manufacturing techniques, whereas they are seen in the latter. With regard to the microblade assemblages, for blocks which include microblade cores such as the Togeshita shape microblade core of the Kami Shirataki 8 site, the Sakko and the Shatekiyama shape cores of the Kami Shirataki 2 site, the Momijiyama shape core of the Oku Shirataki 1 site, there are good refitted materials which may permit better understanding of microblade flaking techniques. For projectile point assemblages, which contain large amounts of flakes produced in the process of manufacture, while there are differences between sites and regional blocks in their compositions, they are accompanied by boat-shaped keeled scrapers, burins, end-scrapers, side-scrapers, and axe-shaped stone tools. For each assemblage there are plentiful refitted materials, making it possible to perceive the flaking techniques and method of manufacture for each tool type. It is believed that these materials will clarify the conditions of stone tool production sites situated in an obsidian producing region.
Keywords:
Obsidian producing region; stone tool production sites; later Paleolithic period; Shirataki Village; riverine terrace, Yubetsu River
Preliminary Report of Excavation
The Excavation of the Asuka'ike Workshop Site and Its Significance
HANATANI HiroshiAbstract:
The Asuka'ike Site is located in the Asuka district of Asuka Town, Nara Prefecture. It lies in a small valley on the southeast side of Asukadera, the first Buddhist temple built in Japan. Various artifacts, such as gold, silver, copper, glass, and iron products, and japan, were manufactured at this site from the latter half of the seventh to the beginning of the eighth centuries. Numerous workshops were neatly arranged on both sides of the valley, with nearly 300 furnaces having been found in these workshops. Drainage was provided at this site, with waste products drained through sumps, deposited on the valley floor, then drawn to a stone-lined settling pool. The clarified water was then drained out of the site. A number of wells and buildings have been found in the northern part of the site.
The layer of deposits at the site is almost one meter deep. Numerous artifacts, partially manufactured items, and tools were found. By far the most important discovery has been the examples of the Fuhon coin and its mold, proving that minting was conducted at this site. Almost eight thousand samples of wooden tablets have been found, providing valuable information on the character of the site as well as the conditions of the times.
Keywords:
Production site; Fuhon coin; Asuka period; Asuka region
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