会誌『考古学研究』

Abstract: This paper examines chronological division, in order to elucidate the nature of spatial cognition in Japanese archaeology. Chronological divisions in the archaeology of a particular cultural history are defined when regional circumscription is introduced to a framework of universal developmental stages. Also, this local circumscription has been associated with the territory of a social group. Within the framework of ethnic replacement theory in the early phase of Japanese archaeology, such social groups were associated with particular periods, and the regional circumscription remained simply a determination of place. In the framework presented by YAMANOUCHI Sugao and others in the 1930s, such a social group was associated with a regional expanse which might be called its “unique space.” This framework has held support throughout the social upheavals of the defeat in war and subsequent occupation to continue to the present day. One possible means for archaeology as cultural history to overcome this notion of “unique space” in Japanese archaeology is to deepen discussion about the spatial expanse of cultures, and follow their transformations. Another way is to envisage the archaeology of “place” in a manner distinct from that used in ethnic replacement theory.

Keywords: Archaeology as cultural history; chronological division; social groups; V. G. Childe; ethnic replacement theory.

Abstract: This paper intends to reconsider how the concept of ‘Yayoi culture’ was born and has developed, how it is defined archaeologically, and how significant it will be in the future development of Japanese archaeology.
　Firstly, ‘period’ and ‘culture’ as archaeological concepts are originally the products of ‘categorization’, an artificial construct peculiar to human cognition, which are increasingly becoming removed from the actual conditions found in excavated data.
　Secondly, ‘Yayoi culture’ is not strictly a ‘culture’ in terms of archaeology as understood by early theorists such as Gordon Childe, but rather, is a simple ‘label’ used to describe the early societies in Japan which employed wet rice paddies. The term is considered to have been coined as part of the process of sophistication of Japan's history during the Second World War.
　Third, the Japanese ‘Yayoi period’ and the British iron age are regarded as the same historical stage, in which the seafront areas of both island which faced the Eurasian continent gained an distinct advantage in material culture over their hinterlands through powerful centre and periphery relationships with the ancient Han and Roman empires, formed over several hundreds of years during a warm interval in the centuries before Christ.

Keywords: Yayoi culture; Yayoi period; archaeological culture; environmental history; global history.

Abstract: Japanese microblade industries, which emerged in the Late Upper Paleolithic, divide broadly into three types : the pyramido-conical, boat-shaped, and spalling platform core types. The latter type of microblade industry had origins in southern Siberia, centered on Lake Baikal and its environs, and diffused to Hokkaido around 21,000 years ago. By contrast, the pyramido-conical type has traditionally been vaguely regarded as having originated in the Japanese archipelago, but recently a theory of origins in northern China (from where it diffused to Kyushu) has been proposed. However, although assemblages having the Arakawadai technique have until now been given little attention, with instances of these materials being recently reported, the nature of this industry is now becoming clear. The Arakawadai industry formed as technological information from the initial phase of the Early stage microblade industry in Hokkaido (Rankoshi, Pirika, and Togeshita types) diffused to the Tohoku region, and its microblade cores assumed a pyramido-conical shape as their final form. A new hypothesis, suggested here, is that this presence of the Arakawadai industry may have helped promote the evolution of the pyramido-conical type industry in central Honshu.

Keywords: Late Upper Paleolithic; Arakawadai type microblade industry; pyramido-conical core microblade industry; spalling platform core microblade industry; initial phase of Early stage Hokkaido microblade industry.

Abstract: In this paper I study use-wear on amorphous stone tools from the Eno-kaso-shiki phase of the Jommon period, recovered from several pits at the Shinmachino site, Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture. The research reveals that the form and flaking angle of the flake removal faces are related to the presence or absence of use-wear. The study also shows that some tools have multiple removal faces formed by shaping and sharpening. The comparative analysis of the use-wear between the amorphous stone tools and the spoon-shaped scrapers (ishisaji) indicates that the amorphous stone tools were primarily used for animal processing, whereas the spoon-shaped scrapers were mainly used for plant processing.

Keywords: Use-wear; removal face; sharpening; shaping; usage.

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between the ground plan and upper structure of pit dwellings of the Yayoi period based on their burnt remains. Two architectural types have been identified from the relationships between the plan, the locations of the main pillars, and the floor space, among pit dwellings around Mount Daisen in the Late and Final Yayoi: one based on a circular design principle, and the other on the principle of a rectangle with rounded corners. The circular design could be made larger by increasing the number of main pillars arranged in concentric circles, while for the rectangular design with rounded corners, this was achieved by increasing the distance between the main pillars. The relationship between this difference in the ground plan and the upper structure was examined through evidence of burnt materials excavated from pit dwellings. The result shows that burnt members identifiable as purlins have been found from pit dwellings of the first design, including circular and rounded polygonal shapes, but not from those of rectangular design with rounded corners. It is concluded that pit dwellings of the circular design had trusses of sloping cruck-like members set on the ground which received the ridgepole, while those of the rectangular design with rounded corners supported the ridgepole by setting trusses of diagonal braces or struts atop the beams.

Keywords: Yayoi period; pit dwellings; burnt pit dwellings; charred material.