会誌『考古学研究』

CONTENTS

Vol.63　No.1（249）,June 2016

Message to the members who have been affected by the Kumamoto earthquakes

ARTICLES

• The archaeology of “seaweed salt burning”: An experimental archaeological consideration of the technology of salt production with pottery in the Jōmon period
• ABE Yoshirō
  Abstract: The existence in Japan from ancient times of techniques using seaweed in salt production has been pointed out. However, most of the debate until now has consisted of inferences based on written sources from documentary history or the history of the salt industry, or on traditional ceremonies, and there have been almost no archaeological examinations looking into the traces of salt-making activities.
  　On the other hand, in the field of archaeology it has been considered that a Jōmon sphere of technology in eastern Japan and a Yayoi sphere of technology in western Japan existed independently of each other, based on chronological research on salt-making pottery. The notion is widespread that these two emerged separately and were mutually unrelated, and their development proceeded in multilineal fashion.
  　In the current contribution, based on a consideration of traces of utilization of seaweed ash at the Hōdō site, a Jōmon period salt production site in Ibaraki prefecture, a reexamination is made of various theories previously advanced, and their problems in archaeological terms are pointed out. As a result, it is possible to indicate that circumstantial evidence is not sufficient enough to show the concrete method of utilization of seaweed ash. Accordingly, a reconstruction was made of salt production technology that uses seaweed ash, based on the conditions of recovery of salt-making features and vestiges found in their vicinity, and verification of the hypothesis made with the methodology of experimental archaeology.
  　As a result of experiments done with multiple patterns, it was found possible to crystallize and extract the salt from seawater efficiently with the technique of putting ash, made by burning seaweed, into a pot and directly boiling seawater in it, so the appropriateness of the hypothesis was verified. This led to the new conclusion that seaweed ash was not used in order to concentrate the salt content, but to serve as a medium for the crystallization of salt within the vessel.
  　From this result it is pointed out that salt production with pottery utilizing seaweed ash existed widely in Honshu prior to the appearance of salt evaporation ponds. And this conclusion makes it clear that, rather than salt production with pottery developing independently in the eastern and western parts of the archipelago as previously thought, it was a development based on the same technological tradition of using seaweed ash, and the salt-making pottery that emerged in various periods and regions reflected differences in their respective social backgrounds.

  Keywords: Jōmon period; salt production with pottery; experimental archaeology.
• Function and regional distinctiveness of combined shovels from the view point of joining methods: Mainly from the region lying to the west of the Ise Area
• TSURUGI Kōsuke
  Abstract: This paper aims to combine the current information about the structural change of the “combined shovels” typical of the Yayoi and early Kofun periods and to reconsider how they were used in the western region of Japan, based on an analysis of the shape of their edges. The author focuses on the multiformity of joining methods and clarifies that the form of the mortise gradually became more complex and that the shape of the vertical section of the blade changed from being curved to being straight in the late Yayoi period. However, the shovel type whose shaft was attached to its blade at a blunt angle was used more widely compared to the linear one, regardless of the period.
  　Moreover the author examines the shape of the edge and excavated state of the combined shovels and clarifies that they were used for both scooping and digging. The utilization of combined shovels for digging varied depending on the region and this difference may originate in the availability of timber resources, or its production and distribution system.

  Keywords: combined shovel; joining methods; function; regional distinctiveness.
• Basic research on the board game kariuchi
• ODA Yūki
  Abstract: In the current contribution, with regard to the board game called “kariuchi” which was inferred to have existed in the Nara period, based on considerations of characters used in Man’yōshū poems and examples of games from the folklore of the Korean peninsula, the existence is made clear of archaeological materials inscribed with designs consisting of dotted lines, thought to be the game board, and an examination is made based on archaeological analysis of the game’s actual conditions. This research holds the possibility for shedding light archaeologically on the true state of ancient gaming/gambling, a significant achievement for the clarification of an ancient cultural activity.
  　A Haji ware plate, recovered from ditch SD5100 of East Second Row Street of the Nara capital, is incised with a design made of rows of round dots that were punctured after firing. The same arrangement of this dotted line design has been recovered mainly from ancient capital and administrative sites such as the Nara palace and Akita castle, and the design is thought to have been distributed to a certain degree across ancient Japan. Additionally, the arrangement of this design corresponds with the face of the board for the game called “yutnori” (윷놀이) of the Korean peninsula. From research on characters used in Man’yōshū poems, it is assumed that a game similar to yutnori called kariuchi had spread to ancient Japan, and this design of dotted lines is thought to have been the face of its game board.
  　Also, the design of dotted lines is characteristically incised on vessels that were being reutilized, and variations and abbreviations in the design are also seen. The ability to be played readily on a variety of occasions is thought to be a feature of kariuchi, and it is conceivable the game spread over a broader range of social strata than go or sugoroku (a board game in which pieces advance according to the roll of dice) which have been transmitted in the Shōsōin treasury.

  Keywords: Ancient Japan; ancient Korea; dotted line designs; kariuchi; yutnori.

REPORTS, NEWS AND APPEALS

• Report of attendance at the symposium on the discovery of Matsuho bronze bells
• WAKIYAMA Kana
  
• Report of attendance at the ‘limited disclosure’ of the preliminary excavation of the Shibutani Mukaiyama tumulus
• HARADA Masahiro and KANAZAWA Yūta
  
• Observation of the Shibutani Mukaiyama tumulus
• SAWADA Hidemi
  
• Artistic Landscape of Archaeology 4: Let's talk, enjoy, and make a way
• NAKAMURA Ōki and MATSUO Megumi
  

NEW BOOK

• AKOSHIMA Kaoru. The Primitive Age in the North.
• TOKUDOMI Kōichi
  
• OBATA Hiroki. Jomon People Planted Seeds.
• NAKAMURA Yutaka
  

ARCEO-FOCUS

• Essouk-Tadmekka: An early Islamic market town in the southern Sahara, Mali, West Africa
• Sam Nixon (translated by SEIKE Akira)
  
• Excavation of the foundation of the keep of Kōriyama Castle, Yamatokōriyama city, Nara prefecture
• Yamatokōriyama City Board of Education
  

REPORT OF THE 62nd BUSINESS AND ANNUAL MEETINGS OF THE SOCIETY

REPORTS OF THE REGIONAL MEETINGS

• Report of the Regional Meeting in Okayama jointly held with the Japanese Palaeolithic Research Association

MESSAGE FROM THE COMMITTEE

MEMBERS’COMMUNICATIONS