CONTENTS
Vol.65 No.1（257）, June 2018
ARTICLES
- Acts
of additional/secondary burial in abandoned-building graves of the
Jōmon period
- NAKAMURA Kousaku
Abstract: This contribution
examines additional and secondary burials in abandoned-building graves
which are prominently seen along the coast of Tokyo Bay in the Kantō
region in the latter half of the Middle Jōmon period （5,000-4,500 cal
BP）.
In addition to abandoned-building graves having only one burial per
structure, in the middle portion of the Middle Jōmon there are
instances of multiple corpses being distributed on the floor of pit
structures, or of multiple corpses in the soil covering a pit
structure. In this contribution both types are regarded as “additional
burials”(group burials with a temporal lag among their conponents）,
and these are understood in comprehensive fashion as transitioning over
time from additional burials made in a horizontal direction on the
structure’s floor to those made in a vertical direction extending from
the floor into the overlying soil. In most instances the
abandoned-building grave’s appearance following the placement of a
corpse showed a condition of the structure being dismantled and filled
to a certain degree, and examples of burials in a horizontal direction
with the structure intact are rare. This method was soon discontinued,
and replaced by one in which additional burials were added successively
in a vertical direction.
Also, from examples in which a condition of open space around an
unburied corpse is inferred from the natural movement of human bones,
it was confirmed that acts of manipulating the remains （secondary
burial） took place after the lapse of an interval following the death.
Continual involvement with an abandoned pit structure （secondary
utilization） and with human remains （secondary burial） have points in
common, and were linked as mortuary customs transformed in keeping with
trends of the settlement as a whole.
In general, the repetition of mortuary ritual at a single location
converts the spot into sacred ground, and also serves as opportunity
for attempting to restructure the social order using the dead as a
medium. Also, the performance of secondary burial repeatedly over long
intervals has the same manner of function. Among such phenomena,
abandoned-building graves in which the concrete process of mortuary
practice can be examined have important value as data.
Keywords: additional burial;
secondary burial; accumulation; restructuring; secondary utilization.
- One
aspect of axe-shaped stone imitative objects: Through an analysis of
the characteristic socketed axe-shaped stone imitative objects
- SAKUMA Masaaki
Abstract: This contribution
takes as its aim the clarification of aspects of stone imitative
objects that gained popularity around the middle of the Kofun period.
Together with showing that irregular perforations seen in some
socketed-axe-shaped stone imitative objects were holes made for repair,
from the use of these items as grave goods even while repairing them,
the issue of their “necessity” is addressed. From examples of their
accompanying large amounts of iron objects in mortuary facilities for
iron implements not containing human burials, the “precious nature” of
these stone imitative items is indicated. Further, in tombs where
repaired socketed-axe-shaped objects are recovered, it was confirmed
that in addition to axe-shaped items being spatially distinct from
knife-shaped stone objects, the axe-shaped stone objects are
numerically “superior” to the knife-shaped items.
In addition, in the Kantō and Tōhoku regions the ratio of axe-shaped
items is higher towards the time of emergence of stone imitative
objects, with their numerical superiority over knife-shaped stone
objects being recognizable. This trend can also be confirmed for the
Kinai region. Further, at the time of their emergence they were
comparatively faithful imitations of iron axes, but gradually came to
be dominated by more simplified items.
It is pointed out that the transformation of stone imitative objects
as a whole, as represented by axe-shaped items, was possibly linked
with changes in the relations of sets of stone objects that were
imitative of agricultural and woodworking tools, and with the
transition to their interment in large numbers centering on
knife-shaped items. It is further stated that stone imitative objects
were indispensable to mortuary ritual, and emerged bearing their
necessity as items symbolizing the functions of iron agricultural and
woodworking tools.
Keywords: Kofun; axe-shaped
stone imitative objects; holes for repairs; iron axes.
- The
production system of haniwa from the Furuichi Mounded Tomb
Group during
the Middle Kofun period
- KIMURA Osamu
Abstract: During the Middle
Kofun period, which stretched from the late 4th century to the end of
the 5th century AD, the locus of the central polity is considered to
have been the large-scale mounded tomb groups of the Kawachi and Izumi
regions, such as the Furuichi Mounded Tomb Group.
Cylindrical haniwa, a significant amount of which has been
unearthed,
are highly instructive when considering the relationships between the
mounded tombs at the heart of the central polity. In this paper, I
clarify their various lineages, reconsider their chronology, and
reconstruct the nature of their production. Additionally, I assert that
the second half of the 5th century （from the TK208 to TK23 phase）
witnessed the following three changes: 1） the craftsmen groups serving
large-scale mounded tombs were reorganized and haniwa types
saw an
accompanying renewal; 2） some small mounded tombs began to be equipped
with small-sized cylindrical haniwa made by the same
craftsmen groups
that furnished large-scale tombs; and 3） less labor began to be
invested in small-sized cylindrical haniwa across the whole
Furuichi
Mounded Tomb Group.
I also suggest that these phenomena transcend haniwa
production and
are
intimately linked with social changes, such as the transformation of haniwa
rituals, increasing social complexity, and shifts in
the
relationships with those groups responsible for the construction of
other large-scale mounded tomb groups. I thus evaluate this period as a
phase of dramatic change in the Japanese archipelago. Furthermore,
while the end of the 5th century （the TK23 to TK47 phase） has
traditionally been considered as an epoch, I contend that certain
significant changes began earlier and propose that these changes should
rather be viewed as a gradual process.
Keywords: Furuichi Mounded
Tomb
Group; cylindrical haniwa; artifact lineages; chronology;
production
systems.
RESEARCH NOTE
- Kinki-style
Jōmon pottery excavated from the Kuginosengen site
- FUKUNAGA Masahiro
Abstract: In this paper I
investigate Jomon period pottery produced in the Kinki regional style
excavated from the Kuginosengen site in Kokonoe, Oita prefecture. As a
result, I have recognized traits such as form, decoration, and a
technique of decoration that derives from Ichizyoji K-type and
Motosumiyoshiyama I-type potteries of the Kinki region dating to the
middle phase of the Late Jomon period. However, it is unlikely that the
Kinki regional style vessels recovered at the Kuginosengen site had
been transported from the Kinki region, as several of their traits,
such as the decoration, and the paste from which there were produced,
is not found in the Kinki region. Additionally, most of the Kinki style
pots at the Kuginosengen site are spouted vessels. From these findings,
I propose that the remains observed at the Kuginosengen site were
produced by human interactions specifically concerning inter-communal
gatherings of a ritualistic nature.
Keywords: the middle phase of
the late Jomon; Kuginosengen site; the phenomenon of pottery spread;
interaction; the different style pottery.
REPORTS, NEWS AND APPEALS
- Special feature: Archaeology in schools Part 2
- Report of attendance at the 50th meeting of “Regional Gathering
to Reconsider and Protest against Japanese ‘Foundation Day’”
- MURATA Shūseki
- Report of attendance at the observation of Tannowa-Nisanzai
(Udo-no-haka) and Saki-Misasagiyama mounded tombs
- KAWACHI Kazuhiro and NAKAKUBO Tatsuo
BOOKS REVIEWS
- ŌTSUKA Yoshiaki. The formation of the Knife-Shaped Stone
Tool Culture in the Japanese archipelago:
The movement and settling of
modern humans
- KINUGAWA Kazunori
- SAINO Hirohiko. Investigate method of tsunami disaster traces
- BESSHO Hidetaka
- National Conference Association for the Preservation of Cultural
Properties ed. 70 years of cultural property preservation:
Cultural
heritage for tomorrow
- NOZAKI Takahiro
NEW BOOK
- Nojiri-ko Excavation Research Group. The Naumann's Elephant
of Lake Nojiri: Citizen involvement in an Ice Age excavation
- ONO Akira
ARCHEO-FOCUS
- Excavation of dwelling no. 1 at the Okinohara site (national
historic site), Niigata prefecture
- SATO Nobuyuki
- Revisiting to Htam Tim Rock Art in Western Shan Plateau, Myanmar
- Tin Htut Aung
REPORT OF THE 64th BUSINESS AND ANNUAL MEETINGS OF THE SOCIETY
MESSAGE FROM THE COMMITTEE
MEMBERS’ COMMUNICATIONS