ARCHAEOLOGIA JAPONICA

Interdisciplinary ResearchNEGISHI Sho1
In today’s Japanese archaeology, an interdisciplinary approach is actively used to acquire
new viewpoints in analysis of sites and artifacts. Thus, cooperation with different ﬁelds
is increasing and one needs to pay attention to multiple ﬁelds regardless, academicand administrative, not only in individual study but also in the in case of excavation
research. In this article, trends of interdisciplinary archaeological research limited tonatural scientiﬁc approaches were summarized under six themes based on representative
societies such as the Japanese Archaeological Association and Japan Society for
Scientiﬁc Studies on Cultural Properties (JSSSCP), as well as theses published in related
academic journals and conventions. However, the XIX INQUA (International Unionfor Quaternary Research) Congress with the main theme “Quaternary Perspectives on
Climate Change, Natural Hazards and Civilization” had to be omitted since the numberof sessions was enormous.
1. Paleoenvironment/Paleoclimate and the Humanity, went over studies that covered
humanity’s responses to environmental ﬂuctuation, such as a special issue “NaturalResource Environment and Humans in the Pleistocene and Holocene” [The Quaternary
Research 54 (5)].
2. Dating handled AMS C-14 dating on mostly carbonized materials adhering to pottery,such as study on Incipient and Early Jomon, as well as KISHIMOTO Naofumi’s
work that discussed AMS C-14 measurements and chronological dates on transition
from the Yayoi period to the Kofun period [Koukogaku Kenkyu (ArchaeologicalStudy) Vol. 62, No. 3]. Also mentioned were HITOKI Eri, TSUJI Seiichiro and others
who discussed calculating local deviations of marine reservoir effects in analysis ofshellﬁsh from Early Jomon [The Quaternary Research 54 (5)], and KOBAYASHI
Kenichi and SAKAMOTO Minoru who made a wide area comparison of carbon andnitrogen isotope ratios for materials adhering to pottery from Late Jomon [Bulletin ofthe National Museum of Japanese History 196]. In addition, dendrochronology withoxygen isotope ratios that uses cellulose contained in tree rings was introduced.
3. Subsistence discussed dog burials excavated from Kamikuroiwa-iwakage site in Ehime
1 c/o Akita International University, Yuwa, Akita 010–1292, Japan(yo-negishi@aiu.ac.jp)

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JAPANESE JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 5 (2017): 52–53

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Prefecture [Anthropological Science 123-2], and study by Satoshi who reconstructed
shellﬁsh gathering activity from the end of Early Jomon to the end of Middle Jomon
using shellﬁsh growth line analysis methodology [Nihon Ajia Kenkyu (Japanese AsianStudy) 13]. On plant utilization study, OBATA Hiroki, Taneo Maku Jomonjin (JomonPeople Who Sow Seeds) (Yoshikawa Kobunkan) should be mentioned. This discussed
the origin of farming in the Japanese archipelago based on replication methodology.
On diet analysis using carbon/nitrogen stable isotope ratios, study by ABE Akinori,
KUNIKITA Dai and others on carbonized material adhering to pottery and clay
objects from the latter half of the Jomon Period was mentioned. Also on starch residue
analysis, a thesis by SHIBUTANI Ayako had a deep discussion from starch grains tothe use of pebble tools [Cultura Antiqua Vol. 67-I].
4. Place of Origin/Material/Technique discussed obsidian quarry analysis in Natural
Resource Environment and Humans: Bulletin of the Center for Obsidian and LithicStudies, Meiji University 6, clay analysis methods that focused on volcanic glass, anda study by MIZUSAWA Kyoko who compared Jomon and Yayoi pottery excavatedfrom Yashiro site, Nagano Prefecture [Quaternary International Vol. 397]. Other
than these, mentioned were the location of production sites for bronze tools using
lead isotope ratios (SAITO Tsutomu Archaeology and Natural Science Vol. 69), nondestructive analysis of ancient glass by X-ray ﬂuorescence (MURAKUSHI Madokaet al. The 32nd Annual meeting of the Japan Society for Scientiﬁc Studies on Cultural
Property Abstracts), and sulfur/mercury/lead isotope analysis on vermilion (cinnabar)by MINAMI Takeshi, KAWANO Maya et al.
5. Anthropology (Including Physical/DNA) discussed the 69th Annual Meeting of the
Anthropological Society of Nippon that had sessions “DNA Analysis of the Japanese”
and “New Viewpoints of Cave Sites,” as well as Archaeological Journal 671 that had
a special featured article “Kotsugaku kara Kodomo no Itai wo Miru (Children’s BodySeen from Osteology).”
6. Site Research Method discussed a special article on archaeological study of remainsof tsunami and earthquakes [Miyagi Kokogaku (Miyagi Archaeology) 17], researchmethods for rice paddy features, as well as the present states and reorganizationof problems for volcano disaster research by MARUYAMA Koji, who presented
achievements of a case study of two 10th-century widespread areas of tephra in thenorthern Tohoku region [Kokogaku Kenkyu 62-2].

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