TRENDS IN ARCHAEOLOGY IN JAPANJomon Period
ABE Akinori1
Fiscal 2017 saw publication of numerous theses on the Jomon period partly due to alarge volume of publications: ANZAI Masato ed. Riron Kokogaku no Jissen (Practiceof Theoretical Archaeology) I and II (Tokyo: Doseisha), and YAMAMOTO Teruhisa ed.
Yamamoto Teruhisa Sensei Koki Kinen Ronshu Nijuisseiki Kokogaku no Genzai (Thesesin Commemoration of Professor Yamamoto’s 70th Birthday: The Present of 21st CenturyArchaeology) (Tokyo: Rokuichi Shobo). Furthermore, many symposia were held in variousplaces. Outstanding ones were on national historic sites and ﬁre- shaped pottery. Since
evaluation of Incipient Jomon has become an issue lately, symposia were held on periodical
divisions and frameworks of the Jomon period. As for the division of periods, the problem is
how to evaluate universality, diversity, and uniqueness within world prehistory.
As for artifact study, outstanding was pottery studies that focused on large-areachronology and relationships with surrounding regions. Also, vessel type study and clay
analysis were active. As for stone tool study many theses were on stone material study,
especially based on analysis data of obsidian sources. As for study on building remains,
symposia and conferences were held on keyhole-shaped paved settlements, and discussions
were exchanged on their emergence processes, regional development, and signiﬁcance. The
concept of “monument” is being used increasingly for large-scale structure study, but theword is being used vaguely without a clear deﬁnition.
As for social theory, outstanding was a joint research led by YAMADA Yasuhiro“Senshijidai ni Okeru Shakai Fukuzatsuka/Chiiki Tayoka no Kenkyu (Study on Social
Complication/Regional Diversiﬁcation in Prehistory)” (Bulletin of the National Museum ofJapanese History 208), in addition to individual theses. It concluded that regional diversity
is emphasized with the increasing complexity of prehistoric society and it is difﬁcult tograsp complexity/diversiﬁcation of prehistoric society uniformly.
As for subsistence study, analysis methods using replicas of pressed marks on pottery areachieving signiﬁcant results in recent years. This enables remains of plants that are hard tobe preserved as an artifact to be yielded as pressed marks and it is effective to supplement
plant remains. In addition to carbon/nitrogen isotope analysis on material adhered inside
1 Chiba University, 1–33 Yayoicho, Chiba Inage-ku, Chiba 263–8522, Japan(abe.aki@chiba-u.jp)

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pottery, lipid analysis is being conducted in Japan recently. As for dating measurement
study, there is KOBAYASHI Kenichi Jomon Jidai no Jitsunendai Doki Keishiki Hennen toTanso 14 Nendai (Actual Dates of the Jomon Period: Chronology of Pottery Type and C-14Dating) (Tokyo: Doseisha). Three-dimensional measurement on features and artifacts isbecoming popular. It is effective as a method of data processing, and future development is
expected in this study.
Viewing the entire Jomon period study, outstanding were research results related tochemical analysis and new research results using replica method and three-dimensional
measurement. On the other hand, orthodox studies on artifacts, features and settlements
tend to be stagnated. For example, viewpoints on large-area chronology and the relationshipbetween regions is observed for pottery study and results of study meetings are sparse.
As for features study, despite the fact that discussion was heightened on four large stonerods excavated from SV1 at Midorikawahigashi site, overall study is being progressedby individual researchers and it can be said that there is a lack of places for exchanging
discussions. As for social conditions surrounding archaeology, recently getting a job related
to buried cultural properties is quite favorable, but there seems a drastic decrease of young
researchers in the past ten years. It is possible that this will become a serious problem in thefuture.

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