ARCHAEOLOGIA JAPONICA

Paleolithic
NAGAYA Koji1
The Japanese Paleolithic is currently not being studied in Japanese elementary schools.
The Japanese Archaeological Association held a session to discuss the signiﬁcance ofstudying the Paleolithic. It was recognized that studying “the origin of mankind” and“diffusion of the human race” is a meaningful opportunity to grasp history beyond theframework of Japanese history.
An outstanding trend of recent studies is to evaluate the Japanese Islands within Asianhistory. Some scholars examine the Middle Paleolithic in China to search for the originof Paleolithic culture in the Japanese Islands, and some research the movement of people
during the Last Glacial Maximum. The 6th Worldwide SEAA (Society for East AsianArchaeology) Conference, which took place in Ulan Bator last June, held a “researchsession for the Lower Paleolithic in the Japanese Islands.” Also, sessions related toJapan such as “latest examples of Siberia and Japan” and “obsidian and other stone toolmaterials” were prepared at the 7th meeting of the Asian Paleolithic Association held inSouth Korea in November. Japanese data were also used in studies in Asia.
On movement of people in LGM, ANBIRU Masao is advocating a circum-Sea ofJapan Paleolithic cultural corridor. In the corridor, ﬂake point culture and Yubetsu
style microliths were spread, and within it were obsidian mines such as Shirataki,Shinshu, Koshidake, and Hakutosan. Bidirectional movement of people and artifacts
was reviewed. There were many examinations of stone tool culture other than earlymicroliths in Hokkaido, but many conclusions assumed a relationship with the continent
rather than Honshu.
Important research results were yielded from southern islands. Human bones, tools
made from bivalve, and tusk shell beads were excavated from an approximately 20,000
year old carbonized layer in Sakitari cave site in Nanjo City, Okinawa Prefecture. Also,excavation of freshwater crabs and snails were prominent in the layer, suggesting thepossibility of a preference for freshwater animals as a food source.
Study and discussion of stone tools and materials continued to be active. Especially,surveys for obsidian quarries have been conducted aggressively in recent years,and detailed data are being accumulated. In June, the Japanese Paleolithic Research
1 c/o Gifu prefectural Seki high school, 2–1–1 Sakuragaoka, Seki City, Gifu 501–3903, Japan(ngy@msc.biglobe.ne.jp)

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Association held a symposium under the theme, “acquisition and consumption of stonematerial and formation of archaeological sites,” where research examples from Japanand South Korea were presented. Multilateral examination was given to the locationof material collection, material size and shape, transition of processing the material,
transportation, and frequency of use at locations where materials were transported.
While there is a study trend from global viewpoints, speciﬁc studies of regionalcharacteristics were continued by local study groups. Also, there is a drastic decreaseof archaeological excavation from large-scale developments; some local governments
are considering reformation of buried cultural property organizations. Administration ofburied cultural properties is reaching a threshold, and utilization of various excavation
results is getting more important. Outreach and education activities such as exhibitions atmuseums and lectures for the public were conducted actively.

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