Shinchi Shell Mound - Tenagamyō Jinja Site
Overview. During the early to middle Jōmon period (approximately 4000 to 2500 BC), sea levels were five to six meters higher than at present, and the ambient temperature was also 2 deg C higher. During this period, the Tōhoku region was inhabited by the Jōmon people, many of whom lived in coastal settlements. The middens associated with such settlements contain bone, botanical material, mollusc shells, sherds, lithics, and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with the now-vanished inhabitants, and these features, provide a useful source into the diets and habits of Jōmon society. Most  of these middens are found along the Pacific coast of Japan, and the rocky ria coast from Iwate through northern Fukushima Prefecture was densely settled from the early through late Jōmon period. The site is located in a rural area near the Pacific Ocean. The midden has been known since at least the Edo Period. Sakuma Yoshikazu, a local scholar, described it a journal listing the holdings of the Date clan. compiled at the order of the 4th "daimyō" of Sendai Domain, Date Tsunamura. Per this account, a small Shinto shrine near this midden was dedicated to the "kami" of  Mount Kare, a 430-meter mountain to the west of town. A giant, the "Tenaga Myojin" lived on the mountain and had very long arms - so long that it could reach the ocean to pick up shellfish (its favorite food), whose shells it would deposit on what became the Shinchi Shell Midden. The shell midden attracted attention from archaeologists in the Meiji period and initial excavations were conducted in 1890 and in 1924 by Tokyo Imperial University. In addition to the expected shells and animal and fish bones, the midden was found to contain a unique design of pottery with  ruffled decoration which was dubbed "Shichi-style pottery". The shell midden dates from approximately 4000 years ago. The Shinto shrine disappeared around 1887, but its foundations were discovered. The site has a stone marker and explanatory signboard. It is located about 30 minutes on foot from Shinchi Station on the JR East Joban Line.