Torihama shell mound
鳥浜貝塚 | |
Jomon period | |
Site notes | |
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Public access | Yes |
The Torihama shell mound (鳥浜貝塚, Torihama kaizuka) is a shell midden and remains of an Early Jōmon period settlement located in the Torihama neighbourhood of the town of Wakasa, Fukui, in the Hokuriku region of Japan.[1] It is a waterlogged midden site that was occupied mainly from the Incipient Jomon period to the Early Jomon period from 12,000 to 5,000 years ago (10,000–3,000 BC).[2]
The site is located in the area of Lake Mikata, one of the
Excavations
The excavation of the site was initiated in 1962, and conducted up to 1972 by
Discoveries
The cultural deposits are about 6 to 3 meters thick. Primarily fresh water shells are found in the midden. Ropes, reed baskets and similar items were plentiful.
Very old stone weights used for nets were excavated, as well as many other items made of stone. A large quantity of stone axes were found.
The inhabitants hunted various local fauna. Skeletal remains of the Japanese wolf have been found at Torihama dating 10,000 to 250 B.C.[3]
Cultivated plants
In 2011,
Evidence of early beefsteak plant
Chestnut (
In terms of caloric intake, plant foods made up about half of the diet. Red beans (Adzuki beans), melon, and Chinese cabbage were also found.[7]
Manufactured goods
Wood products of all kinds have been found, including lacquered pottery and combs. They represent the oldest known examples of Japanese lacquerware. The items were found by scholars from Tohoku University who investigated the site in 1984–2011, and they may date to 12,600 years ago.
Also found here was the oldest fabric product yet found in Japan—a rope made of hemp, dating back 12,000 years. Also, a woven item made of Boehmeria tricuspis, a vegetable fiber, was found.[8]
Canoes
The 1981 excavation revealed the presence of some very old
The majority of remains unearthed from the Torihama site are stored and exhibited at the Wakasa Mikata Jomon Museum in Obama (c. 20 km west of the site).
See also
Notes
- ^ map location of Torihama
- ISSN 1040-6182.
- ^ Shigehara, N; Hongo, H (2000). "Dog and wolf remains of the earliest Jomon period at Torihama site in Fukui Prefecture" (in Japanese). 2. Torihama-Kaizuka-Kennkyu: 23–40.
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(help) - ^ 1万2千年前のウルシ木片 世界最古、福井で出土, The Nikkei, November 6, 2011
- ^ Kakinoshima Jomon Archaeological Site
- S2CID 143756517.
- ^ Graeme Barker, The Agricultural Revolution in Prehistory: Why Did Foragers Become Farmers? Oxford University Press, 2009
ISBN 0199559953p.202
- ^ Naomi Ueda (2007), Conservation of Excavated Fabric Products. Gangoji Cultural Properties Research Institute
- ISBN 0199573492p.183
Bibliography
- Hongo, H. (1989). Freshwater fishing in the early Jomon period (Japan): an analysis of fish remains from the Torihama shell-mound. Journal of Archaeological Science, 16(2),333-354.
- Habu, Junko; Matsui, Akira; Yamamoto, Naoto; Kanno, Tomonori (2011). "Shell midden archaeology in Japan: Aquatic food acquisition and long-term change in the Jomon culture". Quaternary International. 239 (1–2): 19–27. ISSN 1040-6182.
- Morikawa, M., 1994. Torihama kaizuka 7000-nen no shiki, in Torihama Kaizuka, by M. Morikawa & S. Hashimoto. Tokyo: Yomiuri Shinbun-sha, 15–136. (In Japanese)
- Torihama Kaizuka Kenkyu Group, 1983. Torihama Kaizuka, vol. 3. Fukui: Fukui-ken Kyoiku Iinkai & Fukui-ken- ritsu Wakasa Rekishi Minzoku Shiryo-kan (In Japanese)
- Morikawa, M., and S. Hashimoto. 1994. The Torihama shellmound: a Jomon time capsule. Tokyo: Yomiuri Shimbunsha. (In Japanese)
- Matsui, A., and M. Kanehara. 2006. The question of prehistoric plant husbandry during the Jomon period in Japan. World Archaeology 38:259–273.