Changing Perspectives for the Palaeolithic Research of the Japanese Archipelago

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Current Issues in Japanese Archaeology (2019 Archaeological Research in Asia Symposium)" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Apart from sporadic finds of human bones and artifacts, systematic research on the Palaeolithic began in Japan with the Iwajuku excavation in 1949. In spite of the relatively short history of 70 years, and the negative impact of the "Fujimura Scandal" of 2000, which resulted in nullification of nearly 200 "Early" and "Middle" Palaeolithic sites, the Palaeolithic Period is represented by over 15,000 assemblages, and Palaeolithic research is thriving in Japan. It is, however, taking a new direction in recent years. The earlier emphasis on artifact typology and the search for Japanese ancestors is being replaced by an endeavor to elucidate hominid behaviour during the Quaternary Epoch through a variety of inter-disciplinary approaches. The Palaeolithic assemblages of Japan are being placed in the context of the circum-Japan–Sea interaction sphere, and in the broader global perspectives of out-of-Africa dispersal of the behaviorally modern humans.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)   •
• Current Issues in Japanese Archaeology (2019 Archaeological Research in Asia Symposium)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23317