Non-invasive Chemical Investigation of Stone Ornaments from the Kashiwagi-B Site in the Late Jomon of Central Hokkaido Utilizing Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Toolstone and Mineral Geography Across Time and Space" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The goal of this paper is to better understand variability in raw materials of stone ornaments recovered from burials at the Kashiwagi-B site, which cosists of shuteibo (a type of communal cemetery characterized by a circular embankment constructed in the latter half of the Late Jomon of central Hokkaido) and non-shuteibo burials. Utilizing p-XRF, this research conducted non-invasive chemical analyses of 77 samples from 9 shuteibo and non-shuteibo burials. The analyses identified that raw materials for beads from shuteibo burials were Jadeite and Omphacite jades except for the unidetified materials due to weathering, while materials from non-shuteibo burials were talcs, chlorites and nephrites. In terms of human aesthetics, rarity and durability, jade beads were probably desirable and highly-valued materials as compared to those of chlorites and talcs. Some shuteibo burials also contained large prestigious slate stone clubs as regalia probably imported from the Tohoku regions via long-distance trades. The different assemblage in stone raw material for ornaments between the burials at Kashiwagi-B indicates possible intra-site material wealth-based socioecomic differentiation; the individuals buried in shuteibo burials may have been from elites, while non-shuteibo burials may reflect relatively lower status.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Toolstone and Mineral Geography Across Time and Space   •
• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52692