Abstract
The stone age people of Hokkaido obtained siliceous shale and obsidian for flake tools from various localities. At the archaeological site of Washinoki-4, the source of siliceous shale was at a short distance of 16 km from the remains, and this material occupied 66% of the flake tools. Conversely, the source of obsidian was 100 km further from the remains, and it occupied 25% of the tools. The “mental value” of siliceous shale is low and that of obsidian is high, because a high mental value for siliceous shale would require over 80% occupation at Washinoki-4. The raw material for serpentinite-related earthenware was possibly carried from landslide deposits of the Mitsuishi serpentinite Mélange. At the archaeological site of Ocharasenai, the raw material was probably sourced from the Mitsuishi serpentinite mélange at a distance of 90 km. The fact that serpentinite-related earthenware was used despite its brittleness compared with the strong common earthenware suggests that the serpentinite-related earthenware had a somewhat high mental value. Chrome spinel inclusions in chlorite and talc precious stones indicate that they were derived from the serpentinite. These stones can be inferred to have high mental value, because the distance to the source for chlorite from the Nishishimamatsu-5 archaeological site is 65 km, and that of talc from the Tatesaki archaeological site is 20 km.
