抄録
During the last fifty years, at least fifty-five cases presumably including a considerable number of prehistoric canoes have been reported from various parts of Japan. The woods used, however, are mostly left undescribed, only several examples being anatomically identified by the preceding authors. A misconception that all ships traditionally mentioned in some ancient writings are made of Cinnamomwn Camphora is prevailing among some archaeologists and historians, and by the fact that most of canoes hitherto excavated and studied are accidentally made of this wood they are likely to strengthen their preconception. The present study on some thirty examples from twenty-five different localities reveals that they show a rich diversity, i. e., Torreya nucifera (16 Nos, 1-3, 18, 19, 20, 23 Nos. 1-3, 28), Pinus densiflora (2, 27), P. Thunbergii (8, 14), Abies firma (15), Cryptomeria japonica (3, 4, 10, 31, 38, 39 Nos. 1, 2), Sciadopitys verticillata (48), Juglans Sieboldiana (49), Castanea crenata (9, 26 No. 2), Aphananthe aspera (26 No. 1), Ulmns japonica (32), Cinnamomum Camphora (6, 21, 26), and Kalopanax pictum (1). Among fifteen examples of oars studied, eleven are Cephalotaxus drupacea, two, Torreya nucifera, one, Quercus acutissima and one, an indeterminable ring-porous wood. Considering from the phytogeographical view point, the majority of them indicates the possibilities that they had been made and used in the localities where they were excavated. (Contributions from the Research Institute for Natural Resources, Tokyo, No. 390)
