Human Skeletal Remains of the Middle to Late Jomon Period Excavated from the Inland Kitamura Site, Nagano Prefecture

Abstract

Human skeletal remains of a total of 190 individuals were excavated in Kitamura Site (Nagano Pref., middle to late Jomon; ca. 4000-3000 B.P.). The morphology of Kitamura people were generally similar to the contemporary Jomon people in brachycephaly, narrow and high semicylindrical nasal bone at the nasal root, and relatively flat limb bones. The custom of tooth extraction is absent. The differences in the diet from that of coastal Jomon people resulted in the extremely low frequency of the dental caries and the high frequency of the enamel hypoplasia. The relatively high percentage of aged individuals is a major characteristic of Kitamura Site.