Jomon Pottery Production at Honmura-cho and Isarago Sites

Insights from Geochemistry

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether Jomon pottery from two neighboring sites can be chemically distinguished from each other. For this purpose, minor and trace element composition of Jomon potsherds from the Honmura cho and Isarago sites was determined using energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF). The results supported the hypothesis that the majority of the Early Jomon pottery from each of these two sites was produced locally using different raw materials. The paper also demonstrates the utility of multi-element, multivariate analyses for distinguishing pottery made in different locations.