Abstract
Previous study revealed that musculoskeletal stress markers (MSMs) advance according to age and that the differences in MSMs between groups also arise in association with the intensity of ante-mortem activity. This study investigated the expression of 15 MSMs in the prehistoric Jomon period groups (Hokkaido, Ebishima, Ubayama, Yoshigo and Tsukumo) and Yayoi period groups (North Kyushu, Doigahama and Tanegashima), and examined their regional diversity and differences between the Jomon and Yayoi period. In the Jomon period people, Kruskal-Wallis tests found that many MSMs had significant inter-group differences in both sexes. Mean MSM scores of the Hokkaido group were especially high and principal component analysis (PCA) showed that males from Hokkaido were plotted at an isolated position from those of other Jomon groups (Ebishima, Ubayama, Yoshigo and Tsukumo) in Honshu. Mann-Whitney tests between the Yayoi and Jomon groups showed that North Kyushu and Doigahama had significant differences in many MSMs whereas Tanegashima had differences in only a few cases. A scatter diagram of PCA indicated configuration in each Yayoi group as follows: 1) North Kyushu was considerably separated from the Jomon groups; 2) Doigahama was placed at an intermediate position between both groups; and 3) Tanegashima was close to the plotting area of the Jomon groups. These findings suggest that: 1) In the Jomon period people, differences of occupational activity based on utilized natural resources between Hokkaido and Honshu affected the pattern of MSM expression; and 2) In the Yayoi period people, the MSM pattern of paddy rice farmers in North Kyushu was different from that of people engaging in hunting and fishing.
