Abstract
With the progress of the investigation on impression seeds and fruits in earthenware vessels, it has came to be discovered that impressions of Zanthoxylum ailanthoides occur particularly in the Jomon period of the Kyushu region. Although Zanthoxylum ailanthoides is now scarcely used, their synanthropic occurrences in archaeological excavations and their abundance in archaeological plant remains indicate their fruits were used for some purposes by the people in those periods, besides indicating their existence in the laurel forest characterictic in western Japan in those periods. In order to clarify their use, we analyzed the chemical constituents of the fruits of Zanthoxylum ailanthoides and allied species. Because Zanthoxylum ailanthoides fruits much include 1,8-cineole, a terpene of the essential oil toxic and repellent against some stored-product beetles, we indicated that these fruits were possibily used as an insecticide against maize weevils, Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky, whose impressions have been discovered on the earthenware at many Jomon sites.
