Seed or fruit impressions on potsherds of the late Jomon period unearthed at the Kuwagaishimo site in Kyoto prefecture, Japan

Abstract

The Kuwagaishimo site is a large-scale settlement site of the late Jomon period (ca. 2000 cal BC) in the Kansai region with many stone axes that were probably used for gathering or managing such plants as rhizomatous ones and beans. This site is considered as a transitional site where the plant management using stone axes of central Japan changed to that in western Japan during the middle to the late Jomon periods (2500 to 1500 cal BC). Study of seed or fruit impressions on potsherds from this site revealed an impression of a Vigna seed that was as large as modern domesticated azuki varieties on a potsherd of the late Jomon period.