Jomon Shell Middens and Fossil Molluscan Assemblages

Abstract

The fact that the faunal remains of shell middens were originally selected from the local faunal assemblages denotes that they are able to provide the basic data; first for reconstructing the local prehistoric environment and second for clarifying the culture factors of the collecting habits of the shell midden people. To arrive at these two ultimate ends, first, we have to identify the species of shellfish, and further, examine the relative frequencies of the species and their size-age frequency distributions. But the characteristic features obtained in these ways will have to be compared with other standards, otherwise these results will have no meaning. From this viewpoint, the fossil molluscan assemblage in the Holocene deposits readily provides standards for analysis of the shell middens.
The midden shellfish were selected from the local marine molluscan assemblage. The degree of selectivity is based on collecting methods, equipment, grounds and seasons. Prehistorically, it is important to clarify the nature of collecting habits. For this reason, it will be useful to compare samples before and after gathering, i. e. fossil molluscan assemblages and shell middens respectively. In the present paper, a comparison of the shell midden samples with the fossile assemblage on the basis of relative frequencies of species and their sizes has been presented in order to investigate species and size selection in the shell midden samples. That is to say, through a comparative study of both natural and midden samples, we are able to examine both the quality and quantity of exploitative selection, and further, the pattern of resource exploitation which is the cause of the selection.