2007 Volume 14 Issue 24 Pages 51-73
The purpose of this article is to reconstruct distribution of stone material, via study of utilization of production places in the Yayoi period, existence of transit village in stone material trade, and relationships between production sites and consumption sites in distribution of stone tool material. Results of the analysis demonstrated that: 1) There was a striking change in the composition of production places in the Kuribayashi period in late Middle Yayoi, based on analysis of production place analysis; 2) Also, the period saw diversification of production place composition within the same basin; 3) In late Middle Yayoi, most stone material brought from the production place was consumed in stone tool manufacturing; 4) Late Middle Yayoi saw a lack of examples of accumulation of stone materials both indoors and outdoors, stone material became small, and a reduction of the amount in excavated stone materials; and 5) Transit villages did not exist between the production site and consumption site. Thus many drastic changes took place in late Middle Yayoi, and the concerned period lacked "acquisition and distribution systems by organized groups of people" at the production site, including mining activities for stone materials. It could be assumed that by the emergence of cylindrical beads, comma-shaped beads, and polished stone axes as trade items in the period, obsidian as stone material ended its role as a reciprocal trade item for maintaining relationships between groups.
