全身表現のみられる人面付土版

長野県エリ穴遺跡出土土版をめぐって

抄録

This paper describes a peculiar anthropomorphic clay tablet found in the Eriana site and examines its relation with other clay tablets and figurines from the eastern Japan.
Eriana is a Late to Latest Jomon settlement site situated in Matsumoto city, Nagano prefecture, a mountainous region in central Japan. It is well know for the discovery of over 800 pieces of clay earrings.
An anthropomorphic clay tablet was found during the 1995 excavation performed by Matsumoto City Archaeological Museum. It was intentionally broken into two pieces and arranged on a buried stone. The breaking was done by a strike on the reverse side and a scar from the blow is evident. This is rare example of the deliberate breaking of clay tablet, and an important specimen for comparison with the ritual impairment of the clay figurines. The piece is somewhat rectangular in shape, measuring 15.8cm in length, 8.6cm in width and 2cm in thickness, and is made of relatively refined clay. The decorative patterns on the reverse side are similar to those on the initial to early Latest Jomon pottery, and this firmly established the dating of this artifact. A human image is portrayed on the tablet as if it was a two-dimensional clay figurine. The image is constituted of a head, torso and legs, each being separated by incised lines which perhaps define a jaw line and a hemline of clothing. Arc-shaped eyebrows, nose, breasts, skirt-likeclothing and pubic region are depicted, with partial coloring in red.
When compared with the clay figurines in eastern Japan, similarities are found with the later Late Jomon to early Latest Jomon figurines from the Tohoku and Kanto/Chubu regions such as the Yamagata and Mimizuku figurine types. These similarities are based on style, as well as the methods of depiction of eyebrows, nose, breasts and clothing. There are similarities with other anthropomorphic clay tablets from the northern Kanto region as well. Despite the fact that only faces are depicted on the other examples, patterns on the reverse side and expressions of the faces show the Eriana tablet is not an isolated example.
Some scholars considered the anthropomorphic clay tablet as a variation of the clay figurine and its appearance was situated in the line of clay figurine development, while other scholars thought the two were different in terms of their function. The debate between the two groups of scholars has stagnated and the studies of the clay tablets have been pursued only in terms of representative types. Anthropomorphic clay tablets have been forgotten somewhat, partly because only a few specimens of them have been available for any detailed study. However, a few recent studies attempt to include all variations of clay tablets in a complete and detailed typology and chronology to understand their origins, developmentand decline. The discovery of the Eriana tablet should contribute to this trend, especially in terms of development and function of anthropomorphic clay tablet, and should help to end the old and forgotten debate on the tablet/figurine relationship.