The characteristics and changes in animal utilization on Rishiri Island, Hokkaido

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the characteristics and changes in animal utilization based on the minimum number of individuals (MNI) of animal remains excavated from archaeological sites on Rishiri Island, Hokkaido. As a result, it was able to show that on Rishiri Island, 1) a high degree of marine adaptation probably occurred by the middle of the Jomon period (earlier than the end of the late Jomon period to the beginning of the Epi-Jomon period as evidenced by animal remains), 2) dog breeding started for the purpose of using as food and materials from the end of the late Jomon period to the beginning of the Epi-Jomon period, 3) pig breeding started at the latest during the Towada and Kokumon periods of the Okhotsk culture, and 4) many abalones were harvested intensively, processed, and traded in the early modern period, and this shows that Rishiri Island was integrated into the commercial economy that covered all of Japan. Although these things were already roughly understood, it has become possible to understand more concretely the characteristics and changes in animal utilization on Rishiri Island based on a common criterion, MNI.