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Volume 48 (2009)
- Issue 6 Pages 367-
- Issue 5 Pages 305-
- Issue 4 Pages 243-
- Issue 3 Pages 103-
- Issue 2 Pages 59-
- Issue 1 Pages 1-
Volume 48, Issue 2
Displaying 1-4 of 4 articles from this issue
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Article
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Hiroko Matsushima, Toshihiko Sugai, Kiyohide Mizuno, Shoichi Hachinohe2009 Volume 48 Issue 2 Pages 59-74
Published: April 01, 2009
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2012
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThe Middle Pleistocene to Holocene stratigraphy under the interior of the Kanto Plain was constructed by analyzing two drilling cores (GS-FK-1 and SA-GD-1). We performed sedimentary facies analysis, determined lithological compositions of gravels, and measured grain size, electronic conductivity (EC), total sulfate contents (TS), and magnetic susceptibility. Both cores were divided into five depositional units, FK-U1 to FK-U5 and GD-U1 to GD-U5, in descending order, respectively. All depositional units except for GD-U1 consist of gravel layers overlain by fine-grained layers. These units were influenced considerably by transgressiveregressive cycles, which are associated with glacio-eustatic sea-level changes. The gravel layers were deposited as channel sediments mainly during sea-level falls and/or lowstands, while the fine-grained layers were presumably accumulated as floodplain and/or marine sediments during sea-level rises and the following sea-level highstands. The units can be correlated with marine isotope stage (MIS) based on 14C ages, tephras, and palynological records.
Paleogeography and sedimentary facies distribution were discussed based on longitudinal and transverse stratigraphic cross-sections drawn by using the both cores and existing drilling columns. The sections indicate that the sea spread to the interior of the plain in MIS 11 and MIS 9. After the maximum transgressions of each interglacial stage, beachs were probably developed at the GS-FK-1 site. In contrast, delta progradation occurred at the SA-GD-1 site. The difference may reflect the water depth in each core. The water depth at the GS-FK-1 site would be smaller than the SA-GD-1 site, and the GS-FK-1 site would be located at the margin of the seacoast.
The grain size and the thickness of gravel layers of GS-FK-1 are larger than those of SA-GD-1. This is probably because the GS-FK-1 site is much closer to the Kanto Mountains than the SA-GD-1 site.View full abstractDownload PDF (3827K)
Special Issue on the 2007 Symposium “What can be gained from archaeological sites? : Geoarchaeology”
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Hiroyuki Sato, Masami Izuho2009 Volume 48 Issue 2 Pages 75-76
Published: April 01, 2009
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2012
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSDownload PDF (232K) -
Hiroyuki Sato2009 Volume 48 Issue 2 Pages 77-83
Published: April 01, 2009
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2012
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSGeoarchaeology, which is not wellknown in Japan yet, has produced excellent results as one of the major research design methods in archaeological research projects in Europe and the USA. While geoarchaeological practices in those countries mainly emphasize geological and geomorphological site formation processes (natural transforms), it is appropriate to aim also to take cultural site formation processes, which are developed in processual archaeology, into consideration, because both cultural and natural factors influence the archaeological site formation processes systematically.
This paper explains the history and substance of geoarchaeology, and its positioning in modern archaeology, from the viewpoint of the human ecosystem. We cannot gain basic information on site formation processes accurately without geoarchaeological analyses. Although geoarchalogy and geosciences hold analytical methods in common, there are critical differences between them. The former aims at the construction of general processes and mechanisms of landscape, geomophological, and geological settings, while the latter sets the comprehension of each site formation process as the starting point. These differences in scientific methodology and philosophy are explained clearly in this paper.View full abstractDownload PDF (808K) -
Yuichi Nakazawa, Masami Izuho, Fumito Akai2009 Volume 48 Issue 2 Pages 85-96
Published: April 01, 2009
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2012
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSArchaeologists studying prehistoric hunter-gatherer sites have long been interested in variability in spatial organization and intrasite activities. In order to make explicit inferences on intrasite human activities, we investigate into site formation processes of the late Upper Paleolithic open-air site of Kamihoronai-Moi (ca. 14,400-14,800 yrs BP) in Hokkaido, northern Japan. First, in order to predict the chance of having palimpsest accumulations, we propose a formal model of site formation processes in terms of the relationship between human occupational intensity and depositional rate. An examination of the trampling effect on the vertical displacement of artifacts shows that artifacts were little dispersed from the past occupational surface. Since the result of vertical displacement allows us to perform intrasite spatial analysis, we performed a visual and a quantitative analysis of the spatial patterns of burnt artifacts around the two hearths (i.e., the evident and invisible hearths). These analyses demonstrate that a group of occupants likely utilized both hearths simultaneously, and their occupational intensity (i.e., duration of occupation and frequency of occupation) was low. Given the predictable model of palimpsest accumulations, the study site had a median degree of chance in having palimpsests. On the other hand, the results of our analysis suggest that the site was shortly occupied and presumably functioned as a transit camp. Moreover, classes of raw materials (i.e., obsidian, hard shale, and sandstones) were differentially consumed in and around the two hearths, implying that division of labor between the two hearth-centered areas was pronounced in the study site. The present study of the Kamihoronai-Moi will provide a rare but worthwhile example toward understanding behavioral variability in Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherer microspace use organization in a short-term open-air site.View full abstractDownload PDF (1379K)
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