Evidence of increasing functional differentiation in pottery use among Late Holocene maritime foragers in northern Japan

Ari Junno,Sven Isaksson,Yu Hirasawa,Hirofumi Kato,Peter D Jordan

doi:10.1016/j.ara.2020.100194

Ari Junno, Sven Isaksson + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ara.2020.100194

Copy DOI

Abstract

Hamanaka 2 is a multi-phase coastal site in Rebun Island with a ~ 3000-year occupation sequence extending from the final-stage Jōmon and Okhotsk to the Ainu Culture period (1050 BCE-1850 CE). To examine long-term trends in food processing at the site, we collected 66 ceramic sherds across six distinct cultural layers from the Final Jōmon to the Late Okhotsk period for lipid residue analysis. Given the site's beachfront location in an open bay, with ready access to abundant maritime resources, we predicted that the pottery would consistently have been used to process aquatic resources throughout all cultural periods. Though aquatic lipids dominated across the site sequence, the history of pottery use at the site proved more complex. Evidence of plant processing was found in all cultural phases, and from the Epi-Jōmon/Late Final Jōmon transition onwards 30% of the vessels were being used to process mixed dishes that combined both marine and terrestrial resources. By the start of the Okhotsk phase, separate sets of resources were being processed in different pots, suggesting functional differentiation in the use of pottery, and the rise of new kinds of cuisine – including the processing of millet. We tentatively explain these results as a consequence of the growing incorporation of Rebun Island into wider regional trade and interaction networks, which brought new kinds of resources and different social dynamics to Northern Hokkaido in the Late Holocene.

Highlights

Rebun Island is strategically located at the juncture of island chains that link diverse cultural spheres, including the Sakhalin Island, the Kuriles, Kamchatka and Hokkaido, and has served as conduits for people, goods and ideas across the maritime Northeastern Asia (Fig. 1)
Given the island's location and uninterrupted settlement history – overlapping with the Late/Final Jōmon transition, the appearance of the Epi-Jōmon groups and the emergence of the Susuya and the Okhotsk Cultures in the Late Holocene – Rebun may be considered to capture the cultural dynamics of the northern Hokkaido region
16 of the 24 charred crust deposits examined with gas-chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS) had enough remaining sample material for a bulk stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition characterization with an elemental analyzer isotopic ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS) (Evershed et al, 1994)

Summary

Introduction

Rebun Island is strategically located at the juncture of island chains that link diverse cultural spheres, including the Sakhalin Island, the Kuriles, Kamchatka and Hokkaido, and has served as conduits for people, goods and ideas across the maritime Northeastern Asia (Fig. 1). Over the course of this extended settlement history, the Hamanaka 2 site was occupied by prehistoric communities with a subsistence primarily focused on exploiting the abundant aquatic resources available in the local marine ecosystem (Naito et al, 2010; Miyata et al, 2016). It is unclear, to what extent trading and other cultural interactions impacted the local subsistence economy. The Okhotsk – known for their complex animal mythology – transported adult bears and bear cubs (Ursus arctos) to Rebun from the Hokkaido mainland for ceremo nial activities, while practicing small-scale pig (Sus scrofa inoi) and dog (Canis domesticus) rearing in Rebun Island (Masuda et al, 2001; Watanobe et al, 2001; Hirasawa and Kato, 2019)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion