Ikehata-mae Site in Shizuoka Prefecture

Abstract

1) Situated at 255-9, Of uji 12-ku, Iwata-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture, this site lies on the west side of the higher part of Iwata-bara Upland rising on the east side of the Tenryu River. (Fig. 1, Mark×)2) Excavation was carried out for a week from August 21st to 26th, 1960, under auspicious of the Board of Education for Iwata City.3) The excavation began from Trench A measuring 20 meters by 2 meters, followed by the work on Trenches B and C lying on the north and south sides of the Trench A, respectively. Layers in the site are as follows. (Fig. 2)I Humus (black soil).........20-30cm II Dark brown soil.........30-40cm III Brown soil.........10-40cm IV Light yellowish brown soil.........30-40cm V Yellow clay with gravel.........30-40cm VI Gravel.........?The second dark brown soil is the only layer yielding artifacts, which were always found together with gravel. Judging from such a status, they had something associated with gravel. The association is common to all the trenches in this site. In addition, nothing but stone implements was excavated from the site.4) The materials of the stone implements are sandstone, slate and shale, largesized ones being made of the first two materials, while small ones of the last, with a single exception made of chert. Accordingly, the industry carried in this site can be said to have developed according to the so-called Bladetechnique using the shale as its main material. (Figs. 3-6)5) Artifacts from the site are as follows : Knife-blade.........39 Bifaced tool (or point?).........1 Spatulate scraper.........1 Gravers (burins).........5 Burin-spalls.........4 Scrapers......... Blade cores.........7 Blades.........48 Grooved hone.........1 Hones.........5 Hammer stone.........1 Polishing and rubbing stones........5 Milling stone.........1 Flakes and chips.........202 Total: 3236) This site is characterized by the Stone-age Culture rich in variety of stone implements represented by the so-called knife-blade stone implements. In other words, it can be said to be of the Knife-blade industry which has a strong tendency to the microlithic. Among finds are included a milling stone, the kind of which has never been discovered before out of sites of the same age, polishing and rubbing stones, hones, etc. According to the fact, economical basis of the Japanese Pre-ceramic Culture Age, which has been thought vaguely to be on the life of food gathering mainly by hunting, now comes to the stage to he reconsidered with materials newly unearthed from this site.