The is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

consisting of a cave dwelling in use during the

Jōmon period The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a c ...

, located in the Tochihara neighborhood of the village of

Kitaaiki, Nagano is a village located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 755 in 350 households, and a population density of 13 persons per km². The total area of the village is . Geography Kitaaiki is located in mountaino ...

in the

Chūbu region The , Central region, or is a region in the middle of Honshu, Honshū, Japan, Japan's main island. In a wide, classical definition, it encompasses nine prefectures (''ken''): Aichi Prefecture, Aichi, Fukui Prefecture, Fukui, Gifu Prefecture ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1987.

Overview

The Tochibaraiwakage cave is located on the right bank of the Aiki River in a mountainous area at an elevation of approximately 960 meters, to the east of

Mount Yatsugatake , also known as just Yatsugatake is a volcanic group of inactive volcanoes located on the border of Nagano Prefecture and Yamanashi Prefecture on Honshū in Japan. Description The Southern Yatsugatake Volcanic Group is part of the Yatsugatake Mo ...

. It consists of three small

rock shelter A rock shelter (also rockhouse, crepuscular cave, bluff shelter, or abri) is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff. In contrast to solutional caves (karst), which are often many miles long, rock shelters are almost alway ...

s which were discovered in 1965. Each has a height, width and depth of only two to three meters; however, in the Jōmon period they had a width and depth of around eight meters and a height of six meters. The rock shelters face south. As the Aiki River was nearby and the surrounding mountains could provide a rich source of food, these shelters were inhabited for at least a thousand years. Over the course of 15

archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

s conducted from 1965 to 1987, the site was found to contain more than ten early Jōmon period human remains, mostly those of adults.

Jōmon pottery The is a type of ancient earthenware pottery which was made during the Jōmon period in Japan. The term "Jōmon" () means "rope-patterned" in Japanese, describing the patterns that are pressed into the clay. Outline Oldest pottery in Jap ...

stone tool A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made either partially or entirely out of stone. Although stone tool-dependent societies and cultures still exist today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric (particularly Stone Ag ...

s, bone or horn vessels, and many bones from food (mammals, reptiles, freshwater fish) were also excavated, as well as preserved fragments of clothing. The site provided a great deal of materials for research in the early Jōmon period, and noteworthy was the sophistication of bone fish hooks and sewing needles indicating an unexpectedly high level of technology. Despite its distance from the sea, some of the bone tools were made from shark teeth, which indicates some form of long distance trade and communications. Another noteworthy find were the remains of two children, aged three and five from their dentation, who had been eating fruit of the Muku tree by the hearth when a rock fall from the ceiling crushed them to death. This was reported as the earliest known accidental death in Japan. Some of the artifacts uncovered are on display at the Kitaaiki Village Archaeological Museum. Then site is located about eight minutes by car from Koumi Station on the

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

Koumi Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It links Kobuchizawa Station in Hokuto, Yamanashi with Komoro Station in Komoro, Nagano, and extends 78.9 km (49.0 mi) through the mountains with a total of 3 ...

References

External links

Kitaaiki Village Archaeological Museum
{{Prehistoric caves Jōmon period History of Nagano Prefecture Kitaaiki, Nagano Historic Sites of Japan Archaeological sites in Japan Rock shelters in Japan

Overview

See also

References

External links